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Atlanta-based band Yacht Rock Revue has equipment stolen in Fort Worth
Nicholas Niespodziani and his band were performing with legendary guitarist and singer Kenny Loggins in Fort Worth, Texas and the show went great but the fun and excitement were cut short the next morning after learning their trailer containing thousands of dollars worth of instruments was stolen overnight outside their hotel.
HOUSTON - There's a popular saying that "it's all fun and games until the cops come out," but for Nicholas Niespodziani and his band, Yacht Rock Revue, the fun was over way before they had to call 911.
PREVIOUS: Band has their equipment trailer stolen after playing show in Fort Worth
During the last weekend of April, he and his rock band were performing with legendary guitarist and singer Kenny Loggins in Fort Worth, Texas and the show went great, Niespodziani tells me in an interview. However, the fun and excitement were cut short after their trailer containing thousands of dollars worth of instruments was stolen outside their hotel overnight.
"We come off the stage, and we're just buzzing; everybody's loving life," he said. "And then, you know, we go to our hotel, and I wake up this morning, the next morning to like 15 texts in a thread about our trailer being stolen."
"I was just like, ‘is this a joke? Is somebody like just trying to make light of this after, you know, such an epic night?’ and it turns out, no," Niespodziani continued. "One of the guys in our crew went downstairs at like six in the morning and was having his coffee and looked out and saw the trailer was missing off of the van. And you know, it was parked right out in front of the hotel where you could see it, it was crazy."
As common as instruments getting stolen, Niespodziani and his bandmates took necessary precautions to ensure their belongings were properly stored and protected, but it was to no avail.
"These guys were super professional who did it," he explained. "I don't think it was their first time stealing a trailer like… we had several mechanisms in place, they were able to like cut the locks off of the trailer hitch, slipped the transmission in the van, tow the van forward like 15 feet so that you get whatever they had in there to hook up the trailer to their hitch and took off from there."
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There were even AirTags placed inside the instruments' cases but were removed and thrown away.
"They had some kind of detector for AirTags because we had a few cases that had AirTags in them, and they were able to figure out which cases had air tags and ditch those at a different location," Niespodziani added. "We found our saxophone player's sax in the middle of the street in this neighborhood in Fort Worth, where they had like, emptied it out. There was literally a saxophone in the street and then the AirTag next to it like - it was very advanced. I didn't even know you can do that kind of thing."
All in all, Niespodziani estimates $150,000 worth of instruments and the trailer were taken. However, the stolen item's sentimental estimates are priceless.
"It's a lot more than just the dollars of it," Niespodziani noted.
"There are guitar straps that my dad hand-beaded for me on all of my guitars," he continued. "There was a custom guitar that our guitar player Monkey Boy had just had, he had waited six months to be able to order it from the custom shop with all the specifications that he wanted - exactly like he wanted it and all the digital stuff, there are all these presets that we created, that we're not going to be able to have to recreate on the next set of gear."
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Adding even more stress to the Atlanta-based band, the same day their instruments were stolen, they were scheduled to perform in Houston, Texas.
"We were playing a concert in Houston, that was a fundraiser for a cancer research charity," Niespodziani explained. "And we're looking at the schedule, like ‘how do we make this show still happen?’ You know, we don't want to disappoint all these people and be a drag on the charity."
Fortunately, the band made a new friend out of strangers through Paul Beebe of Disco Expressions in Houston.
"I got a phone call from a number I didn't recognize, so I didn't answer, but then I got a text; It was from one of the road managers for [Yacht Rock Revue]," he said. "They were trying to scramble to get gear and get down to Houston and everything to play this gala, and so we said we'd be happy to help because that's a rough situation to be in."
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Houston band steps into help fellow musicians who had equipment stolen in Fort Worth
After Atlanta-based band, Yacht Rock Revue had their equipment stolen in Fort Worth, they were scrambling to get ready for their next show in Houston but fortunately, they had help from strangers in the Space City. We talk to Paul Beebe of Disco Expressions to hear how they connected.
