A note from Brandon –

This project was inspired after seeing the reaction to a Facebook post I made about instruments destroyed in the fire, a sort of ode to irreplaceable lost things. My community began offering me instruments – their instruments. Each one comes with a unique story which I am now a part of.

Altadena Musicians was borne of heartbreak, yes, but more so of hope. My own community has shown me what is possible, and I want that hope for everyone suffering from this great loss. I can’t wait to hear your stories, registrants and donors alike.

– Brandon

Here’s the Post:

Facebook, January 16. 2025 at 6:27am

Hi Friends and Fellow Musicians,

So many people have reached out and asked how they can help me and I’ve thought of a way that would be of great help.

Tonight I got on stage for the first time since the fire that destroyed my home.

It was incredibly joyful, emotional and cathartic.  A batch of friends let me borrow or gave me percussion to use at the gig.  As I was picking through a bin of foreign instruments deciding what to play on each song, I started thinking about the instruments that my wife and I lost.

What gave most of them great value was the stories behind them and how they came into our possession. 

Kim Shattuck gave me castanets that were very special to me.

My amazing neighbor Charlie Sinclair who has also passed on gave me a metal tambourine that sounded amazing and I used it on almost all my recordings.

I had a lap steel that I took to Paul Laque’s house once and he gave me some pointers on how to play it.

I had my mom’s acoustic Guild that she wrote most of her songs on back when she would play at the Palomino when was 6 years old or so.  It was the guitar I taught myself to play on.

I had an acoustic Ibanez my uncle Dean gave to me when I was a teenager that I used for all my live shows with The 88.

I had a red Martin hollow body that I bought from my bandmate Jon Wahl when he was struggling financially.  I bought it with the understanding that he could get it back whenever he wanted it. I’m really sorry Jon I can’t get it back to you.

We had an amazing harmonium my mother-in-law gave to us that  Fiona first played when she was 4.  I have a beautiful video of her pumping the bellows and making up a song on the spot.

There was the Omnichord I bought Gwendolyn as a Christmas gift that was always cutting in and out but sounded haunting and sparkly.

The lovely old banjo our friend Maggie gave Gwendolyn.

The Baldwin piano Gwen and I got on Craigslist from the person that used it to write Martika’s song “Toy Soldier”. Both our children took lessons and learned to play on it.

The tiny red toy drum set my mom gave me that I used for all the Gwendolyn and the Good Time Gang shows.

The 12′ Sabian Hi hat Cymbals my buddy Jason gave me that I loved.

The harmonica case that my bandmate Dylan Jones gave me as a  birthday gift.  I didn’t even know there was a little case with a handle you can fill with every key of harmonica, plus it even had a slot shaped for my chromatic harmonica a long time buddy Doron Halevi gave me back in high school.

The new drum hardware case that all my bandmates from the Good Time Gang chipped in to gift me because my old one was duct taped to hell.

I could go on and on, but I came to a realization that I would love to replace as many lost instruments as we can with ones from friends.

Fellow composer Rob Cairns reached out to me and let me know to please ask if I needed anything this week.  I told him I needed Bb & C harmonicas for a show and he had them available to pick up.  From now on, when I play those I’ll think of him and his incredible generosity.

Last week I talked to my lifelong friend Michael Long, who was also the mortgage broker that got us our home, about what happened to us. He said, “I’ve got a piano for you guys. It’s an old ragtime-sounding upright that you’ll love.”

At the gig tonight, Darice Bailey, who plays in the Bamboozled with me, gave me a special red metal kazoo. I will always forever love it and remember the feeling I had when she handed it to me.

I want more of these memories attached to my replacement instruments.

– This Facebook post started something amazing, as friends kept offering me their gear. I want that for all fires-impacted musicians. We hope this catches on.

Here’s a video of one of my songs filmed in our wonderful music studio amongst all of these beloved instruments.

I’m looking forward to making lots more music on new ones.

Thanks everyone.

Brandon Jay

Quazar and the Bamboozled