Rock 'n' Roll Robberies

"You hope you'd have a little indemnity. You give so much to the public in one night for just $50."

Josh Steely, singer/songwriter of local band Sandjackets, learned the hard way that thieves don't care that live musicians give so much. Last month his gear was stolen from his locked truck parked behind Squid Joe's in Carlsbad. "They have cameras all around the club but no cameras out back where the bands load in. It happened between the time we stopped playing and when they closed."

Lifted was vintage equipment that Steely says is expensive to replace. "The Marshal Super Bass amp that was $300 brand new in 1972 is now worth $1800 on eBay. The real bummer is that some homey is probably sitting there with a 40 [-ounce malt liquor] and his Pokémon cards spread out on my amp."

Thievery part II: Drummer Jake Najor (Moses Leroy, Robert Walter's 20th Congress) had his drum kit stolen July 8 from his locked truck parked outside of his Spring Valley home. "I live on a dead-end street. There's not a lot of traffic." He said his Purecussion brand tom-toms and bass drum had a translucent blue birds-eye finish. "I was the only one in SoCal with this finish." Five cymbals were also lifted. "This is like stealing a mechanic's tools. It's taking away my livelihood."

Thievery part III: "We had just bought a P.A. for the band," said guitarist Nate Beale of Dottie and the Diamonds about his band's loss last month. "We got to use it for one show. A couple of days later someone stole it from Joey's [singer/keyboardist Guevara] house."

"We also lost a Marshall amp, a Gibson guitar, and Joey's keyboard that wasn't even paid for," said drummer Andy Robellard.

Police reports were filed in all three cases. No one was insured.

Anyone with information: Sandjacket.com; motifus@aol.com (Najor); myspace.com/ladydottieandthediamonds. Dottie and the Diamonds appear every Monday at the Tower bar in City Heights. Najor appears with Bad Credit July 25 at the Casbah.