Yo Philadelphia, stop stealing musicians’ gear! (Thurston Moore’s guitar stolen last night)

Seriously – how many times are we going to tell this story? Awesome musician comes to town, plays show, wakes up the next morning to find all their gear stolen. In the case of Thurston Moore, who played Space 1026 last night, it was his sticker-covered circa-1960 Fender Jazzmaster guitar, one he often played live and one which appeared in many Sonic Youth photos and videos over the years. It was taken from the Best Western on 22nd and Pennsylvania Avenue, just north of the Parkway. From Thurston on Sonic Youth’s website:

A police report has been filed. Please email us if anyone tries to sell this relic to your store, it would be appreciated. Please forward to other guitar stores you may know in the area. … it has a Mastery Bridge, and the pickguard has been changed so stickers might be different. it’s a 1960 serial#41927

This isn’t the first time Sonic Youth had gear stolen; on tour in July of 1999, they suffered quite a loss of guitars, amps and records. It’s also not the first time a touring musician in Philadelphia has had gear stolen; folks from Frank Black to Kill Hannah have suffered this fate over the years. I’d try to make a log of all the incidents just in recent memory but it’s almost too embarrassing / depressing. For real, Philadelphia – stop stealing from touring musicians.