Henhouse Prowlers lose gear to theft

Henhouse ProwlersChicago neo-traditional ‘grass band The Henhouse Prowlers has run into some very bad luck indeed. While in Oakland, CA, on Tuesday night, March 26th, the band’s van was broken into and much of their road gear, including instruments, sound equipment and even merchandise was stolen.

Devastated, the group has put together a list of the missing items, hoping that somehow at least some of the articles might be found and returned.

Examine the list below; if you or someone you know have questions or think you may have found something, contact band manager Vanessa Robinson at Vanessa@henhouseprowlers.com or bassist Jon Goldfine at 773-793-6261.

 

Bass and Case:

The case was a black Heritage Bass Bag with wheels and back straps. There was a small tear on the rear of the case where the body meets the neck.  Inside the case was a Cremona SB-2 Upright Bass (Plywood ¾ size) with an ebony fingerboard, a Mark Sonksen Bridge, German made (probably Rubner Company) tuning pegs ($280), strung with Kolstein Heritage upright bass strings. There was a circular gouge on the back of the bass near the bottom of the body and light scratches on the top of the side of the body. Attached to the front of the bass (easily removable) was a K&K Bass Max pick up ($105).

The bass case also had front and rear pockets.  Inside the long front pocket was a bass bow in a separate black case . Inside the other front pocket were a Shure PG-4 Wireless Transmitter and Receiver ($350), Shure WA304 – TA4F to ¼’ Angle cable (attached to Shure PG-4), Westone 3 headphones inside small soft black case, Shure P2R-H2 wireless bodypack receiver with a worn down piece of tape with “Jon Goldfine” typed on it. Inside the rear pockets were a Shure WA304 cable inside clear plastic packaging, Monster bass 21’ cable, Kolstein Heritage upright bass strings, and a K&K Bass Max pick up with red electrical tape around one end ($105).

 

Banjo and Case:

The case was a Calton Fiberglass Flight Case with a lot of stickers. About 12 packs of strings in the case, 2 Capos, other personal items like paper and art inside. The banjo was a one-of-a-kind Custom Made Flat Top Banjo. The letters RB were on the head stock and it had a Huber Tone ring.

 

Banjo Sound Case:

The case was a brown Samsonite briefcase. Inside was a Shure PG14 Wireless Transmitter and Receiver, a Gold Tone Banjo Microphone, a Shure Wireless Receiver Pack, and a pair of Shure SE215 in-ear headphones.

 

Guitar Sound Case:

The case was a two-latch black hard case with a blue “Mayne Stage” sticker. Inside the case was a black box with Fishman Aura Spectrum DI. Also inside the larger case was a smaller hard black case with a Shure PGX Wireless System, a BOSS FV-50L Stereo Volume Pedal, foldable guitar stand, a Shure Wireless Receiver Pack, and a pair of Shure SE215 in-ear headphones, and a battery charger with 4 AA batteries.

 

Violin and Case:

The case was hard with a cloth black lining (one long zipped pocket on top with one of the zippers broken). The hinges were broken, so the cloth was the only thing holding it together when open (there are imprints on the interior from the clamp landing on the wrong spot). The inside of the case was blue felt with spots for four bows on the top side. On the bottom side, there was a rectangular hinged compartment under where the neck of the violin would be which held a Kaplan shoulder rest. Where the neck of the violin would be there a piece of velcro to hold it in place. A cloth went over the top of the violin, held to the inside case by one piece of velcro by the body of the violin (the one toward the neck was broken). There was a compartment to the left of the scroll with a small metal knob to open it. Inside were a full pack of full-size Thomastik Dominant Violin Strings, Prirastro Rosin, an old sound post and bridge, my Chicago Street Performer Liscense, a grey cleaning cloth, a Fishman Classic Series V-200 Professional Violin Pickup (with broken brackets), a silver frog (the bottom piece to my broken bow), a wristband that said “wook status” (don’t ask), and a paper card at the bottom with my name, address and phone number.

There were 2 and a half bows in the top half of the case. Both whole bows were cheap wood (both were backups and I don’t really know how to describe them). On the top spot, there was just a pernambuco wooden stick with the frog removed and the tip was broken off.

The violin was a Scott Cao, 2004. It was a copy of an 18th century Italian violin. I think the year was 1784? The copied maker was “Cremonse”. It had a brand new bridge and sound post, fine tuners on every string at the tail piece, I worn “strad pad” covering the chin rest, and was strung with 3 Thomastik Dominant strings (G, D, and A) and a Kaplan wound E string. There was considerable wear to the right top border of the body (bare wood with no varnish) and scratches all along the left top of the body (bordering the finger board). There were a couple large gouges under the chin rest caused by the clamp of the wireless mic I was using. There were also scratches on the back of the violin (bottom corner) caused by the pickup I used to string under my shoulder rest.

