Supporting the Fire Relief Fund for the Oakland Ghostship Fire

Last week's fire at Oakland's Ghostship collective was a huge tragedy for the bay, our country and too close to home for anyone who has ever attended a warehouse party. Being an OG, I don't hit these type of events much anymore but not only have I attended some, but I have performed at the very same kind of warehouse/art loft parties.

Having come up in the bay, with friends and bandmates still living there, this tragedy hit me and my friends at Alpha Pup Records. My homies in Hieroglyphics are performing a benefit for the Oakland Fire Relief at the Fox Theater on December 14th and I saw the LA crew like JonWayne, Nobody and Daddy Kev donating items in an eBay auction to raise money so I felt compelled to join in as well. 

This vintage Boss pedal hails from the 80's and is the actual compressor sustainer from Juan Alderete's Mars Volta era pedalboard. Juan used this out of production CS-2 the entire time he was in the Mars Volta as well as on his Vato Negro and Big Sir records. Bid on a pedal Boss stopped making in the 80's and was used by a Grammy winning bassist!

The CS-2 Compressor Sustainer has also been seen on guitarists David Gilmore, Thurston Moore and many others pedalboards. Though Juan used it primarily on bass the Boss CS-2 is awesome on guitar, bass, drum tracks, vocals...it's an all around magic pedal. 

I took two pedals to Alpha Pup Records headquarters and Jake there snapped photos of me holding two rare effects. These pedals, my vintage Boss CS-2 compressor-sustainer and custom Gojira Trembulator tremolo can be found here on ebay with the proceeds of the auction going to to support Gray Area Foundation for the Arts' Fire Relief Fund for Victims of Ghostship Oakland Fire.  

This is a custom Mexican flag tremolo made by Gojira FX for Juan Alderete. Juan is known to have Mexican flags all over his gear and Gojira made this for him in honor of his heritage. Tagged by Juan himself, you can own this custom pedal autographed by the bassist it was created for. 

Coming at you from Scotland, the Trembulator is a super-fast tremolo by GojiraFX which provides a wide range of tremolo sounds and a great vibe/ring effect. Like new and can and should be used on all instruments!

It is tough raising money during the holidays but if you need a compressor or tremolo, maybe think of grabbing these, knowing you are supporting a much needed cause.

-Juan