SlipLive

Just got an email...

man, do i not want to be doing this at the end of the night. i just got home from a gig with my band club d'elf at the lizard lounge, and i am without my baby, my '61 fender jazz bass (see picture). someone walked off with it, took it right off the stage under everyone's nose in the confusion and relaxed hanging atmosphere of the post-gig. the thing that smarts the most, other than this is like my favorite bass, one that is like an old friend and that i've had for over 16 years and used on countless sessions and gigs and is simply irreplaceable - no, the thing that really gets me is that it was taken by someone who sat there and watched us play - maybe the whole night, 3 hours worth - watched us play a REALLY good gig, and then decided they could take something so precious to one of the musicians who just entertained them for the evening. it blows my mind. it's late and i need to get to sleep, and in the morning i'll dig up more pictures, whatever, but in the meantime i would appreciate it if you would keep your eyes out for it. it's going to be hard to sell this bass in this area, as there are so many distinguishing features, the most recognizable of which is a deep, wear mark just over the pick guard. the bass has a sunburst finish, and the serial number is #67657. please, if you have any info, drop me a line at this address : microvard@clubdelf.com, or call 617-513-7976, and i'd appreciate it if you could forward this around. no questions asked. i just want it back.

This should bring up picture

thanks

you can't view that picture without logging in to that site...

Man, that sucks. And the Lizard Lounge is such a cozy, neighborhood place. I hope they find it. That's one of the coolest basses I've ever seen and heard. I feel Micro's pain...

It is surprising that someone in the Club D'elf/Liz Lounge community would do that. That is a small, tight knit community. It must have been an interloper......

hi everyone,

just wanted to start your weeks off with some good news : i got my bass back last night. i had gone out to dinner and a movie (the departed...highly recommend it) with friends and family to take my mind off of things, and had turned my phone off for a few hours. when i turned it back on there was a message from an anonymous woman stating that she was dropping the bass off at the cambridge common, which houses the lizard lounge, her drunk brother having taken it thursday night. apparently he is a musician and will be shipping out to boot camp in a couple of weeks, and had done the deed in a drunken moment of fancy, not having any plans to sell it. he felt very bad about it, and she was returning it for him. my heart leapt. could it be? or just another prank. (someone had posted on craigs list on friday offering my bass for sale, using MY picture of the bass in the ad, and no way to respond....some folks got a twisted sense of humor...) the next message was from suzanne, the general manager of the cambridge common, stating that indeed, the bass was there. happy happy, joy joy! then a message from billy beard saying the same thing. i rushed back to the table at the restaurant with the good news, and we drove back to jamaica plain so that i could get a gig bag for the instrument (it having been taken right off of the stand, without a case), and then jubilantly on to cambridge for the reuniting.

downstairs in the office lay a black plastic bag-wrapped shape of a bass, and feeling as close as i will come as an adult to what i felt like as a young child on christmas morning, i tore open the plastic and revealed the gorgeous, familiar form of my 1961 fender jazz bass, the little cable used to connect to a preamp still sticking from it's jack, like an umbilical cord. i hugged bryn the manager and dashed off, about as elated as i could ever hope to be. my sister snapped a picture of me with it when we got to her home, and i thought i would share that moment of celebration with you, even though it is kind of hokey. it's a beautiful bass, and it's hard not to feel like an ecstatic, proud parent holding it.

though the last few days have been hell for me, i have to say that i have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the greater music community. people i know, people i don't know, bassists, non- bassists, non-musicians...all came forward with encouragement, advice, stories of similar loss (some of which ended happily, some not), and generous offers of help. a couple of people offered the loan of instruments of theirs, and 2 people created websites w/ info about the stolen bass (thanks jeremy and albert!) people forwarded my info to their friends, who forwarded it on, and so on and so on, so i was getting responses from folks all over. if you don't realize this already, we are part of an incredible, intrinsically connected community, and we really care about each other. i'm sorry, but i'm crying right now. i am...just...so...thankful. thank you. thank you. thank you. my words fall pitifully short of the deep gratitude i feel. i hope i have a chance to meet some of the strangers who i came to know, and though i hope this sort of thing does not happen to any of you, if it does, i will be part of the community which will come to your aid, and will do all i can to make you feel as supported as i have felt these past fews days. it is a humbling feeling.

i can't say that i'm glad all of this happened - i had better things to do this weekend than work non-stop on this, and i know all of you did as well, taking time out of more important tasks to help with this - but i have learned something very powerful and profound from it. perhaps i could not have learned this any other way, and maybe i needed for this to happen. hard to say. i feel like i have a lot more friends than i did going into it, and if there is anything i can do for you, please let me know. the funny thing is i don't feel more cynical or mistrusting because of this happening. i will probably think twice about taking this bass out into possibly sketchy situations, but i am not going to lock it up and never take it out again. i'll probably play it at the lizard lounge on the next club d'elf gig there nov 30. i just won't live in fear, and suffer NOT playing my favorite bass live. but i will be careful, oh yes. if you are a musician, you might want to heed some advice, as i have learned a few things from this experience, namely :

1. take pictures of your instrument and keep them somewhere easily accessible. close-ups, shots of the serial number, any distinguishing marks. definitely write down the serial number.
2. file a police report immediately after your instrument has been taken. copies of the photos will be very helpful for the police.


3. in massachusetts every item that comes into a pawn shop has to be registered, and is held for 30 days. the main pawn unit is the location on tremont st in the south end. rhode island, new hampshire, etc do not have these laws unfortunately, so if the thief knows what they are doing they will probably try to unload it out of state.
4. don't give up. access this amazing community online. word will get out, and folks will come to your aid. accept it and let it feed your state of mind, for staying positive is pretty crucial.

alright, enough of my yakking. thank you again. you have no idea how happy i am to NOT be calling EVERY pawn shop in nyc today! yay for our team!

peace,

mike (micro)

that's great news! I will make sure to attend the next club d'elf performance in celebration of the recovery.