Skip to content

Romeros lose precious music studio and shop

Jason and Pharis Romero of Horsefly suffered a huge blow Sunday after a fire destroyed their banjo shop and every instrument they owned.
29424tribuneromero-banjo-shop
Jason and Pharis Romero’s dog Etta rests beside all that remains of the couple’s music studio and shop.

Juno award winning musicians Jason and Pharis Romero of Horsefly suffered a huge blow Sunday after a fire destroyed their entire banjo shop and every instrument they owned.

They were sleeping inside a cabin next to the shop with their two-month-old son and two-and-a-half-year old daughter when Jason woke suddenly at 3:12 a.m. and saw the flames.

“He leapt out of bed and got the garden hose,” Pharis said. “He tried everything he could to save it, but it was all gone.”

On top of the banjo shop, the cabin they were sleeping in burned too.

Inside the shop were banjo tools and supplies, a batch of five beautiful banjos ready to be shipped the next day, even a Gibson 1943 banner J-45.

“One of the hardest parts of today was sorting through the burned rubble; the piles of vinyl records fused together, nothing but brass parts and truss rods left of finished banjos, bronze hardware melted together, and not even a trace of the old guitars,” Pharis noted on their Facebook page Sunday.

The Romeros have fire insurance and were meeting with the insurance adjustors Tuesday, to see what will be covered.

In the meantime, support from family, friends and fans has been pouring in.

“Our hugest thanks and so much gratitude for the love and support we have been receiving from our community,” Pharis told the Tribune.

“We are bowled over. And we are more ready each day to start rebuilding.”

There is no crowd funding account set up as they are waiting to hear what their insurance will cover of the estimated quarter-million dollars in losses.

Pharis praised the Horsefly Volunteer Fire Department, thanking Cecil Morhart, Mark and Julie McMillen Caron, Lou and Jack Biggs, and the entire crew.

“I didn’t get to thank you all because Indi and I were singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the kitchen and admiring the lights on your fire trucks.”

The cause of the fire is unknown.



Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
Read more