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sob
Akahai
USA
73 Posts |
 Posted - 10/21/2007 : 1:43:00 PM
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Aloha mai kakou! I recently received this email from Chad. Please kokua in helping a good friend out. Mahalo nui,
Bryan
Aloha nui my friends,
I have been witness to the power of our community and know that when we work together, we can accomplish amazing things...
On Saturday, October 20, at approximately 9:30pm, I parked my car in front of my girlfriend's house in Nu`uanu. We went to bed at around midnight and when I awoke at 10am, I went down to my car and noticed that my back window had been smashed in. Upon further inspection, I noticed that amongst the broken glass, only one thing was missing...my guitar. We have spoken to several of the neighbors in the surrounding area and after some investigation, have narrowed the time of the break-in to between the hours of 2am and 3:30am. I am humbly asking for everyone's kokua in keeping an eye out for my guitar and should you come across any information to please contact me immediately as I am working with the detective assigned from HPD.
The guitar and its case are easily identifiable. The case is a forest green soft gigbag that has a single patch of the cartoon character "Underdog" centered on the front of the case. The guitar itself is a custom Morgan guitar. It is a six-string concert body guitar with a koa body and spruce top. The guitar will be easily identifiable by the matching koa face plate on the peghead with its black ebony tuning buttons. There were several miscellaneous items in the bag as well (cables, strings, tuner), but the case and the guitar are the most easily recognizable items that are missing. I have
I appreciate all of your kokua in advance and if you do come across any information, please contact me through email.
Mahalo nui and God bless,
Chad
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2007 : 5:24:23 PM
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Bryan,
I hate to read messages like this one. Hopefully getting the word out to the community will help Chad recover his guitar. Here are the photos that you emailed me.
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Andy |
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hawaiianmusiclover06
`Olu`olu
USA
562 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 12:40:04 AM
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Aloha e Bryan,
I'll be on the lookout for Chad's guitar. I also read the same email on your blog. I don't like reading messages like these because it hurts the community. My friend Tiffany Cruz part of the group The Girlas, still haven't found her stolen guitar yet. How sad people do such things as this as we try and share the aloha spirit in the place that we live called Hawaii.
Alana :) |
Aloha Kakou, maluhia a me aloha mau loa (Hello everyone, peace and love forever) |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 03:04:23 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Admin
Bryan,
I hate to read messages like this one.
Me, too. And, not intended disrespectfully, these messages always make me think... Why do guitarists who claim to love their guitars leave them vulnerable to these attacks? If I owned guitars as valuable as these, they would either never leave the house or they would be by my side the entire time I was in public.
It also makes me wonder why professional musicians take their finest instruments on their gigs. After all, the music is not in the guitar; it's in the musician.
I have always played inexpensive guitars in public - anything replaceable at my local dealer or pawn shop. Well, I was gifted with a brand new Guild acoustic about ten years ago, and the very first gig that I broke it out for, some guy came up to admire it and - being beyond inebriated - knocked it off its stand, off the stage, and on to the floor - chipping the beautiful binding along the fretboard. It was then I said, "Nevermore." Or perhaps it was earlier - when my uncle had a '61 Strat stolen out of the back of his pick-up truck after a bar gig. It was after this incident that I sold my `61 Strat (the sister guitar to my uncle's, both purchased the same year by my grandfather), used the money as a downpayment on a house, and replaced it with a '96 exact replica of same, right down to every detail - but made in Mexico.
Thank God that Hawai`i has a community that loves its musicians and will be on the lookout for these instruments when they go missing. And thank God also that Hawai`i is an island and so these instruments are not going to get very far.
Auntie Momi Kahawaiola`a never got her Ibanez archtop back. I wouldn't call her heartbroken, however, because she could replace the garden variety plywood archtop for less than $400 - as it should be...
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
Edited by - hwnmusiclives on 10/22/2007 03:08:02 AM |
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alika207
Ha`aha`a
USA
1260 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 04:33:24 AM
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Wow! Horrible news!
Could you guys ask Chad if he, Kale, and Gonzo are planning on getting back together as 'Ale'a? They were so good! |
He kehau ho'oma'ema'e ke aloha.
