When you play music, especially for a living, there are few things in life to which you have a greater emotional attachment than your instruments.
For the truly devoted player, they become more than mere assemblages of wood and brass, ivory and steel. You come to know and love their quirks and tolerate their temperamental flaws. They become, in essence, functional pieces of art saturated with memories.
Casey PhillipsWhen I lost my great-grandfather's bow at a show two years ago, it was gut-wrenching, as I wrote at the time. So it was with a great deal of empathetic bruising that I read that local swing band The 9th Street Stompers had their gear stolen while on tour in Ohio.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Stompers because they drove the length of Alabama to play at my wedding, and Lon Eldridge and Dalton Chapman are among the nicest and most talented guitarists in the city.
But their sad tale has a happy ending. Several, actually.
When their van was broken into outside Columbus, Ohio, the Stompers called the venue hosting their next gig in Mansfield, Ohio, to explain the situation. They thought they'd be forced to call off the tour, but instead, a recording studio owner happened to be at the bar, overheard the conversation and offered to let them use some of his equipment that night. Ultimately, that loan was extended to include the rest of their dates.
Even though the tour was salvaged, their own gear still needed replacing, so they took to crowdfunding website GoFundMe.com to ask for a bit of assistance. The response was immediate and enthusiastic.
Within two hours, Eldridge had raised the $830 he needed to replace his all-steel Regal resonator guitar, an instrument he loved so much he'd tattooed her name, "Bonnie," on his arm.
"I was indescribably happy," Eldridge says. "It almost brought me to tears just knowing that my friends and family and fans and even complete strangers who know me and love what I do would chip in for that kind of thing. There are people who I don't even know who chipped in $20, $25 or $50."
Shortly after Eldridge crossed the finish line, Chapman met his own $1,150 goal. As of this writing, drummer Samantha Brotherton and bassist Skip Frontz are less than $1,000 shy of the $4,800 they need to replace their bass, bass head, drums and other equipment.
This is one of those rare times when your faith in humanity is winded and on-the-ropes before staging a heroic, Rocky-esque comeback. Good for you, universe. You got this one right.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.