Matchbox Twenty guitarist Adam Gaynor has his stolen guitar back in his possession. The Taylor acoustic guitar was snatched September 18 during a concert in Gainesville, Florida, and was returned undamaged on Monday (September 25) to nearby Ocala radio station WMOP-AM at approximately 6 p.m. ET.
A man made an anonymous call to the hotline set up by the band and made arrangements with the band's publicist to drop off of the guitar at the Central Florida sports/talk radio station. A middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap placed the guitar by WMOP general sales manager and program director Craig Baggs' car.
According to the radio station's afternoon co-host, Patrick "The Lobsta" Gendron, the return of the guitar went down much like a typical hostage exchange in a feature film. "Some guy came into the station and said that he was here to drop off a guitar, and the guy said all right and then he signaled for somebody to come over," he said. "The guy came over, put it next to a car that was in the parking lot, and the other guy got into the truck and they took off. Then the program director here went out, picked it up, and brought it inside."
Gendron added that the guitar was returned along with a note addressed to "Mr. Gaynor." "There was actually a note written to Adam, just saying that he was sorry for things and he knew that it was wrong," Gendron said. "He wasn't sure why he did it, but he didn't mean any harm by it, and it was just a stupid prank." The note read, in part, "Please accept this apology. When I took your guitar I was not thinking clearly, in fact I was not thinking at all."
No questions were asked upon the guitar's return, as Matchbox Twenty's record label had previously promised in a statement. Matchbox Twenty continues to tour in support of its latest album, Mad Season By Matchbox Twenty. The band hits the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, tonight (September 26).
-- Jason Gelman, New York