'Alika / Polinahe |
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Mainkaukau
Lokahi
USA
245 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 05:40:22 AM
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Sorry to hear about your lost Chad. This incident really bothers me because I also live in the Nuuanu. I can only imagine the anxiety and grief this lost has created for you. I always wondered why people risk their lives, reputation and freedom committing such petty acts of crime.
Good luck retrieving your guitar. Alohas |
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 12:18:12 PM
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That is so sad to hear. Have photos been sent to all of the pawn shops and music stores?
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 12:35:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
[quote]Originally posted by Admin
Bryan,
.. ..And, not intended disrespectfully, these messages always make me think... Why do guitarists who claim to love their guitars leave them vulnerable to these attacks? If I owned guitars as valuable as these, they would either never leave the house or they would be by my side the entire time I was in public.
It also makes me wonder why professional musicians take their finest instruments on their gigs. After all, the music is not in the guitar; it's in the musician.
Probably for the same reason a beautiful woman wants to wear her real diamonds to dinner with her sweetheart, instead of leaving them in the safe and wearing cubic zirconia. Sure, her real beauty comes from within, but when she is with her sweetheart, she wants to honor him by presenting herself as the best she has to offer.
To me, when I play music, I take the guitar that I feel gives me an opportunity to present the music I love in the very best way I am able. If my Alverez, with its on-board jack allows that, then I will use it. If my gandfather's handcrafted koa parlor guitar would be best, I use that.
Some years ago, I had only one guitar and one `ukulele. So, they were what I played - at home or at a gig. They happened to be a Martin which was, at that time, valued at a few thousand, and my grandfather's handcrafted koa, also then worth a few Ks. I had a kid to feed and rent to pay. My part-time job did not cover expenses for two people. They were the only instruments I owned. had two choices - sell them, and support my daughter for a few months, or play them in public and support her until she left home. I was grateful that they allowed me to support my daughter. I still have them and play them.
The `ukulele has performed in Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Canada, China, Indonesia, Fiji, and Japan. For me, the value in that, that an instrument that accompanied my father around the world in his Navy tour has now accompanied me to so many places in my career, gives me a feeling which could not be achieved knowing that such a valuable instrument was safely locked up in a vault while I traveled without it.
It is a very personal decision, and unless I "walked in another's shoes" I would have a hard time questioning that person's decision.
I also think that blame for a stolen instrument - or anything else - should rest completely with the thief.
Malama pono,
Leilehua
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 1:58:13 PM
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quote:
blame for a stolen instrument - or anything else - should rest completely with the thief.
Leilehua - you are most emphatically right about that. We cannot hide everything away in a vain attempt to keep a thief from temptation.
I remember when Cyril Pahinui's guitar & mandolin were stolen and they had to be "ransomed" to get them back. And I think Mike Ka`awa had his purloined as well, but was able to recover them.
I also like your analogy of a woman weariing diamonds. And, who are the biggest equipment freaks anyhow? Men. Yep, its true. Gotta have the biggest, baddest, flashiest, expensive-est da kine.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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hwnmusiclives
`Olu`olu
USA
580 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 2:18:09 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Hula Rider
quote:
Originally posted by hwnmusiclives
[quote]Originally posted by Admin
Bryan,
.. ..And, not intended disrespectfully, these messages always make me think... Why do guitarists who claim to love their guitars leave them vulnerable to these attacks? If I owned guitars as valuable as these, they would either never leave the house or they would be by my side the entire time I was in public.
It also makes me wonder why professional musicians take their finest instruments on their gigs. After all, the music is not in the guitar; it's in the musician.
It is a very personal decision, and unless I "walked in another's shoes" I would have a hard time questioning that person's decision.
I also think that blame for a stolen instrument - or anything else - should rest completely with the thief.
Malama pono,
Leilehua
I can appreciate this, Leilehua, and I didn't mean to offend. Just to be clear, I am not placing blame on anyone but the thief. And I am by no means trying to make Chad feel worse on this terrible occasion. What I am trying to say, however, is that when there is the possibility of losing something so very important to us, perhaps we should take extra precautions to try to avoid the worst. I guess what I was suggesting was an "ounce of prevention..." Why haven't we learned from the awful incidents with Uncle "K" Lake and Mike Kaawa?
