English stoner metal quintet Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs have launched a Christmas appeal, asking for donations of pre-used and unwanted musical instruments so that they may be donated to musicians without the means to buy their own.
They are looking for anything; acoustic guitars, electric guitars, keyboards, synths, bass guitars, even that delay/fuzz pedal that you thought was a good idea at the time. The idea is that they can spread the love and get more people playing, whether they aspire to play music professionally, or simply for the fun of it.
Speaking to Guitar World, frontman Matt Baty says the initiative is based in England’s northeast, but the band is hoping to grow it in years to come, taking it to more regions and making it an annual event. Christmas was as good a time as any to launch it.
“There’s all kinds of sad statistics that reveal the pressure people feel in keeping up with the commercial machine of Christmas,” says Baty. “I’m going to sound a bit like Bob Cratchit but at its heart Christmas should be about community coming together and sharing. With each passing year it’s evident we need that more and more.”
Baty got the idea a while back when a local grassroots venue opened up near the band’s hometown in Newcastle. It had not long opened its doors before Covid shut them. Baty had some gear going spare that could help them out.
“A couple of years ago I had an old Marshall combo amp which had moved house several times with me over the years but was only used a handful of times,” he says. “A small venue had opened in the area just before the pandemic which obviously had a bumpy start to life so I asked if they’d like the amp as part of an in-house backline.
“It was nice to know it was going somewhere it’d be of real benefit. It got me thinking about all the other bits of music gear I have collecting dust in my attic and whether there were similar avenues to be explored in terms of putting it to good use, and here we are! The other Pigs have been phenomenal at jumping straight to work on the idea.”
It is an idea that sounds eminently workable. Reliable data is hard to find as too how much gear is out there, unloved, gathering dust. By Fender’s figures, the average player will spend $10,000 on gear over the course of their lifetime and own up to seven guitars.
The success of online retail giant Reverb is testament to how much of it is lying around. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs want to see it go to a good home – and Baty says a good home is anywhere where someone will play the instrument and get some joy out of it.
“There is clear evidence that self expression through music and art does a lot of good for people’s mental health, I think it’s a shame that we’ve all been conditioned into seeing music and the arts as something that must be commodified or made commercial,” he says.
“It doesn't need to be an activity pursued solely for financial return. Honestly, if someone receives an instrument from this campaign and finds a bit of space and comfort to express themselves, even if that music never leaves their bedroom, that’ll do me.”
The ongoing cost of living crisis in the UK, US and beyond has thrown into stark relief the kinds of financial pressures that today’s musicians face. Even high-profile musicians have spoken of their struggle to get by. Baty argues that it is not just the music industry to blame. The problem is much bigger. Musicians need help.
Although there are contributing factors such as the ever declining income streams available to musicians, issues surrounding accessibility to music aren’t solely rooted within the music industry itself
“Ideally we’d be living in a world where governments and local authorities tackle these kinds of issues head on but I won’t hold my breath for now,” he says.
“Although there are contributing factors such as the ever declining income streams available to musicians, issues surrounding accessibility to music aren’t solely rooted within the music industry itself, it’s a cause of economical and societal factors which require wholesale change to reverse.”
If you are in the northeast of England and are interested in donating your old gear, you can drop an email to info@pigsx7.com, and they can arrange pickup via Atlas Touring – and they also have a drop-off point, The Cluny, in Newcastle.
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