In the thick of the night in the early morning hours of Fri., Jun. 17, thieves broke through a brick wall and triple-layered plywood to enter a Southside rehearsal space and steal the contents –– guitars, assorted amplifiers, effects pedals, and more –– belonging to The Apache 5, the early-Kinks-y Fort Worth quartet that just released a tremendous new EP, Big Black Smoke, whose release was celebrated this past weekend at The Where House –– the band played with equipment borrowed from friends. Dozens of copies of the band’s EP also had been lifted, and local bassist/songwriter Steve Steward (EPIC RUINS, Vorvon, Megasaurus) also was relieved of a “heavy piece of equipment,” according to The Apache 5’s Joshua Loewen.
“This sucks,” Loewen writes in an FB note, “and anyone can understand that right off. But here’s the thing: The stuff we lost wasn’t stuff. It was hard-earned. It was money saved. It was time spent cultivating a sound, searching for the right stuff for each of us, and it was, especially with the CDs, a labor of love and personal choice.” Thefts, he goes on, “almost never turn out positive, but last night a healthy start towards that transformation occurred.”
“Last night” refers to the EP release party, at which Taylor Craig Mills and Kevin Aldridge & The Appraisers also performed. “Many of you,” Loewen writes, “many who I don’t know, showed up to The Where House and gave your hard-earned money –– and time –– and, most importantly, your love and support. It was a peculiar and wonderful feeling for those of us who spent most of the day feeling disheartened, bitter, and violated. … While we had no CDs to release for the night, our show was an exorcising, transcending experience and was the best possible night cap on a terrible day.”
A benefit show for the band may be in the works.
If you come across any of the equipment listed below or copies of the EP, please immediately notify the police.
“We may never see this stuff again,” Loewen writes, “but I would rather try and get the word out than just lie there and take it.”
Unfortunately, the band is unable to provide any serial numbers.
Amplifiers:
1. Late 2000s-era Vox AC15 Heritage, 50th anniversary edition (white Tolex)
2. Early 1960s-era Silvertone 1484 (head and cabinet)
3. Ashdown EVO II 500 (bass head)
4. Two Yamaha 12″ black PA speakers
5. 1990s-era Fender Princeton Chorus (black Tolex) (property of friends of The Apache 5)
6. 1990s-era Fender Deluxe (black Tolex) (property of friends of The Apache 5)
Guitars:
1. Early 2000s-era Fender (MIM) Jazz Bass (sunburst with red tortoise pickguard, chrome ashtray and thumbrest)
2. 1980s-era Epiphone Sheraton I (Korean made, tobacco burst, custom chrome hardware, Bigsby vibrato, unique dowels with stars on them from where the original bridge was; one-of-a-kind guitar)
Pedals:
1. Planet Waves tuner
2. Rockett Pedals: Animal Overdrive (red)
3. Malekko Chicklet Reverb (very distinct, tiny, pink gum-colored pedal)
4. Boss TR2 tremolo pedal (dark green)
5. Electro-Harmonix Memory Man
6. Fulltone OCD (overdrive pedal)
7. Boss TU-2 tuner
8. Voodoo Lab Pedal Power box
9. Marshall Blues Breaker (overdrive, dark blue)
10. Line 6 Verbzilla reverb pedal
11. Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron envelope filter
An SKB drum hardware case was also stolen.
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