If you’ve been following Tone Deaf for a while, you’ll have noticed that we occasionally give signal boosts to beleaguered bands who’ve had their equipment or merch money stolen. Unfortunately, this is a semi-regular occurrence.

It’s hard enough being in a band as it is, but unfortunately there’s some unscrupulous characters out there who have no qualms about stealing a band’s hard-earned money or even their expensive and often rare equipment.

Usually, the bands get in touch with us and we run the story, appealing for any info our readers might have. However, after Sydney’s Lepers & Crooks were the victims of a robbery on Friday, they decided to take matters into their own hands.

The band are currently in the midst of an extensive national tour, travelling around the country on a Wicked Campers van they’ve dubbed the ‘LSD Machine’ – a 12-Seater “beast” complete with an astro-turfed rooftop stage.

Following a show at Bellingen’s Federal Hotel on Friday, the boys partied it up with some of the locals, drinking and jamming on the roof of the LSD Machine before heading out to a party that was being hosted by some fans.

As the band members staggered home, they were joined by a “straggler” from the party, who made the boys a little worried after he started bragging about a hard-drive he’d apparently stolen from the party.

After retiring to their rooms for the night, the band came down to their beloved LSD Machine to begin the six-hour drive up to Brisbane, only to find that the van had been broken into and numerous items had been stolen.

The thief had made off with six guitars, including several valuable Gibsons, a bass, mixing equipment, expensive microphones, and the band’s merch tin, which held over $400 in cash. The thief’s total haul had a value of over $15,000.

The Lepers & Crooks boys immediately got to work, spreading word of the robbery amongst locals at the town market. Meanwhile, the band began to suspect the “straggler” from the night before might just be the culprit.

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The theory was more or less confirmed when they found the hard-drive he’d stolen on the roof of the van, putting him at the scene of the crime. Luckily, local muso Luke Wilton, who was at the previous night’s jam session, happened to speak with the alleged thief.

Luke relayed to the band that the man was in town for the weekend from Coffs Harbour and was staying out at the community gardens. When the L&C boys got to the gardens, they found that the elusive character, known only as PJ, had already skipped town.

After asking around, the boys found one of PJ’s mates, who was able to give him a call and inform him that the jig was up. They managed to convince PJ to drop the gear off at Coffs Harbour Police station and within an hour, the band had their gear back.

With their gear safely back in their possession, the band made their way up the Bruce Highway for their gig in Brisbane, making it on stage just in time for their 11pm set at Sonny’s House of Blues.

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