I have walked at least a quarter mile in their shoes. I am a professional musician who relies on my music for a good portion of my income. So I don't leave my tools in the back of my car where they are vulnerable to attacks. I currently live in an urban area of Trenton and before this lived in über-urban center city Philadelphia. When I come home from a gig, I might leave amps, microphones, and other easily replaceable items in my car. But the guitar comes in the house everytime I do.
On one of my trips to Hawai`i, I had a paper bag filled with $1 worth of liliko`i stolen out of the back of the '79 Jeep Wrangler I rented at Rent-A-Wreck. If $1 worth of liliko`i are susceptible to a mysterious disappearance, than a guitar moreso.
So, when you take those diamonds out of the safe for the evening, I am guessing you don't leave them on the backseat of your car after the ball...
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Join me for the history of Hawaiian music and its musicians at Ho`olohe Hou at www.hoolohehou.org. |
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Podagee57
Lokahi
USA
280 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 6:40:43 PM
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Most likely "ice" related....maybe Dog get dis guy and fine geetah, yeah?
If only the shoe was on the other foot...kinda like the golden rule, how would the thief feel if someone did it to him...probably go looking to take somebody's head off for messin' with his s..t!
I get sssssooooo angry when I hear stories like this!
It's a shame but yeah, you got to watch your stuff all the time.
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What? You mean high "E" is the TOP string. No way dude! That changes everything! |
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 8:11:28 PM
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Ah - I read it as you were recommending people never take their best instruments on the road, and that everyone confine themselves to owning $400 guitars. I was being reactive. My apologies.
Yes, I personally am very uncomfortable letting my instruments out of my sight - I even have a very hard time letting trusted friends carry my instruments for me.
I wish I had spare money for diamonds. . . . . sigh. . . . .
Malama pono,
Leilehua |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2007 : 8:54:52 PM
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| Instruments get stolen everywhere. But I find that it is usually druggies and people will trade sh** for drugs. Honolulu I think got the biggest rate of instrument thefts from cars. We all know that and we still try to trust others. The worst is having them stolen from the house. Cyril Pahinui lost some guitars that way. Kahauanu Lake same thing. Sometimes because of the news and the stature of the musician the instruments come back. Most times not. The thieves got no respect for others. When I play gigs we always go kaukau after the gig. Sometimes get twenty K worth of stuff in the car. Scary to leave it in the parking lot.So I park next to door if possible and under a light at Zippy's. I was lucky the car never get hit. Of course we don't park in high crime neighborhoods either. My partner would always drag his guitar into the restaurant so we had to get a table for five when only get four of us. I hope the guitar comes back. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 10/23/2007 : 10:11:48 AM
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The latest is that the guitar is still missing.
Here is an article from the Honolulu Advertiser:
Posted on: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Hoku award winner's guitar stolen
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
Chad Takatsugi's guitar has a koa body and spruce top.
An award-winning local musician is seeking the return of his custom-made koa guitar worth more than $5,000 that was stolen over the weekend when thieves broke into his car in Nu'uanu.
Chad Takatsugi, a six-time Na Hoku Hanohano award winner for his work with Alea, parked in front of his girlfriend's house Saturday night around midnight.
The next day, Takatsugi noticed that the back window had been smashed in. Thieves caused more than $2,000 damage to his car and made off with the Morgan guitar, cables, guitar picks and other personal items.
"I refuse to believe that this is an indication of how we in Hawai'i treat each other," Takatsugi said. "It just saddens and disgusts me to no end that someone would have that kind of disrespect for another human being."
Neighbors told police the break-in occurred between 2 and 3 a.m. Sunday.
Police opened a second-degree theft case and a felony car break-in case in connection with the theft.
The guitar is easily identifiable by the matching koa face plate on the head with its black ebony tuning buttons, Takatsugi said. It has a koa body and a spruce top. The guitar is in a forest-green bag that has a patch depicting the cartoon character Underdog centered on the front of the case.
Anyone with information about the theft can contact police at 529-3115.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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