"They say, you know, ‘not only can you use our stuff, but we have a studio, and we have all of this gear that you can use if you need,’ and just anything we needed," Niespodziani added. "They were immediately there for us, which was super cool."
Beebe noted how common it is for instruments to be stolen from musicians due to how hard they are to recover and lucrative a crime it is for thieves.
"The equipment is hard to trace; there's lots of gear out there and if it can be sold easily on the market, it's expensive," he explained. "Guitars can cost thousands of dollars and amplifiers can be thousands of dollars. It's easy to sell it to a pawn shop or online or wherever; it's very easy to shop it around, and it's worth a lot of money."
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There are some steps musicians can take, however, to try and prevent instrument theft or at least get them recovered.
"Make sure you get your serial numbers on all your gear, especially guitars, they all have serial numbers on them," Bebee advised. "And you can report those serial numbers. And sometimes you get stuff back, because of that.
"I have a friend who had a guitar stolen out of his car here in Houston, and he reported it to the police, and it showed up in a pawn shop, and he got it back," he continued. "So you can get it back, but if you don't have any sort of way to identify your gear other than ‘it’s a fender strat,' then you're gonna be out of luck."
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Regardless, Niespodziani and the rest of YRR are patiently letting the Fort Worth PD continue their investigation. Meanwhile, they are continuing their shows, and taking alternative measures to give fans a wonderful experience; demonstrating true artistry through improvising.
"We're lucky in that we're not just an indie rock band, right?" he said. "Like if this would have happened to us 10 years ago when we were still getting our feet under us, it would have been a crushing blow. But we're, we're lucky in that we've gotten to a point where we can take a hit like this and still be able to play all our shows."
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For this reason, Beebe also noted the importance of supporting local artists and live music.
"It's a special thing," he said. "You can watch TV anytime, you can't see a band every time."
Niespodzian echoed similar statements adding while has been encouraged to start a GoFundMe or find a way to raise money and recover from their tragedy, he is just hoping more people will come to see them do what they love.
"I would say if you want to support us just come to our concerts we're playing some shows with Kenny [Loggins] in Austin, and in Houston later this Fall, or Summer, maybe, and then we're doing a headlining show ourselves in San Antonio," he concluded. "Just get some tickets to our shows, and if you see any really nice guitars on Craigslist, that don't look like they should be there (laughs)."
The band has posted a full list of the nearly 250 items stolen in their comments page in a Facebook post, which are also listed below:
- 2002 Gibson ES 333 w/ James Tyler Pickups
- 65 Amps 2x12 Cabinet
- Kemper Stage Profiler
- Kemper powered Profiling Amp
- Line 6 G10s Wireless System 1 Custom Tuki Cabinet Cover
- Custom Tuki Amp Cover
- Custom Amp Cabinet
- Horizon Ethercon 25’ Cable
- Don Grosh Retro Classic Aged Lake Placid Blue w/Barden Pickups & Case
- Gibson 1976 Black Greco EGC-1000 Les Paul with case
- 1989 Ernie Ball Music Man Silhouette Honey Burst Finish
- 2020 Ernie Ball Stingray 6 String Electric
- Kemper Foot Controller
- Kemper powered Profiling Amp
- TC Electronics Bonafide Buffer
- SKB iSeries Equipment Box