 

Fiddle Sound Case:

The case was brown leather with two clamps with combinations on them. The combination number was written in black marker to the side of them (4,3,2). The top of the case had a bunch of stickers: Sonny Stubble, Old Shoe, My Dear Alan Andrews, Chicago Farmer, 40th Annual Rocky Grass, “Duvel Lovers Are Better Lovers,” Whistle Pigs, Dog 1, Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra…

Inside the case was a cardboard case from the inside of the original packaging of my wireless receiver. In that was the receiver—Audio Technica 3000 Series—the transmitter (with two AA batteries inside with faint zig-zags on them written in black marker), a white power adapter for the receiver from Radio Shack with white duct tape holding together the adapting piece that fit into the receiver, the wireless mic—Audio Technica 350—with chord and snake clamp attached, and a red contact tuner.

On the top side of the case was a large pocket covered in smaller pockets. In the large pocket there was a pair of Shure SE215 in-ear headphones with the top of the right chord bent to fit around an ear, as well as a Shure Wireless Receiver Pack with a dent in the volume knob and a floppy antennae that was about to fall off.

 

PA Case:

The Case was metal with a removable front and top (the top was removed and left when stolen). There was also a removable back door with hinges and a chord-feed window that was taped shut with electrical tape. There were two handles on either side with black rubber grips.

Inside the case was a rack-mount containing the following: Allen and Heath 16 Channel Soundboard ($1000), Dbx Model 231 Dual 31-Band Graphic Equalizer, Furman M-8X2 Power Conditioner, and QSC RMX-850 Power Amplifier. In the back of the case was a snake XSPRO 8 Channel 30’ Pro Audio Low Profile Stage Snake.

 

Black Equipment Case:

The case was black leather with two pockets (one on each side) with a black handle and short black strap. One of the pockets was lined across the center with a red stripe. Inside this pocket was a Shure PSM 200 Wireless Transmitter, a short ¼’ chord, a white power adapter from Radio Shack and 9-volt Batteries. On the other side of the case, there two pockets (one shallow and one deeper)—there was nothing in the shallow pocket. In the deeper pocket was a Shure Wireless Receiver Pack, a pair of Shure SE215 in-ear headphones an AT2020 Vocal Condenser  and shock mount, a Shure SM 57 Microphone, ABS-2 Gold Tone Preamp, Radial Pro D1 Passive Direct Box.

 

Two Black Merch Cases:

The cases were black “Storage Lockers with Wheels”  from The Container Store. Inside them were the following:

T-shirts:

28 Green Long-Sleeves

1 S, 8 M, 6 L, 7 XL, 6 2XL

23 Men’s Black Short-Sleeves

4 S, 4 M, 3 L, 6 XL, 5 2XL, 2 3XL

30 Green Short-Sleeves

8 S, 4 M, 3 L, 4 XL, 9 2XL, 2 3XL

16 Ladies Blue Short-Sleeves

3 S, 4 M, 4 L, 4 XL, 1 2XL

15 Ladies Black Short-Sleeves

4 S, 4 M, 2 L, 4 XL, 1 2XL

Hats:

2 Grey

2 Maroon

 

Blue Chord Bin:

The bin was a blue Rubbermaid. Inside were two Speakon speaker cables, ten XLR Cables, two ¼’ speaker cables

 

Other Items Taken:

AT4040 Vocal Condenser Microphone in original cardboard case. Inside was a felt mic sock still in the plastic bag, a white cardboard case containing the shock mount mic clip (surrounded by two white pieces of foam), and a black plastic case with the mic surrounded by black foam.

Three AKG C1000 S Directional Condenser Microphones. One (new) was in the original metal case with the metal handle broken off. Inside the case was the microphone, a mic clip, and the broken metal handle—all surrounded by black foam. The other two were in one original metal case. One had a piece of tape wrapping it with “9V Only” written on it in black marker.

Mackie Subwoofe and Two Yamaha Speakers

Custom made derby hat made by Optimo Hats in Chicago in original case.

 

Share this:

About the Author

Shannon Turner

Shannon W. Turner has spent over twenty years in the Nashville music community, working in TV, print, digital and radio media. She has written for Bluegrass Unlimited, CMT.com, AOL’s The Boot, Fiddler, CMA Close Up and others. She is a 2013 graduate of Leadership Bluegrass. Born and raised in West Virginia as part of an extended musical family, her passion for music was instilled by her parents exposing her to everything from Elvis and Ray Charles to Earl Scruggs and Loretta Lynn. She dedicates her work to their memories.