Aside from being far and away the coolest member of Limp Bizkit, Wes Borland is also a very accomplished guitarist, having been nominated for a Grammy three times, ranked as one of the top 50 guitarists by various trade publications, and crowned Riff Lord at Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Awards in 2018.
Now, thanks to AnalogR—a curator of collected musical items and memorabilia—and their Artist First collection series, fans can take part in an auction of Borland's insane overflow of everything from guitars, drum sets, and amplifiers to assorted costumes and other oddities that Borland has created for himself or for the stage for the last 25 years. It's called "The Wes Borland Collection" and you can check the auction out right here.
"I wanted to go to school for fine arts [and] special effects, and when that got derailed by the band getting signed, I wanted to keep that going," says Borland, in a teaser video for the collection which can be watched just below. "So, enter me coming up with costumes, very elaborate onstage looks… I just wanted to keep that visual side going through my musical career, as well"
Some of the items include Borland's original touring head that was also used for the recording of 3 Dollar Bill Y'all, the leather coyote jacket Borland wore onstage when Limp Bizkit toured in support of their Gold Cobra album (2011), a pair of custom made costume stage pants, some of Borland's personal artwork, plus a 1999 Billboard Award for Video of The Year for "Nookie." And this is only the tip of the iceberg, as their are literally hundreds of items available in the auction.
"I've been a gear head for [about] 25 years, my mother calls me a hoarder," says Borland. "I was drawn to all this stuff because I thought it would help me create: I saw songs in the guitars [and other equipment], and a lot of it has inspired me a great deal, and I've used it to record many records, many songs, but I feel like a lot of it has run its course with me.
"[The ArtistFirst Collection] is about reducing. It's about putting cool things with cool stories in the hands of people that actually want them, and me just sort of cleaning house."
If you're in the market for some new gear, you may want view the entire Wes Borland Collection at AnalogR before schlepping to the commercial retailers. But get on the train soon, as the availability of these items range in between 2-5 days before their closing. Some of the items currently have bids that amount to thousands of dollars, but there are still, as of now, many affordable items with equally as potent history.