- SKB 3i-2015-7KPS
- Don Grosh ElectraJet
- Thon Line 6 FBV Pedal Board
- 4 Monster Cables
- (2) Mission Engineering EP1KP Expression Pedal
- Voodoo Labs Wahzoo Pedal
- Ernie Ball VPJR pedal
- Custom Vintage V6 Icon w/Zexcoil Tribucker HSS Pickups
- Ernie Ball VPJR pedal
- Afuche Cabasa
- Remo Vintage Emperor Tom Drumhead Pack (Coated) 12, 13, and 16 in. Coated 6 2-Pack Remo Emperor Coated Drumhead - 14 inch Value Bundle
- 2-Pack Remo Ambassador Hazy Snare-side Drumhead - 14 inch Value Bundle
- Aquarian Super Kick II Clear Bass Drum Head (22")
- Remo Ambassador 22" Resonant head clear
- Yamaha YFL 661 flute
- Yamaha YPC-32 piccolo
- Yamaha YAS-62 alto saxophone
- (2) Retro Revival alto saxophone mouthpieces
- Yamaha YTS-875 tenor saxophone
- (2) Guardala studio mouthpiece (laser trimmed)
- (2) Shure Beta 98 H/C microphones
- (2) Shure BLX1 Wireless Transmitter H10 frequency band 7 Shure BLX4R Wireless Receiver
- Shure BLX4R Wireless Receiver
- Line 6 M9 effects pedal
- Line 6 M9 effects pedal
- Battle Cases BCS 200
- Pelican Air 1615 cases for Tenor Sax with custom foam
- Pelican Air 1615 cases for Alto and EWI with custom foam 7 (2) Hercules sax stands with peg
- Akai EWI4000s electronic wind instrument
- Macbook Pro 15 inch laptop with power supply
- Midisport 2x2 midi/USB interface
- Midisport 2x2 midi/USB interface
- Tech 21 Midi Mouse pedal
- (2) Middle Atlantic steel rack shelves
- SKB Studio Flyer 4U rack/case
- Nord Electro 6D 73 keyboard
- Roland Fantom X6 keyboard
- SKB ATA 76 Note keyboard case
- SKB ATA 61 Note Keyboard Case for Roland Fantom X6 7 (2) Yamaha FC4 Sustain Pedals
- (2) M-Audio EX-P Expression Pedals
- (2) QuikLok QL7422 2 Tier Keyboard Stand
- SKB 2317-14 case
- Mackie 802vlz3 Mixer
- DW 3000 Series Drum Throne
- SKB 2217-10 case
- LP Aspire Wood Bongos
- LP A245 Bongo Stand
- SKB 4816-w Case
- Meinl Headliner Stand
- Meinl Medium Afuche Cabasa
- Meinl Louis Conte Grey Shaker
- LP 150 Cyclops Tambourine
- LP Egg Shaker
- Gilbraltar SC-Sat 12’ x 12" LP Percussion Tray
- Gator GP-66 Protechtor double pedal bag (padded)QQ
- ProCo Sign Off Latching Mute Switch
- Roland BT-1 Bar Trigger
- Mackie 1402-VLZ4
- Proline PL400 Single X-Braced Keyboard Stand
- Proline PL400 Double X-Braced Keyboard Stand
- (2) M-Audio EX-P Expression Pedals
- (2) Yamaha FC4 Sustain Pedals
- QuikLok QL7422 2 Tier Keyboard Stand
- Roland RT 30 Kick Trigger
- Roland RT 30 HR Dual Trigger
- Roland RCC-10-TR28v2 Cable
- Boss FS-6 Dual Switch Pedal
- Roland SPD-SX Drum Pad W/ PDS-10 Pad Stand F7H9705
- Plastic Molded Case for Drum Pad
- Circa 1970s Ludwig Vistalite 14" x 22" in red
- Circa 1970s Ludwig LM400
- Pearl Brass 5' x 14'
- Circa 1970s Ludwig Vistalite 8' x 12" in red
- Circa 1970s Ludwig Vistalite 9" x 13" in red
- Circa 1970s Ludwig Vistalite 16" x 16" in red
- 1 Gibraltar 9706 Snare Stand
- 2 Gibraltar 9710-TP Straight Stand
- 2 Gibraltar 9709TP Boom Stand
- 1 Gibraltar 9707ML-DPBoom Stand Moveable Leg Hi Hat Stand
- Avedis Zildjian 14" Quick Beat Hi Hats
- Zildjian K Custom Session Crash 16"
- Zildjian K Custom Session Crash 18"
- Avedis Zildjian 10" Splash
- Zildjian K Custom Hybrid China 19"
- Zildjian 20" K Ride
- DW DWCP9002 9000 Series Double Bass Drum Pedal
- Evans E-Rings Standard Pack (12", 13", 14", 16")
- Big Fat Snare Drum Auto-Tone Snare Drum Topper - 14"
- Big Fat Snare Drum Green Monster Snare Topper - 14" - Heavy Ply
- 5 Yamaha MX49 Synth Controller
- SKB 3i-3614-TKBD iSeries Rolling Waterproof 49-key Keyboard Case
- (3) USB Thumb Drives
- Gorilla Ears 3-Driver IEMs
- Tama 1st Chair Ergo-Rider Drum Throne - HT730B
- SKB Roto-X Molded Drum Case 22 x 18 in
- SKB Roto-X Molded Drum Case 14 x 5.5 in.(2)
- SKB Roto-X Molded Drum Case 12 x 8 in.
