Most of Youngstown band’s gear is recovered

YOUNGSTOWN

A local band is relieved to have its equipment back Tuesday, less than a week after it was stolen.

Khaled Tabbara of Youngstown rock band The Zou said “about 80 percent” of the band’s stolen equipment was recovered at a house on Holland Avenue.

Youngstown police had not filed a formal report as of Tuesday night, and it is unclear if any arrests have been made in connection with the theft or possible re-sale of the stolen items.

More than 100 items, including guitars, drums, keyboards, amplifiers and hardware, were stolen Thursday morning from an extended-size van parked in the driveway of band member Murad Shorrab’s Ford Avenue apartment.

Tabbara credited an outpouring of support from friends, family and friends — many of whom took to social media web sites to share tips and offer encouragement.

“We got an anonymous post on Facebook from someone who thought they might have information and we got them to talk. The good news is we called Youngstown police and did get it recovered,” Tabbara said, declining to comment further.

One post on the band’s Facebook page linked to a Craigslist ad for a “gently used create-your-own Youngstown band kit” that an individual suggested could be The Zou’s stolen gear. Detectives were not available to comment late Tuesday if there was a connection between that Craigslist posting and the gear recovered Tuesday.

“The most sentimental things were definitely recovered, and also the things that were the most signature to our sound,” Tabbara said.

Those signature items include a red electric keyboard, Shorrab’s Rickenbacker bass guitar and a red Fender DeVille amplifier.

The theft “touched a nerve because [people] know a musician’s tools are real personal,” Tabbara said. “...If we didn’t get this back, I don’t know what we would have done. It would have severely crippled our ability to make music for some time.”

The Zou is made up of Tabbara on lead vocals, guitar and keyboard; Shorrab on vocals and bass guitar; Billy LaGuardia on drums and digital percussion; Bernadette Lim on keyboards and vocals; and Jesse Martin on lead guitar.