Guitar Center launches initiative to help musicians replace instruments lost in LA wildfires
Guitar Center has launched a new initiative to aid musicians impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires in replacing their instruments and gear.
Since last week, LA has experienced a series of wildfires that have destroyed over 10,000 buildings, with 179,000 people ordered to evacuate and hundreds of thousands more placed on evacuation warning. AP reports 24 confirmed deaths and at least 16 missing people at the time of writing.
READ MORE: Rage Against The Machine drummer escapes LA wildfires with his family, pets and his OG Van Halen T-shirt
Announcing its new program through the Guitar Center foundation over the weekend, the retailer says it’s now accepting applications for special one-time grants to replace instruments and gear destroyed by the fires.
The initiative is open only to LA-based musicians and music instruction programs and will run till 28 February 2025. Applicants may have to provide proof of loss or their address to apply.
In order to qualify, music programs must fit into one of these four categories: In-school music classes in which the students make music; after-school music programs that are not run by the school; community music programs which offer music instruction to the community; or music therapy programs in which the participants actively make music.
Do note that no cash will be offered – the grant will only replace instruments and/or gear, with a cap of US$1,500 for each applicant.
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More information is available at the Guitar Center Foundation.
Among those affected by the wildfires is Iron Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith, who shared that he’s lost his home in Malibu to the fires raging across LA.
“We are safe. We have each other. We will start again. Thank you for your support during these trying times,” Smith’s wife Natalie wrote on Instagram. The update followed a video shared by Nathalie a few days earlier, showing her family evacuating their home while she captured smoke over a hill nearby.
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A post shared by Nathalie Dufresne Smith (@nathalie_d_smith)
Other musicians who have spoken on the tragedy include John Mayer and blues maestro Joe Bonamassa. The latter confirmed he’s moved his collection of vintage guitars from his home gear museum, Nerdville West in Laurel Canyon, amid the city’s ongoing wildfires.
“A very hard place to be as a curator. It’s my lifetime of work. I knew this day would come eventually but just not today,” said Bonamassa in his post. He also shared his gratitude for the LA fire department, and sympathy for those who have lost their homes.
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A post shared by Joe Bonamassa (@joebonamassa)
Mayer, too, shared his support for those who have lost personal belongings such as photographs and cherished family possessions from their homes: “These are the ‘documents’ you read about people taking from their homes. When you hear someone say they’ve lost everything in a fire, this is much of that everything, if not all of it,” he states.
“Those who say they’ll be okay still have their folders and their albums. Those who are inconsolable have lost them. Just behind the immeasurable loss of life is the loss of the proof of life. I don’t practice prayer but tonight I will say one for everyone who no longer has these items.”
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A post shared by John Mayer (@johnmayer)
Updates and all necessary information on shelters, evacuation orders and more can be found at Cal Fire.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
