Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes with his new Gibson ES-330.
Following the Southern California fires earlier this year, which killed 29 people, burned over 57,000 acres, and damaged more than 16,000 homes and structures, Gibson and its philanthropic division Gibson Gives have "joined forces with music brands and multiple humanitarian aid organizations to help raise immediate funds for relief and recovery efforts, as well as help musicians impacted by the fires across Los Angeles," according to a statement. "After a pledge of $250,000., Gibson is proud to announce it has exceeded far beyond the initial pledge donating over $320,000 in guitars, gear, and direct cash donations, as well as harnessing an additional $516,000 in wildfire relief and recovery efforts with its non-profit partners, for a total impact of over $836,000."
"Gibson was also proud to join the FIREAID benefit concert—which raised over $100 million in funds for wildfire recovery efforts--the GRAMMY® Awards, MusiCares, and more with gear donations for auction items for the global blockbuster events," they said.
"Gibson Gives took action in a massive and unprecedented guitars and gear donation effort--independently and in partnership with many other music brands--to make the largest possible impact. Partners included Guitar Center--the world’s largest retailer of musical instruments and The Guitar Center Music Foundation, as well as the NAMM Foundation L.A. Wildfires Relief Fund and the support of many prominent manufacturers from the MI industry including AKG, AlphaTheta/Pioneer, Audio-Technica, Eastman, ESP Guitars, Hoshino (Ibanez Guitars/TAMA Drums), JBL Professional, C. F. Martin & Co., Pearl Drums, Remo Inc., Roland, DW, Saga, Schecter Guitar Research, Shure, Sony Music, Taylor Guitars, Universal Audio, Vater Percussion, Yamaha, and Avedis Zildjian Co. Gibson Gives provided over 150 Gibson and Epiphone guitars and directly assisted over 350 people through partnered efforts. Gibson Gives also supported musicians directly with donations and replacements."
“After the fire, Gibson sent me this ES-330 dot to help me start rebuilding my collection,” says Taylor Goldsmith of the band Dawes who lost his home in the Eaton Fire. “It’s always been a favorite guitar model of mine, ever since falling in love with the one that Dave Cobb (@davecobb7) had at his studio while we were recording our album Good Luck With Whatever. Looking forward to getting to know this one.”
“I honestly can't thank you enough. We were out of town when the Eaton fire happened and were not able to grab anything, but the support of the community and organizations like yours has been so incredibly heartwarming and really has shown me how incredible the arts community is here in L.A.”
“My pictures will be included in the book I am working on,” adds musician Ryan Bojanovic. “Thank you so much for it, it’s amazing, and I love it. Almost started crying in there.”
Visit gibsonfoundation.org for more info.
