Anyone ever had gear stolen at a venue?

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

The real classic was when I traveled to L.A. a few years back with a rack full of thousands of dollars worth of RF mic receivers.
We had checked it as baggage and hand carried it to the T.S.A. people, but somehow it didn't make our flight.
Fortunately, ALL American Airlines flights into Burbank originate at DFW, so the rack was most likely on the next flight.
Being that I am Platinum status on AA helps things move along, but they were only somewhat concerned about this missing stuff.
They told me that they would call us and deliver it to the hotel once it arrived, so we left.

We stopped to eat lunch in North Hollywood and because we were so close I decided to go back to the airport and see if the rack was there yet.
If you have ever flown into Burbank/Bob Hope Airport on American Airlines you know that there is one baggage carousel at the end of the terminal where everything arrives.
When I pulled up to the curb I could see inside the terminal building and there on the carousel, all by itself, was the rack full of EXPENSIVE RF receivers going round and round.
I walked in, picked it up and carried it out to the rental car.

The next day AA called us and asked if the case had been delivered yet.
We said, "no."
Mean? Yes. Lying? No, because it HAD NOT been delivered.
We picked it up ourselves.
Someone called later and we explained everything, but we did get some form of compensation for the screw up.

All I can say is: Cover your rig.

Very similar story w Air Canada at the Winnipeg Folk Festival - no instruments arrived from Halifax, and we went to check as they never called and our hotel was 2 minutes away - suffice to say an entire band's road cases of instruments, PA, and the like were rolling around a carousel for over 2 hrs unattended - I was shaking with rage (I was in the band, but also road manager for that tour) and had some harsh words with AC over that one. Needless to say, they comped the next flights for our group...

[dbbubba]

You know.... this is bad vibe city, but I'll say it anyways in hopes that someone reads it and tales precautions to make sure it never happens to them.

You could watch that American Airlines carousel at Bob Hope and have a car sitting at the curb just steps away.
When you saw an interesting looking case you could just grab it and take off.
A LOT of gear comes in as checked baggage at that airport.

I have stayed at the Sheraton (once a Hilton) that is right across the street from that airport many, many times, so I rent cars at the airport.
The hotel shuttle drops you off right at that entrance and there the AA luggage carousel is... COMPLETELY un-attended.

It scares me to think about it.

[joelpatterson]

Well it scares me that you are thinking about it!

[sameal]

and it scares me that it scares joel that your scared thinking about it!

[pan]

Originally Posted by sameal

and it scares me that it scares joel that your scared thinking about it!

LOL, just human nature. In Germany we have a saying: Gelegenheit macht Diebe.
Opportunity makes a thief...

[dbbubba]

Yeah... you had better be afraid of what I think because if you have read some of the posts that KNOX has written about me you would see that I am a braggart and desperately need to validate my existence.

Someone as bad as me might actually come steal your stuff.

(Actually, if the trend of the last ten years holds true you will get tired of it all and call me trying to sell it. In the end you will give me a lot of it.)

Beware VERY wary of my friendship.

[sameal]

Originally Posted by pan

LOL, just human nature. In Germany we have a saying: Gelegenheit macht Diebe.
Opportunity makes a thief...

excellent point. if you make it easy, people who aren't even thief's usually, the thought will cross there minds.

don't give them the opportunity. people give me lip for locking up my car everywhere i go. "the neighborhoods safe, look at it! you think anyone's gonna do anything?"

not the point. if you present the opportunity.....

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

...
Beware VERY wary of my friendship.

(NOW he tells me!)

[Mr. Light]

Left a custom P.R.S. At Narita airport (Tokyo) overnight, sitting on a cart by the escalator. Came back the next day and it was still in the exact same place. Can't imagine anywhere else on the planet that would happen, anywhere else and it'd be gone in 10 seconds!

