Gear thefts are insanely common nowadays. It's an incredibly unfortunate situation for touring bands to be in, considering most of their income comes from touring. So y'know – tour for money, but maybe lose all the stuff you need to tour in the process.
Jesse Caron, owner of the company Gigbox, has come up with a fairly sneaky and logical solution to these thefts. The SMRT Roadie is a functioning tuner pedal when it's plugged into your rig, and when it's not it functions as a GPS for your gear. The pedal is not in full production yet, but demos of it have been made and are planned to retail for $149.99.
Carosn says he's been in touch with St. Louis authorities, where Gigbox is based, about cooperation in retrieving lost gear via the SMRT Roadie pedal. Carson says they've been cooperative, and he hopes that the pedal will also aid in deterring these types of crimes in the future.
Seriously, I hope this works out. For Carson, because he deserves the recognition and everything that's coming to him if this is successful, and because bands don't deserve getting all their shit stolen every single time they dare go on a trek.
[via Riverfront Times]
