How a band was reunited with a stolen metal guitar thanks to a keen eye in Merced
MERCED, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – An American post-metal band has been reunited with their prized metal bass guitar after it was spotted by an employee at a Merced music store.
The guitar was among several instruments stolen in Chowchilla after a performance in Fresno three years ago.
On Oct 16, 2021, Russian Circles opened for big headliners Korn and System of a Down at the Save Mart Center. The band was set to play the following day in Oakland, but they first decided to stop and rest at a hotel in Chowchilla.
However, while they were there, their trailer was broken into. In a Facebook post, the band posted a picture of the aftermath.
The band posted to social media to be on the lookout for what was stolen, which included:
A rare Electrical Guitar Company Series 2 bass
Gibson Les Paul Custom ‘85 and Gibson Les Paul Custom ‘87
A custom Baritone Guitar
Multiple Amps
Multiple Pedals
Drumming Equipment
Mics
The trailer had barely anything left, the gear that they would use to continue the tour was completely gone.
Following the theft, the band manager set up a GoFundMe where she wrote:
“Russian Circles are one of the most hardworking bands I’ve met. As their manager, it has been so hard to watch them suffer back-to-back financial losses because of this pandemic – first with a full European tour cancellation that left them deeply in debt and now having all their gear stolen while out in California for their first shows back in two years.”
The band’s insurance had lapsed, meaning the theft would not be covered, but the GoFundMe effort raised over $62,000 and Russian Circles was able to continue their tour the following year.
In early March 2023, a Craigslist posting for an Electrical Guitar Company Series 2 bass was seen by the right person.
“No one in this area plays that bass, it’s all made of metal. That’s what a professional would use,” said Jon Abel, who used to work at Gottschalk Music Center in Merced.
Normally, bass guitars are made of wood— and Abel immediately recognized how rare a metal bass guitar would be. Abel estimates that there are only 100 to 400 metal bass guitars in existence.
The discovery reminded Abel of the theft Russian Circles had suffered a few years previously in the next town over. He saved the listing photo and sent it to a mutual friend of Brian Cook, Russian Circles’ bassist.
Cook confirmed that the photo was of his bass. Abel devised a plan with his former co-workers at Gottschalk Music Center in Merced. They would tell the seller who had the bass to bring it to be appraised to sell. Once the seller arrived Abel and his team took the bass into a back room for the “appraisal” checking the serial number – which was a match to what Cook provided over the phone.
Abel called the Merced Police Department, but they were unaware of the value of the bass, and the seller who brought in the bass was released. The bass was then transported to the Chowchilla Police Department since the crime happened at a hotel in the city and it was held for evidence.
By August, Abel said he was given permission to retrieve the bass, but Cook was out on tour in a different state and would be gone for some time. Then in December, Cook was playing with another metal band at a sold-out show in San Francisco, making it the perfect opportunity for Abel and his coworkers to meet Cook and return the stolen bass.
In a post on their social media, Russian Circles wrote that they were “beyond thrilled” to be reunited with the unique instrument.
“We are beyond thrilled to announce that we have been re-united with several of these instruments in recent months. The Electric Guitar Company Bass would never have come back in our possession if not for the folks spreading the news about the theft.”
The band added that three other instruments were also recovered in a drug bust elsewhere in California, including a Les Paul and First Act “Bearitone.”
“These Guitars were easily the most cherished and/or irreplaceable items and we can’t understate the joy we felt in having them back,” the band wrote on social media.
