Black Halos Van And Gear Stolen In Montreal

Vancouver punk band The Black Halos received an extremely unpleasant surprise on Sunday when their van and trailer, which contained all of their gear, were stolen outside their Montreal hotel.

According to the CBC Radio 3 blog, the band were unable to park their van in the hotel's underground parking area because it wouldn't fit. Ironically, the band strategically parked the van in front of the hotel wall to ensure that no one would break into it. They emerged from the hotel the next morning to discover the van was absent without leave. None of the missing items are insured and the band want them back.

The hijacked equipment includes Rob Zgaljic's drums, Johnny Stewart's 1960 Gibson Les Paul guitar and several other axes, Adam Becvare's guitars and Jahmeel "J.R." Russell's basses. The band's merch and 400 copies of their latest album We Are Not Alone were also stolen. A full list of the stolen equipment has been posted at the band's MySpace page. Manager Danny Cameo is encouraging anyone who may have seen the equipment or copies of the CDs for sale on websites other than those run by History Music, People Like You or Acetate to contact him via email or phone. His contact information can be found on the list of stolen items.

The theft means the band have had to cancel the remaining dates on their Canadian tour, which was to run through April 1 in Victoria, B.C. Not the types to let this get them down, though, they played a St. Patrick's Day show on Monday using equipment they'd borrowed from The Shifters.

Sadly, The Black Halos aren't the only recent victims of gear theft in Canadian cities. Matt Costa's gear, worth $24,000, was stolen during a stop in Winnipeg in February.