A Winnipeg guitarist who’s worked with artists like Corb Lund, Del Barber and Romi Mayes is asking for his two favourite guitars to be returned.
“Those are my guitars. They’re not yours. So if you just bring them back, it’s all good,” said Grant Siemens on Wednesday.
Siemens told CTV News his house was broken into Monday afternoon. He and his wife were out grocery shopping when they got an alert from their security alarm saying their back door was broken into.
“From the time they called to the time I got here, it was 10 minutes and they were already gone with a lot of stuff,” he said. “It was very quick.”
He said four of his guitars were taken, along with a bunch of other stuff. Among what was stolen were two handmade reproductions of vintage guitars that have been his go-tos for more than a decade. He said he knows those guitars inside and out.
“It’s hard to explain the connection you have with it, but you know how to coax every possible sound you ever want out of them,” Siemens said.
A Hahn 228 owned by Grant Siemens, which was recently stolen from his home. (Grant Siemens)
One guitar is a Hahn 228, which is a handmade, replica of a vintage Fender Telecaster.
“That guitar has been on every album I’ve done in 14 years and every show I’ve done in 14 years, it’s been around the world with me. I don’t know how many times,” he said.
The other is a Beardsell Swingmaster, which is another custom-made reproduction. This one emulates a vintage Fender Jazzmaster and was made in Winnipeg by luthier Allan Beardsell.
“That’s my second favourite guitar,” he said. “Actually, it kind of became my first favourite after I got it. Al’s a wizard obviously and that guitar’s been with me for seven years now.”
A Beardsell Swingmaster owned by Grant Siemens was recently stolen from his home. (Grant Siemens)
Beardsell told CTV this isn’t the first time they’ve heard of a client’s gear getting stolen.
“This is particularly, distressing just because of who Grant is and the kind of player he is,” Beardsell said. “He’s a very, very talented, sophisticated player and we want to make sure that he has the proper tools to do his job.”
Siemens says he can get those same guitars built again, but they likely won’t be the same.
“There’s part of me that’s like a little like zenned out and like, okay, this is what universe wants but if the universe wants them back, they’ll come back,” he said.
“But then I see pictures of them, and then I just I start crying because they’re kind of your best buds, especially when you’re on the road.”
Siemens has reported the break-in to police, he’s made an insurance claim, and has since installed surveillance cameras on his property.