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On Monday, Feb. 26, Federale’s Collin Hegna discovered one of his worst nightmares had come true: $12,000 worth of equipment and instruments had been stolen from his studio in the Central Eastside Industrial District.
Among the stolen items are five guitars, two basses, and one computer. Portland police are still investigating the theft.
“I was pretty shocked,” Hegna tells WW. “The stuff that was taken is so unique. It’s going to be difficult not for it to get flagged. At the same time, I can’t sit around waiting for that to happen.”
The stolen items include Hegna’s two beloved Harmony electric guitars. Intruders gained access to his studio by smashing one door handle with a fire extinguisher and prying another open with a crowbar.
“These [instruments] are objects, yes…but they’re tools of artistic expression, beyond just their monetary value,” Hegna says. “This is what I do for a living. It sucks because you become friends with these things. They take on personality. It’s like your friend has been stolen away from you.”
This is not the first time Hegna has dealt with theft. In 2022, $50,000 worth of gear belonging to his other band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, was stolen from a trailer before a show at the Roseway Theater (eventually, it was recovered).
This time, Hegna is less optimistic. He says he’ll wait a few weeks to a month before buying a new guitar in anticipation of his upcoming summer tour and a new album release.
“I feel like [musicians] kind of get pushed into areas that are high in crime, that are not the nicest places,” he says. “It’s really hard to make a living doing this. We get pushed out of the areas where it’s safe and into areas where it’s derelict buildings.”
Related: Flashback: Federale