Brad PaisleyBrad Paisley may want to think twice the next time he names a tour. His upcoming H2O tour has a whole new meaning after the recent floods in Nashville washed away instruments, equipment and gear owned by not only Brad, but also Keith Urban, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and a thousand other artists who stored their beloved gear at the Soundcheck company headquarters in downtown Nashville near the Cumberland River. The 160,000 square feet of space is totally flooded, and the losses are in the tens of millions.

Brad tells Lubbockonline.com that he was ready to start rehearsals when the rains came, and the staging and props are all at the bottom of the Cumberland, along with his guitars and amps, although his favorite guitar was spared. "I sent a Tweet the other day that basically told people that when they come to the show just know that what you're seeing has been fully tested under water," joked Brad."You're talking about total cred. This is the H2O Tour. This isn't posers acting like we know about it. We've done it, buddy."

Brad is determined to get his tour underway in spite of the setback, which is proving to be a little bit of a chore. "My guitar tech is spending like a broker on the stock exchange floor," he says. "Things like this make you really take stock in what you're given. And this is going to mean so much more than some normal tour that we're embarking on."

Vince Gill, known to have an amazing collection of vintage guitars, reportedly lost most of his entire collection, including irreplaceable instruments of historic significance. Many of the instruments played on country hits fans know and love are now gone, lost forever to this violent storm that raged through our city and took pieces of us that we will never be able to replace. Perhaps Soundcheck owner Ben Jumper sums up best the devastation and feelings he had when he witnessed the damage firsthand: "I was overwhelmed and my heart broke," he said. "It's a huge loss for the Nashville music entertainment industry and nationally, because of all the national talent that operates in Nashville and out of our facilities."

During the initial assessment and cleanup stages, Soundcheck's LA-based sister company Center Staging is helping provide the artists with as many available resources as possible.

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