[Boschen]

Originally Posted by chrisrnps

How much gear are you carrying? Even if you have multiple keyboards or whatever, figure out a way to get cases for everything, and one of those convertible gear carts that can convert between a hand truck and flat rolling cart configuration, and set it up so that you CAN do everything in one trip. Have your name / band name stenciled on all the cases, rectangular (Anvil-style) cases that won't slip all over the place like the slippery rounded SKB cases, and come up with a way to stack everything on your gear cart and strap it all together with ratchet straps or those black rubber straps. Bring a black sheet that you can throw over the whole cart or the whole set-up rig so it's more obvious if somebody's rummaging around where they shouldn't be; between that and stacking/strapping everything together it'll buy you a few minutes of slowing down potential thieves and making them more noticeable. A case with a handle that somebody can "grab and go" inconspicuously is the most tempting, a strapped-together stack on a cart could make it practical for you to make one trip for load-in and load-out, and make it less easy for gear grabbers.

Problem solved (mostly). This is exactly the way I transport and store my equipment at work, which includes high end fiber optic test gear, sometimes my computer, sometimes audio stuff, boxes of cable, and hand and power tools. All of it goes into hard and soft cases that go onto a folding dolly/cart and get strapped in place. I can bring in all my gear and tools into a job in one trip without leaving anything out or having to leave the truck bed open with gear in it. After I unpack what I need, the rest stays out of the way on the cart, covered with a drop cloth.

I use a similar system for running sound gear with my band. Everything is in a case, which goes onto the dolly and into the venue. When the gear is unpacked, we pack the cases into one another, then back onto the cart, lock wheels and it's now a stable surface for the small soundboard.

However, like others pointed out, if you play out enough, something will go missing. Usually it's the little stuff like cables, straps, accessories and the like, things that can get grabbed off stage. What you need to watch are guitars, small electronics and other pricey stuff; keep it all well back from the edge of the stage, also safe from spilled beer. Don't leave your gear unattended between sets in a busy club environment, or something will walk off. I'm more paranoid than most, and I still remember the time someone grabbed my guitar unseen while we were loading out of a bar gig. It was the second guitar I'd ever owned, and sentimental to me. The bar owner knew his patrons well, and told me he would recover it--I got it back in two days.

When a still small voice in your head says; 'Don't leave that outboard rack sitting out in the alley alone, even for a minute!', you damn well better listen to it.

[Knox]

sniffle sniffle . . . I'm hurt Danny! . . . to OP . . When I was doing Beatlemania on Broadway (which was a MAJOR show on BROADWAY in the 70s / because I have been a MAJOR figure in the entertainment business for a MILLION YEARS and have experienced everything and everyone (MAJOR BACK PAT! *smile*) . . . we were broken into a couple of times where vintage guitars were stolen. Once in particular was a drag because they stole a hard to find and very nice rosewood tele, among other things. Though I was able to buy basically a brand new (still had tags / old one) from Stephen Stills (name drop / how am I doin patting my own back?? / *smile*). The crazy thing is . . when we were doing the show / tour in Tokyo (a very cool place I have been that no one else has /another pat on my back / *smile*) . . the place we were doing the show had no locks!! When I told the Japanese promoter that the gear would get stolen . . he just smiled and said "no". Guess what? We never even had a guitar pick stolen!! Different cultures, different times. You certainly have to be careful these days. Never leave your guitars / basses unattended. Especially vintage gear. Sadly, gear gets stolen many times from gigs. But that is why I always had roadies watch the stage at all times when I tour managed acts (patting myself on the ass / *smile*).

btw . .I'm willing to laugh at myself with my tongue firmly planted in cheek with my ridiculous 'back patting' comments above. I have to always remember to laugh at myself because we ALL have the ability to be ridiculous at the drop of the hat. Just don't do it for years!. . . even laugh at the comment ABOUT me *smile* Life is too short to do other wise or take yourself too serious.

Originally Posted by dbbubba

Yeah... you had better be afraid of what I think because if you have read some of the posts that KNOX has written about me you would see that I am a braggart and desperately need to validate my existence.

Someone as bad as me might actually come steal your stuff.

(Actually, if the trend of the last ten years holds true you will get tired of it all and call me trying to sell it. In the end you will give me a lot of it.)

Beware VERY wary of my friendship.

[Dana K]

Thiefs arent the only thing you have to watch out for in a live sound environment...

I was doing a DJ gig years back....during the set there was a small fight in the crowd and a perfectly placed slap sent a drink (in one of those red party cups) flying through the air landing and pouring all over my mixer (brand new Vestax...like had it for 24 hours brand new) After cleaning I still ended up having to replace all the faders.

