Rule number one: when you get off this f-----g bus, you lock the f-----g door and you check the handle."
This was Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde's advice to any touring musician. Theft is a major threat to bands on tour, and the guitarist was himself victimized while stopped in Chicago for a gig. Wylde has been playing as part of the "Experience Hendrix" tour, and someone jacked his Pelham Blue Bullseye Gibson Les Paul, as well as one of his leather vests.
The instrument is valued at more than $10,000 for a number of reasons: A) Authentic Gibson Les Pauls are expensive and B) This one featured a number of paint elements that you don't find on the average guitar. First, it's in Pelham blue, one of the brand's most beloved colors. A classic tone featured on the guitars of legends like Chuck Berry, Gibson doesn't just smack the light blue color on any old guitar anymore. Secondly, it features Wylde's trademark bullseye design, which alternates black-and-colored circles from the center of the guitar body. The guitarist has been rocking since he got famous backing Ozzy Osbourne.
The good news regarding the unique look of the guitar is that it became that much more difficult for the thief to sell. Most of these guys aren't committing felonies to add to their personal collections. Anybody with any knowledge of guitars will be able to put two-and-two together. The same thing has happened recently when thieves tried to sell off a stolen Stradivarius violin.
"Hopefully, these morons are going to go down to the flea market, or the pawn shop," he told the Chicago Tribune.
