Russian Circles reunited with gear stolen in 2021
A 1985 Les Paul Custom, Electrical Guitar Company Series 2 bass and First Act baritone guitar have made their way back to their rightful owners.
Credit: Andrea Friedrich/Redferns
Chicago post-metallers Russian Circles have relocated some of their gear that was stolen back in 2021, they’ve announced in a new post on social media.
The trio told fans that thieves had broken into a truck transporting their gear in October 2021, making off with thousands of dollars worth of equipment, including a pair of Gibson Les Paul Customs, an Electrical Guitar Company Series 2 bass, custom First Act baritone guitar, Quilter Overdrive 202 amps and Darkglass, Emperor and Peavey cabs.
The community rallied around the band following the announcement, with Electrical Guitar Company gifting Brian Cook a new bass, and a GoFundMe raising over $60,000 to replenish their equipment.
Now, the group have announced the safe return of a 1985 Gibson Les Paul Custom, Cook’s original Electrical Guitar Company Series 2 bass, and the custom First Act baritone guitar.
“Russian Circles is beyond excited to announce that we recovered some of our stolen gear from an incident that occurred on tour a few years back,” the band write.
“We owe a massive thank you to everyone who helped spread the word to make this possible. Additional thanks to the Chowchilla Police Department for putting in the hard work to track these instruments down.”
“Despite the theft being an initial bummer, there was little time to feel down, due to the outpouring of love and support from the music community,” they continue.
“We’ve made many new connections and friends as a result of your help. The instruments recovered are Brian’s Electrical Guitar Company bass, his First Act custom baritone and my 1985 Les Paul Custom, which has always been one of my favourites.”
In other Russian Circles news, last year the band opened up their own Reverb shop, selling a selection of vintage Gibson guitars and other music gear.