Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Cross-posted from Skippy ha-ha. I hope these guys filled out a police report:
So we played at show at the Garage at Biltmore last night in Asheville NC and had to leave our bus there because our fuel filter needed changing (and we were going to cange it in the morning) long story short…someone (or people) stole gear from our bus and below is a list of what it was. The worst thing about it is our lighting guy, Brian, had his recording gear from which he makes his living off of (valued at $8000) stolen. It was probably stolen between 3:30 and 8am. If you have any information about the gear below please email or call me as soon as possible. Luckly we still have all our instruments and lights so the tour will go on as scheduled with the exception of our alley katz show in Richmond VA tonight (9/12) which has been canceled so we can deal with this issue.
Stuff that was stolen
1. Brand new Red Ibenez Artcore Hollow body guitar, double humbuckers
In a epiphone case, semi scratched. Pocket Rocket headphone amp inside in console with $300-500 cash in it.
2. Macbook Pro silver. 15 inch. Not even a year old. Little bit of a dent on right front corner. In a foam silver and black gun case.
3. Macbook Black. Little beat up. One scratch in the middle of the screen.
4. Sound Devices 442 four channel mixer – Black
5. Sound Devices 744T four channel recorder – Silver
6. Schoeps condenser microphone w/ GVC & Cut 1 – silver
7. Audio Technica condenser microphone –Black
8. Sony 7506 Headphones – very used
9. Sony Cybershot camera 8.1 megapixels -silver
Total value approx. $12,000
**************************************************
Brett R. Wilson / Bombshelter Records
Management for Roots of Creation
Ph: 603-801-4477
[email protected]
Myspace: www.myspace.com/rootsofcreation
EPK: www.sonicbids.com/rootsofcreation
Label: www.harmonizedrecords.com
Booking: www.inthepocketartists.com
That really stinks. I had a rental car broken into and my stuff stolen while in Los Angeles (in Burbank, actually, to see the Tonight show, right in front of the NBC building, because they won’t let you bring in video or still cameras for some reason and I had to put it all in the trunk and I had already checked out of my hotel..). The Burbank police were no help at all either. That made me really hate L.A. and pretty much all of California. I am sad to hear the same thing happens in local Asheville. I hope it does not give these guys a similar view of our area.
thanks for posting here, ash.
i agree bcw, two friends have had a car window broken and (crappy) radios stolen in the last month downtown. 1 behind french broad food co-op, and one parked on lexington. a 1990 corolla and a 1985 volvo. not that it would be better if it were a 2008 mercedes, but at least then the owner could afford to fix the window with something other than duct tape.
i think stealing gear from a touring band is about as low as it gets. they’re struggling to spread love and peace around the country, making next to nothing money-wise, and then they get slapped like this.
Unfortunately, unless the band had serial numbers, a photo inventory, and insurance on all that gear, the chances of finding and recovering it are slim to none. That stuff will be pawned and/or sold for pennies on the dollar on the street in a heartbeat.
I’ve been a working musician for close to 10 years now, mainly here in Asheville, and finally got all my gear insured for this very reason. You can never be too careful, and leaving your gear in your car anywhere isn’t really a safe option. Sometimes you have no choice though.
The crime thing has really shot up in the last few weeks… My neighbor’s unit here in my apartment complex got broken into a few days ago (I’ve lived in this apartment for 5 years and have NEVER seen any crime-related event happen here), and I’ve heard/read spotty reports of more break-ins as well in downtown… this Garage thing is really a concern for all of us musicians because there are a ton of local players who frequent the Garage and the French Broad Brewery tasting room for shows. Keep your doors locked and your gear,or at least your car, where you can see it, folks!