- SKB Roto-X Molded Drum Case 13 x 9 in.
- SKB Roto-X Molded Drum Case 16 X 16 in.
- SKB Roto-Molded 22" Cymbal Vault With Handle & Wheels
- SKB Roto-Molded Mid-sized Drum Hardware Case With Handle & Wheels
- Latin Percussion Mountable Salsa Timbale Cowbell, ES-5
- Meinl MC-BD Bass Drum Cowbell Holder/Mount
- Meinl Designer Stick Bag Black - MSB-1
- Vic Firth American Classic 5B Wood Tip (6 Pair)
- Kemper Stage Case .
- Expression Pedal
- Expression Pedal Black
- 6-string Acoustic Guitar Guitar Case
- Guitar Case
- Replacement Value
- SKB Telecaster Flight Case
- (2) Custom Keyboard Stands with Tolex
- Road Case for Deville
- Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal
- Greer Amps Southland Harmonic Overdrive 3 (4) Monster guitar cable, '21
- Lava Retro Coil guitar cable '20
- PEDAL POWER 2 POWER SUPPLY
- AMPEG PF 410HLF
- Electro-Harmonix Bass Micro Synth Pedal and power supply.
- 1975 Fender Precision (Walnut Brown) 628540
- 1988 Fender Squire Jazz (black) E 805555
- 1997 EB MUSIC MAN STINGRAY EX BASS NATURAL W/CASE
- 1993 FENDER JAZZ BASS JB-75 MIJ SUNBURST/MAPLE W/CASE P012275
- LINE 6 Relay GS10II WIRELESS SYSTEM
- 1976 TAKAMINE EF-400S 12 STRING ACOUSTIC W/CASE
- Sennheiser EW100-G4-CiI-A WIRELESS SYSTEM
- Sennheiser EW100-G4-CiI-A WIRELESS SYSTEM Transmitter
- GATOR GPT PEDAL TOTE W/POWER SUPPLY
- (2) LEVY’S WIRELESS PACK STRAP POUCH
- MOGAMI GOLD BPSE TS-24R Cable for G4 wireless pack
- MOGAMI 2552 4" TRS EXPRESSION CABLE
- EMBER ENDEAVORS AUX EXT FOOTSWITCH W/LIGHTS
- LINE 6 STOMP HX MULTI EFFECTS PEDAL
- LASKO Fan Model 4914
- Mogami Gold guitar cable '18
- Monster bass cable, '12.
- Monster Performer 500 speaker cable '3 (X2).
- Radial Pro Di passive di.
