As a result of the missing vehicle, and the complications which followed, Suburban Legends had to cancel several of their planned tour dates. Vocalist, Vincent Walker, particularly regrets having to miss those performances.

“This tour that we're on right now with Streetlight Manifesto and The Stitch Up has been incredible,” he said. “And the fact that we missed some of the biggest East Coast shows was definitely like a blow in the gut.”

In addition to the theft of their gear - none of which was insured - Suburban Legends also lost all of their merchandise. Like Strung Out, they were unable to recover most of it. “That's a huge setback on this tour,” Walker admitted. “As a totally independent band, merch is our bread and butter.”

Suburban Legends were about to rent a new van, themselves, when the local news media stepped in to help them. WPVI (Channel 6) Action News interviewed the band the day of the theft, giving the incident greater exposure than Strung Out had been able to receive. The coverage paid off. Channel 6 aired a story about the theft later that same night, on their 5:30 broadcast. An astute viewer called the Action News tipline. At 10:30, drummer Derek Lee Rock received a call from the station, telling him about the tip. The band tuned in to the station’s evening broadcast, which brought about a bittersweet ending to a surreal day.

“We saw our van and trailer live on the 11 o’clock news, for the follow-up story,” Walker revealed. “The suspense was killing us, ‘cause we were just stuck at the hotel and really couldn't do anything about getting it back...and there it was on TV.”

It’s not exactly a happy ending, though, for either band. Strung Out estimate their losses to be at about $70,000. An early figure for Suburban Legends put them in the hole for $80,000. It’s not money that will be recuperated easily or, in all likelihood, at all. This invariably expensive crime is a growing issue - one which needs to be dealt with quickly. At least nine local and national acts have been the victims of van theft since March 2006.

“This really could have happened in any city,” Walker stated. “People that commit these acts of crime must have no idea what it's like to be in a band or traveling business, where your entire life is in a trailer and vehicle.

“People on the road sacrifice so much every single day,” he added. “It's a damn shame there are people out there taking advantage of that. If these criminals even had an ounce of an idea of what it's like, I would hope they would think twice.”

One solution to the problem is to prevent stolen gear from being valuable. Selling such equipment on websites, such as eBay and Craigslist, has proven to be ineffective for thieves. Gear is easily traced, through watchful eyes, serial numbers, and other tools. As such, music stores and pawn shops are more likely to be the first places thieves go. Some store owners are already vigilant, with the knowledge that equipment theft can and does occur. A suggested practice, which has been taken on already by some retailers, includes requesting the name, address, and photo ID of those selling a suspicious amount of gear. Sometimes, fingerprints are even taken. It’s feasible that, were all pawn shops and music stores required to take these precautions, thieves would have almost nowhere to go with their stolen wares.

Bands can do some things to protect themselves, as well. Insurance is available for musical equipment, and it’s relatively affordable. A few thousand dollars a year might save a band ten times that amount, should a theft ever occur. In addition, vans and buses can be equipped with Lo-Jack, which is a reliable vehicle tracking system.

There are a few positive lessons which we’ve learned, following the two most recent van thefts. First, independent rock bands show remarkable dedication to their craft. Both Strung Out and Suburban Legends managed to get back on the road and complete their tours - quite frankly, because that’s what they live to do. Strung Out even managed to perform on a short tour of Australia, opening for seminal punk act, Bad Religion. Sunday, November 18, the band played a free concert in Los Angeles. No-cost shows have been a Strung Out trademark for some time now and, even with their current financial woes, they’ve chosen to continue with the practice. Another bright spot in all of this is that, despite everything that’s happened, both Suburban Legends and Strung Out intend on returning to Philadelphia in the future.

“Why are we gonna punish the people that are fans of our band?” Burns opined. “We’ve always had pretty good shows in Philly, and hopefully that’ll continue. We just have to be a lot wiser about where we stay.”

“Philadelphia has always been great to us,” added Walker. “Always the greatest crowds and awesome shows!”

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