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Sound and the Fury Bad Break Local jazz beatmaster and popular KRTU DJ Gerry Gibbs continues his slow, painful recovery from a February road accident in which he broke his arm. At 5 a.m. on February 15, Gibbs was driving on Hwy 281 near Basse Road when his car hit a patch of black ice, spun out of control, and crashed into the center divider. As Gibbs got out of his car, he saw another vehicle spinning in his direction, and he was forced to jump over the median into oncoming traffic. He believes that it was this jump that resulted in a fractured left arm. Gibbs says he saw at least 25 wrecked vehicles on the freeway that morning. "I have a lot of experience driving in snow in New York, but this was really bad. Once you hit it, you hydroplaned." Two months after the injury, Gibbs continues to feel intense pain, but he's returned to playing. "I can't lift anything at all," he says. "Actually, the easiest thing for me to do is play." Nonetheless, he describes the agony of every snare hit as "unbelievable." Gibbs says he "missed out on a lot of work" shortly after the mishap and when he returned to gigging, he temporarily performed while wearing a brace and girdle. Next month, he and his group, Third Trio From the Sun, will tour Europe with Dewey Redman. "Really, I'm just glad to be alive," Gibbs says. "If I had to choose between dying and having pain in my arm forever, I'd definitely take living with the pain." New Dome Home The growing popularity of Eric Geyer's Wednesday open-mic nights at Sam's Burger Joint was recently confirmed when the songwriters showcase moved from the restaurant section to its dome stage, the site for larger shows and national touring acts. Geyer moved his open-mic nights to Sam's in 2000 after a fire destroyed his old headquarters, the North St. Mary's Brewing Co. His showcases begin at 9:30 p.m. every Wednesday. • Compiled by Gilbert Garcia
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