According to the
St. Paul Pioneer Press, a vandal broke into
AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE's trailer — which was parked outside of their rehearsal space in Minneapolis — on Wednesday (August 24) and made off with an estimated $15,000 worth of high-end amps and other gear.
"It seems like it was somebody who knew what they were doing," guitarist
Benji Helberg told the
St. Paul Pioneer Press. "All the really good, high-end stuff was ripped off."
Even if the gear isn't recovered,
AMERICAN HEAD CHARGE will go ahead with their scheduled appearance at an all-ages gig Saturday at First Avenue. Proceeds from the show will benefit the family of former
AHC guitarist
Bryan Ottoson, who died in April from a prescription drug overdose while the band was on tour with
MUDVAYNE. The band has also produced a limited-edition
Bryan Ottoson memorial T-shirt that'll be on sale at the gig.
Helberg's former group,
BLACK FLOOD DIESEL, is one of three support acts. After
Ottoson's death,
Helberg temporarily filled his place for the rest of the
MUDVAYNE tour. He continued to play guitar with
AHC on the band's summer dates with
STATIC-X and is now a full-fledged member of the group.
"
Bryan was my best friend,"
Helberg told the
St. Paul Pioneer Press. "I really wanted to help keep
Bryan's music going. And it was working out so well, they asked me to stay."
