LA-based jazz trio postpones West Coast tour after equipment stolen in Oakland
A Los Angeles-based jazz trio had to cancel their West Coast tour after a truck containing all of their instruments and equipment was stolen from a hotel parking lot in Oakland.
It happened just after 4:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Best Western off Embarcadero in Oakland. It took thieves only about two minutes to break into their U-Haul and drive it away, with all the instruments and gear inside.
Andris Mattson is the trumpet player for Moonchild, a jazz trio that's released six studio albums and toured for the last 15 years. They're currently in the middle of their West Coast tour.
"We were going to do Berkeley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego," Mattson said.
The band was scheduled to play in Berkeley on Wednesday night at the UC Theater.
Early Wednesday morning, a crew member drove a U-Haul van with all of their instruments, gear and equipment up to the Best Western in Oakland to get ready for their show that night. Around 6 a.m, when Mattson checked the location of the Apple Airtags he had hidden in his instrument cases, he saw they were scattered around Oakland and San Leandro.
"I called the hotel, asked if a U-Haul was parked out front, and they said that it was not. They reviewed the footage and saw that someone had stolen it," he said.
Within 60 seconds of the would-be thieves pulling up in their car, the truck and all the gear were gone.
"We have personal relationships to these instruments and have been with us for many, many years, and it's a big part of our sound as well," Mattson said. "So it's really hard to just comprehend the loss."
When the rest of the band got into town, they went out looking for the Airtags to see if they could find their instruments.
"It became really clear quickly that this was an organized operation, all the Airtags had been removed from our equipment and thrown into bushes, into ditches," Mattson said.
He said he's still hopeful some of the instruments might turn up because they were very rare with unique features, but he added that it doesn't change his feelings about the city of Oakland or the people.
"Our experience in Oakland playing music has always been a positive one. We love our fans here, and what happened yesterday in no way impacts our feelings towards our Oakland fans," Mattson said.
The band says they aren't going to cancel their West Coast tour, but instead are just postponing it. They hope to be back at the UC Theater sometime in July.
The band says the lost equipment is well into the six figures in terms of replacement costs and has set up an online fundraiser to cover costs not covered by insurance.