- Ampeg Portaflex PF800 Bass Amp PF800CPHR0061
- Origin Effects Cali76 Compact Bass Compressor Serial No 107
- 1986 Yamaha BB1600 Bass (black/gold) NH09019
- 1989 Yamaha BB5000A 5 string Bass (black/gold) PH01149
- RADIAL PRO DI PASSIVE DI
- ELECTRO HARMONIX MASS MICRO SYNTH PEDAL AND PS
- Dunlop/MXR Bass Envelope Filter
- 2008 AMERICAN STANDARD PRECISION BASS BLACK/BLACK/MAPLE Z8063070
- Dunlop/MXR Bass Octave Deluxe
- 10 3"- 1’ PATCH CABLES
- 2 X 25" MOGAMI GOLD INPUT CABLES
- ORIGIN EFFECTS CALI-76 CB BASS LIMITING PEDAL
- 1 X 25" LAVA RETRO COIL GOLD INPUT CABLE
- TC Electronics Poly Tune
- (2) One Spot power supply x2
- Pelican 1650
- QSC K12 Powered Monitor
- Road case by Georgia Case for QSC K12 Powered Monitor
- Roland Fantom G6
- Tama 1st Chair Piano Seat
- SKB keyboard case Roland Fantom
- SKB keyboard case for Nord 5D
- Nord Electro 5D 73 key
- Drum Throne
- Nord Electro 6D 73 keys EP18094
- (2) 1/4" Cables
- (1) Furman Power Strip
- iPad Air FTEL2LL/A F8QZN0BRK7M9 GGJ 12.9 3RD Generation
- iPad Air MUUJ2LL/A DMPY30VSLMPD NACK 12.9 3RD Generation
- (2) Hosa 1/8 to dual xlr adapter cables HMX-010y
- Roland SPD ONE Kick
- (6) Stanley Floor Fans 655704 with Storage Containers
- Apple iPad Pro LTE+Wifi 12.9"
- Apple iPad Pro Smaart Keyboard
- cowbell
- Helix HX Stomp
- Helix Channel Swticher
- LP Maracas (2)
- Meinl bongos
- Meinl Bongo Stand
- Meinl Bongo Soft Case
- Mienl Percussion Tray with Stand
- Custom Guitar Strap
- G7 Guitar Capo
- Keyser Capo
- Stanley Tool Box
- SKB Hardware Box
- One Spot Power Supply
- Pedaltrain Nano Pedal Board and Hard case
- SKB iSeries Equipment Box
- Percussion Toolbox
- Shaker
- Shaker
- Shaker
- Takamine EF-385 acoustic electric 12 string
- Gator Deluxe ABS Molded Case - Jumbo Acoustic Guitar 2 Tamborine (2)
- tambourine, toolkit, kazoos
- SKB Drum Hardware Case With Wheels - 42" x 16"
- (7) Hercules Guitar Stands
- (2) 15’ white coils lava cable
- 2-3' Monster Cable
- Boss TU3 Tuner
- Whirlwind A/B Switch
- (2) Radial ProDI Direct Boxes
- 20' blue lava cable
- Fender Junior Tweed Amp w/ Case
- Vintage Guitar Jazz Master V65 Icon
- Gretch 8215
- Volt 476 Interface
- SKB Box for Guitar Pedals
- Nash Telecaster w/ Case
- Moog Sub Phatty
- Moog Case
- USB-C Cable
- Midi Cable
- Burns 12 String Electric Guitar
- Apple iPad Pro LTE+Wifi 12.9"
- Apple iPad Pro Smaart Keyboard
- 2017 MacBook Pro 3.1GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB, 512 SSD
- Flight Case for Burns Electric Guitar
- (2) LTGEM Travel Hard Carrying Case for Akai Professional MPK Mini MKII & MPK Mini Play 3 (2) Samsung T3 Portable SSD - 500GB - USB 3.1 External SSD (MU-PT500B/AM)
- 10 George-L patch cables
- G&L ASAT Classic Guitar
- 2 Hohner Special 20 Harmonicas
- Fender Hot Rod Deville 2x12 Amplifier modified by Acorn Amplifiers
- Line 6 Helix Floor Modeling Pedal
- Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal
- 2 - One Spot Power Supply
- Larrivee L-03E
- SKB Hard Plastic Acoustic Guitar Case
- Fender Telecaster Case
- Potentiometer
To learn more about Yacht Rock Revue and purchase tickets, visit their website. You can also learn more about Disco Expressions on their website.