hard to believe that stolen instruments could hold up their performance next saturday. hope it all works out. sounds hella fishy IMO. 14 tubas missing? who would steal 14 big A$$ tubas????

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WS...le&cid=1173354233052

That's bad.

Unbelieveable!!! Looks like someone pulled a "Tony Harding" on NCCU to try to keep them out of Honda!

I'm hoping they can borrow some sousaphones from some other school in the area in time!!

Then I hope whoever is responsible is punished appropriately!

How in the heck do you steal 14 sousaphones!?!?

^^^It does! which school or group could have that much hate towards Central's band? i can think of 2. maybe 3 schools and only one of those are not going to Honda. not saying any names...

I really dont think another band did this.. This had to be in-house..

The Herald-Sun Jan 16, 2008

14 sousaphones stolen at NCCU
http://web.nccu.edu/campus/police

DURHAM -- CrimeStoppers is offering a reward for information about the theft of more than a dozen sousaphones from the band room at N.C. Central University.

According to CrimeStoppers Coordinator Cpl. Marty Walkowe, the instruments were taken in December or early January.

The stolen instruments -- six Conn sousaphones and eight Jupiter sousaphones -- are worth approximately $3,000 each, Walkowe said.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call NCCU Det. A.J. Carter at 560-5397, NCCU Det. Billy Boyd at 560-7365 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers do not have to identify themselves.

URL For This Article
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-915896.cfm

quote:

Originally posted by SpartanMan04:
I really dont think another band did this.. This had to be in-house..

I agree w/ you SpartMan....This was an in-house crime....I played sousaphone back in the day....They aren't light and they had the bright, shiny silver ones.....Something stinks....I'd hook every badn member up to a polygraph.....

Also somebody had to see this.. You can't put 14 tubas/instrument in a mid-size car or SUV.. They must have had a U-Haul or Penske truck..

quote:

Originally posted by RamFan:
^^^It does! which school or group could have that much hate towards Central's band? i can think of 2. maybe 3 schools and only one of those are not going to Honda. not saying any names...

Yeah, maybe you can check with WSSU's band, since you guys went to Honda. Maybe taking NCCU's Sousas would threaten their performance! Yeah, just maybe...

quote:

Originally posted by SpartanMan04:
Also somebody had to see this.. You can't put 14 tubas/instrument in a mid-size car or SUV.. They must have had a U-Haul or Penske truck..

I would strap every bandmember up to a polygraph.....

I know that this is a dumb question, but isn't the bandroom and the instruments insured?

I hope the instruments are insured, Baritonsoldier. But even if they are, how long would it take to file the claims, get replacements, etc. Honda is Jan 26 and they have to rehearse between now and then.

Geez. I'm freakin out and I'm not even going to Honda!

When is Spring "Rush" at Duke or NC State. This kind of sounds like a Frat prank. I'm not saying...I'm just saying.

quote:

Originally posted by JayBee:

quote:

Originally posted by RamFan:
^^^It does! which school or group could have that much hate towards Central's band? i can think of 2. maybe 3 schools and only one of those are not going to Honda. not saying any names...

Yeah, maybe you can check with WSSU's band, since you guys went to Honda. Maybe taking NCCU's Sousas would threaten their performance! Yeah, just maybe...

nah they too busy to pull a stunt like this.

that post was meant as a joke. i dont think any school would stoop that low. but these days you can never be too sure.

Published: Jan 16, 2008 12:30 AM Modified: Jan 16, 2008 05:43 AM
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/crime_safety/story/882982.html

Each sousaphone is worth about $3,000. Thieves steal band's thunder
http://web.nccu.edu/campus/police

N.C. Central needs instruments for Battle of Bands
http://www.hondabattleofthebands.com

Eric Ferreri, Staff Writer

DURHAM - With its biggest performance of the year fast approaching, N.C. Central University's marching band has been crippled by the theft of at least two dozen instruments.

Fourteen sousaphones and a selection of other instruments were stolen from the band room in at least two thefts stretching back to November, said Jorim Reid, NCCU's band director. The instruments were taken from locked rooms, and the thieves left the sousaphone cases, so it wasn't immediately apparent that the instruments were missing, Reid said.

Now, with the high-profile, annual Battle of the Bands showcase set to start Jan. 26 in Atlanta, Reid is trying to patch his band back together. The loss of sousaphones, in particular, is a blow to a 180-member band that relies heavily on the large brass instruments. There are 16 sousaphone players in the band.

"I really don't know what we're going to do," Reid said. "It's kind of like driving a four-wheel car with three wheels. You won't go very far. It's like heavy metal with no lead guitar."

Along with the sousaphones, thieves took trumpets, trombones, flutes and piccolos, some of which police have already recovered from area pawnshops, Reid said. NCCU police detectives could not be reached Tuesday, and Reid said he doesn't know how thieves accessed the locked band rooms at least twice.

The sousaphones and some of the other instruments are university property, but some of the smaller ones were owned by students, said Reid, who spent part of Tuesday on the phone trying to find instruments to borrow for the coming band showcase. The stolen sousaphones are valued at $3,000 each; buying them new could run as much as $7,000, Reid said.

Sousaphones are large big-belled tubas that wrap around the body. They are most often purchased by schools, music groups and churches, but there is also a market for individual instruments, particularly on the Internet, said John Simonetti, who works at The Tuba Exchange, a tuba sales and repair shop in Durham.

Still, unloading 14 stolen sousaphones may not be easy, Simonetti said.

"It's not like stealing a television or stereo or something everyone has in their household," he said.

The Battle of the Bands showcase will be held at Atlanta's Georgia Dome. It is a popular event for historically black colleges and universities. NCCU's band is one of 10 invited to the event this year, and one of two from North Carolina; Winston-Salem State University will also be represented.

Reid said Tuesday that his band still plans to perform at the showcase. The band's booster club and alumni base will travel to Atlanta as well, said Norma Petway, NCCU's director of alumni relations. The booster club has raised money in the past for band uniforms and may be called on now to raise money for new instruments, she said.

"There is a sense of pride [in the band]," she said. "When it's time to get band uniforms, the alums get together. They're very loyal."

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call NCCU Detective A.J. Carter at 560-5397, NCCU Detective Billy Boyd at 560-7365 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200.

CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.

eric.ferreri@newsobserver.com or (919) 956-2415.

Uuuuh, WHAT do you do with
14 bigass horns? WHO do you sell them too?

Could this really be a "Prank?"

I hope NCCU gets them back QUICK and in a HURRY!

quote:

Along with the sousaphones, thieves took trumpets, trombones, flutes and piccolos, some of which police have already recovered from area pawnshops,

Anybody seen Pookie Jenkins, aka, the crackhead, lately?

Dayum.

That's awful. These students need to practice and they need their instruments. I ret to fight somebody. DK, check your PM.

DAYUM SHAME!!!

This is terrible.