Press: Why I was forced to take a break from my music career.
Ā Ā Ā By Wayne Bledsoe of the Knoxville News SentinelLongtime local musician Chris Andrews, who performs under the name Christopher Scum, remains hospitalized at the Augusta Burn Center in Augusta, Ga. Andrews, a longtime figure on the Knoxville rock scene and who was the subject of the documentary āRebel Scum: The Movie,ā was one of the victims in the fiery multi-vehicle accident Saturday on Interstate 26 near Spartanburg, S.C.The crash involved three vehicles, including a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline. Killed in the accident was Donna Renee Bailey (Andrewsā longtime girlfriend) and John Daniel Fink and his 9-year-old son, James Landon Fink, both of Zirconia, North Carolina. The crash resulted in a massive fireball that, according to news sources in Spartanburg, required 10 different fire departments to contain.Bailey, 51, attended Heritage and Blount High School and the University of Tennessee and is the daughter of Dale and Pat Bailey. The family will receive friends from 6 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home Chapel in Maryville with funeral services to follow.Andrews is the lead singer of the band The Dirty Works, works as a solo act and has also been a member of several other Knoxville-area bands. According to sources, Andrewsā family members are with him in Augusta and he is talking.See also: Maryville woman dies in fiery SC crashBenefit concert raises money for severely injured Knoxville musicianShare this:
By Brandon RookĀ Published: July 25, 2015, 10:57 pm Ā Updated: July 26, 2015, 5:58 am
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KNOXVILLE (WATE) ā Nine different local bands took center stage Saturday night at Open Chord in west Knoxville to support Christopher Andrews, known to Knoxville music fans as Christopher āScum.ā Andrews was severely injured late last month in a fiery crash in Spartanburg, South Carolina.The wreck burned Andrews and took the life of his girlfriend Renee Bailey. Jamie Vayda and Hal Boston both organized the benefit concert. They say itās all about taking care of family.āI couldnāt believe it; itās tragicā¦He lost everything; he had everything in that car. He lost clothes; he lost his guitar,ā said Vayda.āIt was one of those things I guess where, I guess it didnāt sink in until 24 hours later and I was like āoh man, this is awfulā. Itās still kind of unreal I guessā¦I donāt think weāre any type for doing it, itās just something that needed to be set up,ā said Boston.Andrews is still recovering at the Augusta Burn Center in Georgia. All money raised will benefit the families of Andrews and his girlfriend.āWeāre just looking out for our own,ā said Vayda.Saturday nights benefit concert lasted until midnight. If you missed it and would still like to donate, you can visit
http://www.knoxnews.com/entertainment/music/surviving-christopher-scum-keeps-going-after-tragedy-ep-1332868409-353352581.htmlKnoxville singer-songwriter Christopher Scum has long been known as a man who courted disaster. Watch the documentary āRebel Scum,ā which was made about him, and youāll understand his commitment to music and seemingly unorthodox lifestyle.However, when tragedy truly hit it was dramatic, out of the blue and had nothing to with the danger he courted earlier in life. Scum (whose given name is Christopher Andrews) is a survivor from a horrific traffic accident that killed his longtime girlfriend Donna Renee Bailey, a North Carolina father and son, and Scum and Baileyās pet Chihuahua in June. The accident included a tractor-trailer truck hauling gasoline that caused a ball of fire so intense that it destroyed the asphalt on a section of Interstate 26 near Spartanburg, S.C. Scum was severely burned and underwent extensive skin grafts, which he is still recuperating from, and heās undergoing physical therapy. On Saturday, Oct. 24, Teenage Love and other acts will gather for a benefit concert to help pay for Scumās medical expenses.In a call from his sisterās home in Ohio, Scum picks up the phone sounding weak and tired.āI just woke up,ā he says. āIām super tight on my upper body for about the first hour. But I can move my mouth to talk. My whole back is burned. It burned up all my arms. My tattoos are all gone. The skin grafts make my skin feel like itās been put on about three sizes too tight.āThe wreck is still fresh in his mind.āBasically, a gasoline tanker came out of nowhere and it knocked us into the median. So Iām there thinking, āWell, if thatās all there is, weāll come out of this OK. The next thing, I just hear a big noise. A passerby told me that it looked like the gas tanker just dumped fire and gasoline all over our car. Renee had on her seat belt and it got stuck. They say a lot of times if you pull a seat belt, until you sit back and relax they wonāt unlatch. Iām fighting with the seat belt while flames are coming out licking at my hands. I finally thought Iāll get out and get her out from the other side. Iāll cut it with my knife. But I couldnāt get around to the other side, because there were flames over there.āScum fell down outside of the car, but got back in the driverās side. The flames overtook the inside of the car and drove him out again.āI took about two or three steps and turned back and tried to go back. I guess I was out of my mind and was going to dive back in there.āA man, who had seen the wreck and had stopped to help, grabbed Scum and pulled him away from the flames.āEverything I cared about and lived for was in that car. I turned around, took one or two running steps (back to the car) but he grabbed me. I didnāt even know where he came from.āScum and Bailey had met in 1993 when both were in their 20s. Pictures of the two together from the era are of a smiling couple. Maybe they were punk, but they were not another Sid and Nancy. Scumās raw and angry songs are a stark contrast to the tone he takes when he talks about her.āRenee was one of the most hard shell people youād ever meet, but, inside, she was really sweet. Sheād stop her car to let a squirrel pass. Sheās the most dear thing that ever happened in my life. And that little Chihuahua dog just showed up one day. They were like Snoopy and Woodstock, Renee walking along and that little dog right behind her. The last six years, he was always on her lap. Mackie was a lot like Renee, very small in stature, but very big in personality.āScums says heās really been touched by the generosity of friends and fans. Friends began promoting his music again while Scum was still in the hospital. Digital versions of the albums can be purchased at https://christopherscum.bandcamp.com.There have already been two benefit concerts. The upcoming one is special because the headliner was one of his early inspirations.āMy favorite band that I grew up with is Teenage Love,ā says Scum. āThatās pretty rockin.āāHe says condolences have come in from Canada, Germay, England and other places.āPeople will tell me that my music changed their life. That blows my mind. That I could pick up my guitar and write a song in a few minutes and change someoneās life is amazing.āScum has already begun playing guitar again, even though the fire burned into the muscles in his arm. He hopes to start performing again in the spring.āI think Iām dealing with survivorās guilt and just wondering why couldnāt I have saved her? Iāll probably be dealing with that for a long time.āScum says heās anxious to write new songs, but heās not ready yet.āIām not in the right head space. I gotta let a lot of this pass. ā¦ I may come out of this darkness and have a masterpiece. ā¦ There will always be people who want to hear something real.ā---All Hallowās Benefit for Christopher ScumWith: Teenage Love, Didges Christ, Super Drum, Mike Lipkin, Red as BloodWhen: 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24Where: Scruffy City Hall, 32 Market SquareAdmission: $5
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