Metal rocker John Baizley found country-folk and tenderness after a horrible bus crash in 2012. He is now featured on three songs of an upcoming Town Van Zandt tribute album.
Mid-August 2012, a horrible car crush injured 3 members of Baroness, and forced the band to postpone their tour. In an in depth statement detailing the crash guitarist John Baizley said, “There was nothing anyone on the bus could have done during our descent to avoid the crash, and no one, the local residents, the police or any of us can believe we survived the impact.” The band returned with a special solo set by John Baizley, but other two members had no choice but to leave the band. The rest of the band celebrated their survival with a summer tour and a new live album Live At Maida Vale.
During recovery, John Baizley had to relearn playing guitar by playing along with the music of Townes Van Zandt, the great country-folk singer-songwriter.
Fortunately, he found other Townes Van Zandt admirers in the metal scene.Founded by members of the experimental band Tribes of Neurot, and metal group Neurosis, Neurot Recordings released Songs Of Townes Van Zandt in 2012. When neurosis co-leaders Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till decided to follow their Van Zandt tribute album with a sequel Songs Of Town Van Zandt Vol. II , they put John Baizley on three songs.