Self-storage units have grown in popularity over the years. Many trust strangers to keep their sacred belongings behind a locked door. There are 2.35 billion square feet of self-storage units in the United States alone, and while we live our hectic lives, items continue to populate as space diminishes, convincing many to throw sentimental and valuable items into a private unit. Imagine discovering your items mysteriously disappearing,without a trace of someone physically breaking in and removing the locks. Well, this recently happened to Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick, but his story has a happy ending.
Testament has been extremely busy over the last few years, endlessly touring and recording/promoting the new kickass album Brotherhood of the Snake. It is no surprise that Skolnick didn’t have the time to constantly monitor and check his unit. As long as the space was paid for, one should assume all will be well in the world, right?
IN NYC, a customer came to Sam Ash, claiming he knew nothing about guitars, selling a few original brands that his father left for him after moving to North Carolina. Sam Ash is not like Best Buy or Wal-Mart in that they actually know their equipment and investigate suspicious gear on top of that.
The incident occurred at the popular location in Midtown Manhattan on 34th Street. The customer attempted to sell a rare Heritage Signature Guitar with a serial number of Z20001. The associate knew his gear and did some extensive research visiting Alex Skolnick’s website. Sure enough, that Z20001 was there, along with other guitars this customer was trying to sell including the Godin Fifth Avenue Archtop. The associate contacted Sam Ash’s manager Ian Goldrich and soon enough, made contact with Sknolnick.
Sknolnick explained his story, stating changing storage options a while back and continued:
“More than a dozen other instruments were moved from one location to another. Indeed I might not have noticed for another year or so, as I’m on tour often and there are long gaps between my going through all the instruments I’m not suing. Since there are several other cases that match these two, it’s an easy target.”
After contacting Sknolnick, a police report was filed, leading to the seller’s arrest. While a case is still in development, Sknolnick did mention a 3rd party company that helped transport his belongings to the new unit could be a possible suspect. Luckily for the guitarist, his items have been returned and his story managed to make it to the New York Times. Miracles do happen, Happy Holidays!