One other story happened to a friend of mine. Went to a gig and left his laptop on top of some speakers before his set. When he went to boot it up for his set he found that the speakers had erased his HD! Luckily he had his files backed up on a usb stick and was able to use another performers laptop.

When youre in that environment you have to keep your guard up at all times....

[adeptusmajor]

Originally Posted by pan

In Germany we have a saying: Gelegenheit macht Diebe.
Opportunity makes a thief...

i'm sorry, but that just stinks of the whole "blame society for your own actions and shortcomings" mindset that so many people have these days.

like if i had my car stolen, somehow it would be my fault for leaving the door unlocked. it couldn't be the thief's fault for actually committing the crime.

or it could be like rosie o'donnell blaming her silverware for the fact that she is fat. they provided the opportunity and the means to shovel all that food in there, right?


anyway, back on topic - if you are in a band playing live gigs, you can expect something to walk every now and then. hopefully it ends up just being some cables or something else small.

a few years back i had a G&L guitar walk somehow after we packed it up after a gig. luckily a guy in one of the other bands recognized it as mine laying with a pile of somebody else's gear and he grabbed it. i didn't know it was gone until we unloaded the next morning, and my buddy called me about ten minutes after i started freaking out: "hey man, i gotcher fiddle...".

[slaves666]

I had my gear stolen the first few months when I moved to Los Angeles. I had insurance but it still was a pain.

At namm a few years ago I saw a product that you put in you van or trailer and if any movement is detected it sounds an alarm and will also text or call your cell phone.

In Montreal bands gear gets stolen often, usually cuz they leave the van unattended at the hotel. The last few thefts, they steal the van and or the trailer so unless you take turns sleeping in the van with a bat like I did many a tour......make sure you're insured.

[dbbubba]

Originally Posted by slaves666

The last few thefts, they steal the van and or the trailer so unless you take turns sleeping in the van with a bat like I did many a tour......make sure you're insured.

I've known people who had ENTIRE SEMI-TRAILER AND TRACTOR RIGS FULL OF PRODUCTION STOLEN STOLEN! The gear, the trailer AND the tractor.

I know of several large production companies that require their drivers to drive out of certain major cities before staying the night in a motel.

Fortunately, most people won't steal entire large trucks of gear because they just don't know what to do with it all.
When this happens the whole things usually crosses the border into Mexico.

We leave lot's of audio, video and lighting gear un-attended in hotel ballrooms and what usually walks off is head set RF mics, handheld RF mics and any computer ever left out for any length of time.
Obviously, these things need to be secured when not in use.

It is mostly the consumer oriented stuff and musical instruments that disappear.
You won't see Midas consoles, racks of gear and especially lighting equipment get stolen.

[lynyrd]

I never had anything stolen from a gig, but somebody walked off with a vintage Les Paul/SG from an act my band opened for. The guitar player was crushed (understandably) when he asked us if we had seen it but had not. A few years later, the same guitar became "available" to us from an obviously unsavory outside source. We were able to retrieve it and re-unite the original owner with his stolen guitar. They were good guys and it felt good to be able to help him get his baby back. Good karma all around. Sometimes the bad guys don't win.

[joeq]

Originally Posted by NYMo

Hi there,

About 25 years ago, my roadies caught some bogan trying to take my cased DX7 (which were the shit then !) from inside the gig to the main door.

It was only when I saw him (the roadies hadn't noticed) and yelled, that they grabbed him.
I grabbed my DX7 and the roadies grabbed him and took him out the back to *teach him a lesson*
I rushed out to stop them and asked the guy why he did it.
He just said he was pissed and it was a spur of the moment thing...

... and then I nodded and gave my roadies the OK to stomp the crap out of him.

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by slaves666

In Montreal bands gear gets stolen often, usually cuz they leave the van unattended at the hotel. The last few thefts, they steal the van and or the trailer so unless you take turns sleeping in the van with a bat like I did many a tour......make sure you're insured.

LOL.

During most of our nat'l tours (incl. the aforementioned one), that's EXACTLY what I did. Sadly, I couldn't sleep in it at the airport arrivals area, as the parking tickets were more than our paying gig...

[pan]

Originally Posted by adeptusmajor

i'm sorry, but that just stinks of the whole "blame society for your own actions and shortcomings" mindset that so many people have these days.

