After losing his Altadena home and most of his musical instruments, Brandon Jay is working to help fellow musicians replace their gear after the fires that ravaged the Los Angeles region last month.
Jay set up a website — altadenamusicians.org — where people who lost instruments in the Eaton and Palisades fires can register and people can provide donations.
It’s like an online wedding registry but for musical instruments, organizers said.
After losing his home in the Eaton Fire, this Altadena musician is helping others build back their gear
Some people might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows including “Orange is the New Black” and “Weeds.”
Jay said he, his wife and their two children lost their home and music studio in the Eaton Fire.
“I managed to grab my wife’s acoustic guitar, her Martin, and my Fender Strat, and that was about it,” he said.
Looking for connection after fires
He said some instruments will be easier to replace than others. One of his more precious possessions was a set of castanets gifted to him by Kim Shattuck, lead singer of the the Muffs, with whom he played a few shows.
Shattuck died in 2019.
“You can get [castanets] at Guitar Center … but those are the ones that she gave me,” Jay said.
Instead of focusing only on what his family lost, Jay recruited a group of music industry veterans to put instruments back in the hands of people who lost them. With the help of a web developer, Jay launched Altadena Musicians.
Jay said he drew inspiration from buy-nothing groups that encourage participants to give and receive items within a community rather than buy them.
Sogol Moshfegh’s husband and son play their gifted guitar.
Courtesy Sogol Moshfegh
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“I’m really enthusiastic about it,” he said. “It’s been so heartwarming and lovely to connect people. … And a big portion of it is helping heal what you lost.”
Sogol Moshfegh and her family lost their home in the Eaton Fire and were one of the first recipients of instruments from the program, including a Martin guitar similar to one that was special to her husband.
“When these instruments came back into our lives, it was like this reawakening of sorts.” Moshfegh said. “It shifted the whole energy in our house. My husband picks up that guitar every night.”
Looking to expand the effort
So far, Jay said, about 1,000 people have signed up on the site, split pretty evenly between donors and people looking for instruments. He said they’re seeing some international interest thanks to some of his friends in the music business.
“I’m old friends with the guys in Weezer, and they posted on their socials, and we got people that were in Japan offering instruments and like sending in donations,” Jay told LAist. “And so it can be a worldwide thing,”
He said Altadena Musicians is partnering with Fender and other musical instrument brands, and he expects the donations to keep rolling in.
He said he hopes to launch an app that would streamline the donating process.
“Stick with us and hold tight, and we’ll help you get your stuff back,” he said. “And just know that you’re supported.”
Altadena Musicians will be doing outreach at a jazz show for wildfire survivors Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Pinocchio’s Pizza: 1449 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena.
