More than $50,000 worth of gear belonging to psyche rockers The Brian Jonestown Massacre has been recovered by police in Portland. The stash included custom made guitars and effects pedals, which have long played an essential role in the band’s unique sound and have “enormous sentimental value.”
Like just about every other music artist on the planet, BJM had just wanted to get back on the road, after two years of lockdowns and quarantines. Frontman, songwriter, composer, studio owner, multi-instrumentalist, producer and engineer Anton Newcombe had survived a pair of bouts of COVID in his current home of Berlin, and the band wrote and recorded two entirely new albums, including the highly anticipated Fire Doesn’t Grow on Trees, which is due to be released digitally on June 24.
Newcombe posted on social media a thank you for the “unbelievable kindness of the Portland music community” in getting the word out, and praised the police for their skillful and swift detective work.
“We are all eternally greatful to the portland police department for their help in finding our stolen equipment. It has been said that it had great sentimental value, however, I am not very sentimental, I use my gear to create music 6 days a week, to feed my family and employ my friends,” Newcombe said. “These are the tool of my craft, no different than a truck full of tools used in construction or any other trade. I also wish to thank everyone for their outpouring of concern, and for spreading the word, especially Dan at KATU TV.”
The city’s KATU reported at the time that crew had discovered the gear missing sometime between 4 am and 5 pm, and Newcombe tweeted that the theft included a rare Vox ultrasonic 12 guitar, as well as a Vox Starstreamer 12, Gibson ES 12, Fender Jazz bass, Harmony Sovereign 6 acoustic with Dean Markley, Eko 6 string acoustic with built in pickup, and one guitar tech tool kit.