Nah, it just means that you should always be careful and have an eye on your stuff.

[misterlong]

Yep

Lost an in ear monitoring system, complete with custom moulds.

Insurance covered it of course.

Always take my trombone with me everywhere whenever I am on tour, unless it is in a locked place and I have the key. Every thing else is replaceable or too heavy to bother with.

Specify in your rider/contract with the venue that you require a secure locking dressing room/store. keep everything in there while you get pissed after and then straight on the bus and out!

Just make sure you got insurance. To be honest your gear is more likely to get drinks poured in it, or dropped by an overtired stagehand than it is to get stolen. Same outcome, no useable gear!!

Keep the valuable/irreplaceble stuff with you at all times! Good Luck!!

long

[ianbryn11]

Ive got a funny gear stolen from a venue story...

I was playing a gig with my old band in Williamsburg... My cousin came out to that show, and we all had a bit to much to drink.. Him especially... At the end of the nite, he grabbed what he thought was his backpack, and left the bar. Turned out, he didnt bring a backpack that nite...

My friend who played in one of the other bands that nite told me that his bag was stolen, with all his effect pedals, and cables in it.. SUcks, but not the end of the world...

The next day, my cousin called asking if i was missing a backpack with some effects boxes in it.. I said no, and then a lightbulb went off... He returned it to me, and i returned it to my buddy... Happy ending...

[CompEq]

I now have a snare stand that I'm not completely sure was the one I bought. It might have gotten "traded" with another drummer's at one gig. He probably doesn't know that he grabbed mine by mistake and left his.

In another instance during the time I was recording a band, they had a gig scheduled. It was only a few blocks from the studio in a warehouse converted for occasional shows. At some point after they had played, one of the guitarist's vintage Marshall heads disappeared. I couldn't believe it because there were so many people the band knew at the gig. I'd have thought somebody would have been appointed to watch the gear. Anyway the band was really upset about it and with just cause. I can't remember what we used to finish the recording, though. Probably a borrowed head.

Originally Posted by Jordan15

See I'm super sketched, because if I lost my SH-2 or Polysix (which has a non-corroded circuit board) I'd probably lose the will to live :(

If that's the case then you might think of getting some less prized equipment for the road and keep the good stuff for the studio.

[misterlong]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

The real classic was when I traveled to L.A. a few years back with a rack full of thousands of dollars worth of RF mic receivers.
We had checked it as baggage and hand carried it to the T.S.A. people, but somehow it didn't make our flight.
Fortunately, ALL American Airlines flights into Burbank originate at DFW, so the rack was most likely on the next flight.
Being that I am Platinum status on AA helps things move along, but they were only somewhat concerned about this missing stuff.
They told me that they would call us and deliver it to the hotel once it arrived, so we left.

We stopped to eat lunch in North Hollywood and because we were so close I decided to go back to the airport and see if the rack was there yet.
If you have ever flown into Burbank/Bob Hope Airport on American Airlines you know that there is one baggage carousel at the end of the terminal where everything arrives.
When I pulled up to the curb I could see inside the terminal building and there on the carousel, all by itself, was the rack full of EXPENSIVE RF receivers going round and round.
I walked in, picked it up and carried it out to the rental car.

The next day AA called us and asked if the case had been delivered yet.
We said, "no."
Mean? Yes. Lying? No, because it HAD NOT been delivered.
We picked it up ourselves.
Someone called later and we explained everything, but we did get some form of compensation for the screw up.

All I can say is: Cover your rig.

Similar story for us:

We were playing in Istanbul and flew there from london. We checked all our flight cased gear in to the hold (24 track alesis HD, loadsa synths, a couplea P basses, a fender jaguar, my precious trombone etc etc)

When you arrive there you have to 'buy' your visa from a little booth before you can go through passport control. It is not done in advance so it is a massive fight to get through. You also have to pay in cash, not turkish, but the relevant currency of your country of origin. I managed to scrape together what we needed but we ended up at the back of the queue. It took over 2 hours to get the visas, then passport control etc.

By the time we got through the carousell was empty. and our gear nowhere to be seen.

we eventually found it piled up about 3 yards from the main exit door to the terminal. Anyone could have picked it up and walked with it!! Fortunately they hadn't and it was all there still!! Amazing!!

long