West Coast Devils' Night?

An October 31 blaze destroyed Darrin DiMichele's recording studio and four of his band-practice rooms in Vista. The fire caused $600,000 worth of damage to his Goblin Studios. DiMichele's band, Sic Waiting, had to cancel an 11-date tour due to the equipment loss.

"My [recording studio and band] equipment is insured," says DiMichele, "but this does not include my work and the cost of materials I put into the building. That's about $80,000." DiMichele rented the four rehearsal rooms on an hourly basis. The adjacent 16 rooms, rented on a monthly basis, were not damaged.

"But three of those rooms can't be used because they want to make sure the roof doesn't collapse."

Inspector Adrian Abel of the Vista Fire Department says the fire wasn't an act of arson and that the origin of the fire was captured on camera.

"The video showed it started in the trash," says DiMichele. "The guy was trying to be cool, and instead of throwing his cigarette on the ground, he put it in the trash."

DiMichele took over Goblin Studios five years ago, when it had three rehearsal rooms. A fund has been set up at Mission Federal Credit Union for those wishing to donate to his rebuilding cost.