For a musician, their instrument is everything. So you could say Jerod Rivers lost it all.
"This is everything," said Rivers. "It's everything that I need to do as a musician to make a living. Was all in that room."
And now it's all gone. His beloved drums were stolen from a storage unit in a downtown building last week.
"I've been in shock and disconnected," said Rivers.
He plays the drums in several Kansas City bands, earning his spot as one of the city's most well-known musicians.
"I'm a drummer," said Rivers. "It's what I do."
The drums are worth about $4,000, but in Rivers's mind, they're priceless.
"The snare drum that was taken was my father's. He purchased it when he was in sixth grade. And it was for him to play at school," said Rivers. "And then when I was in sixth grade and I took up drums like my father, I started playing that drum as well."
A good friend of Rivers launched a campaign on Facebook to get the drums back, even offering a $1,000 reward.
"It's kind of a sickening feeling and sadly familiar," said his friend, Sean Hogge. "There's a lot of musicians that have gone through this."
They're fighting to get back Rivers' lifeline, and more importantly, a father's gift.
"That's what we're hoping for. We don't care about anything else," said Rivers. "Just get the drums back."
If you know the location of the drums, email Sean Hogge at sean@seanhogge.com or call 816-277-8825.
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Justin Wilfon can be reached at justin.wilfon@kshb.com.
