Strokes guitarist's tour bus caught in a high speed chase

Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.'s tour bus got caught up in a high speed pursuit last weekend while on the way out of Texas. According to NME.com, Hammond and his solo band were relaxing in the vehicle's back lounge when it was hit by a pick-up truck being pursued by police. Hammond's keyboardist/guitarist, Marc Philippe Eskenazi, described the scene in a MySpace post, writing, "It turned out that the cops had been chasing a suspect in a pick-up truck in a high speed chase a la OJ Simpson since the Texas state border. It seemed that the pick-up was going to get away until he came into contact with (us)...Those knuckleheads smashed into our trailer and spun out of control, crashing into the side ramp, and awaited their vacation in the Texas State Penitentiary. Book 'em, boys!"

This is the latest in a series of mishaps on Hammond's first solo tour. His band had personal luggage stolen in Seattle, and had to evacuate the tour bus on another occasion when a mattress caught fire.

Hammond is on the road opening for Incubus and plays tonight (Friday, January 26th) in Washington D.C. The guitarist is promoting his debut solo album, Yours To Keep, which is out on March 6th.

Meanwhile, TMZ.com has reported that Hammond's bandmate in the Strokes, drummer Fabrizio Moretti, has been spotted stepping out with actress Kirsten Dunst. Moretti was recently dumped by his longtime girlfriend, actress Drew Barrymore, but probably shouldn't get his hopes up about Dunst. The Spider-Man 3 star has also been seen out with Entourage lead Adrian Grenier and out-of-work The OC cast member Adam Brody.
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