Indie musician John Vanderslice announced on his social media last week that someone broke into the recording studio he runs, Tiny Telephone, in Oakland, California. CBS News explains:
The studio lost all of the vintage electric guitars and basses kept onsite as well as several valuable microphones. One of the microphones — a 1961 Telefunken U47 — is valued at $38,000, according to Vanderslice. The lost guitars include a 1952 Nash Telecaster, a 1964 Epiphone Texan. a 1967 Gibson SG and an electric Gibson ES125 hollowbody from 1950.
Vanderslice has started a GoFundMe to help raise the money to replace the equipment. The campaign has already raised $56,000 of its $70,000 goal—including a $15,000 donation by fellow musician Jack White. Vanderslice describes the campaign:
Hello!!!! It's John Vanderslice. Early on the morning of April 15, we experienced every recording studio's worst nightmare – a crew forced their way through two reinforced doors, broke into Tiny Telephone and stole a number of items from the studio: all of our electric guitars & basses, and some very valuable microphones (including our 1961 Telefunken U47). We are all devastated. These are things we use daily to make music, beloved by the engineers and artists that record at Tiny Telephone. If you've ever played the Nash Telecaster or heard that U47, you know what I'm talking about!
Thankfully, nobody was hurt but the damage to the studio and the loss of equipment is incredibly painful – we're a small arts organization in Oakland, without any kind of corporate backing or tech money behind us. At our current rates, it would take years of booked studio time to pay for everything. The value of our single U47 microphone was $38,000. The cost of fixing and reinforcing all three points of entry alone to prevent future break-ins is around $15,000.
Tiny Telephone's day rate has stayed the same for 10 years: $400 a day. We want to remain affordable for new artists and foster a democratic and accessible culture for bands of all levels to make masterpieces here. (And they do!)
Because of this, we're raising money to offset these costs: help replace some of what was lost, repair the damage, and upgrade security in and around the studio.
Over on his Facebook page, he's been posting photos of the missing equipment, urging folks to be on the lookout for their 1961 Telefunken U47 (serial #2233), Nash T52 Telecaster (serial #km-117), and 1972 Fender Stratocaster. Be on the lookout, and donate here if you can.
