Local Musician Offers Reward for Stolen Gear
Joe Della Savia, a local musician, is seeking assistance after his equipment was stolen from his pickup truck following a performance at the casino late Saturday night.
Della Savia is the frontman of Angry Joe and the Growlers, a band that performs throughout Sault and the surrounding areas. “We play in Searchmont, at the Water Tower Inn, various small bars in town, and for private events,” he stated during a phone interview on Sunday.
His band had a gig at Gateway Casinos Sault Ste. Marie from 8 to 11 p.m., and Della Savia started loading his equipment into the truck afterward. “I had most of my stuff in the cab, but I had a few items left to load in the box. Unfortunately, the locks weren’t functioning well because of winter corrosion,” he explained.
During a brief return to the casino, lasting about 15 minutes, someone managed to steal items from the back of his truck. “When I got home and started unloading, I noticed some items were missing. I texted the band to see if anyone had picked up my stuff, but they hadn’t,” Della Savia shared. The missing items included a custom pedal board with six guitar pedals and a Genz-Benz guitar amplifier.
“The amplifier alone is worth around a thousand dollars, and the pedals range from $150 to $400 each,” he noted. Images of the stolen gear and details of the incident have been shared on a local Facebook group, where Della Savia expressed his frustration, stating, “I’m pissed.”
Fortunately, Della Savia’s guitar and other gear, which were securely stored in the locked cab, were left untouched. “I’ve had that guitar for 25 years,” he added.
Local police have been notified about the theft, and casino staff managed to capture footage of the alleged thieves. “My truck was conveniently located in their path, and the video shows them checking my truck and taking a few items,” Della Savia explained regarding the surveillance footage. He is now offering a $300 reward for the return of either his pedal board with pedals or the amplifier. The stolen pedals include: a Carl Martin Dual Injection, TC Helicon, Boss Super Chorus CH-1, Boss Digital Delay DD-3T, Boss Blues Driver BD-2, and a Donner DT-1 tuning pedal. Della Savia noted that he custom-made the pedal board and its case two decades ago.
