When rock musicians’ gear goes missing, it's never the inessentials that disappear. It's always the crucial stuff, such as last year's theft of Sonic Youth's specially tuned guitars or Pete Seeger losing the banjo on which he wrote "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" Now Matchbox Twenty guitarist Adam Gaynor's prize axe has been stolen.
"Every time I touch that guitar, it feels like magic," he told MTV News. "I have over 30 guitars, but the one that had to be stolen was the guitar I'm in love with."
The green Taylor acoustic went missing from the side of the stage during the band's show Monday, September 18 at the Stephen O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The guitar was in fact a replacement for another acoustic Gaynor used for the recording of the Orlando band's 1996 debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You ... which was also stolen.
Gaynor wants the most recently purloined six-string back and is seeking tips regarding its whereabouts. He will offer a reward for information leading to its retrieval - no questions asked. If you have a tip, call 212-707-3200.
In the meantime, Gaynor will make a guitar with far less sentimental value weep tonight in Greensboro, N.C., in support of Matchbox Twenty's recent record Mad Season.