Last Tuesday, Marc Bourgon’s routine drive home took an unexpected twist when he spotted a Peavey bass guitar abandoned in the rain-soaked grass beside a Westboro road.
While many might see this as an unusual find, for the Ottawa musician, it marked the beginning of a mission. Strumming a few chords, Bourgon observed the guitar’s unusual state: grimy but still in tune, suggesting recent use. “It’s very odd for someone to just drop a guitar on the side of the road and leave it there. There was no case, no protection … It had been raining heavily, so something felt off,” Bourgon recounted.
Intrigued, Bourgon brought the guitar home for a closer look. Despite its weathered appearance, the guitar had character. The vintage sunburst finish, though scratched, retained its glow. The pickguard showed signs of extensive use, and the metal hardware was dulled by age. Although far from pristine, the guitar’s condition hinted at an instrument either well-loved or heavily used.
“I’m not a bass player. I play guitar and am more of a singer, but I dabble in stringed instruments,” Bourgon said.
As a member of the local acoustic duo Strum Chums and the lead of rock band Iconoclast for nearly 20 years, Bourgon has witnessed the frequent theft of musical gear. “I’ve known many people who’ve had their equipment stolen from their van on tour,” he said. “Just this week, I saw a DJ who lost a deck. Music gear is like bicycles: many are stolen, and very few are recovered.”
Aware of the distress losing an instrument can cause a musician, Bourgon took to social media to find the bass’s rightful owner. His efforts quickly gained momentum.
“I posted about it on Marketplace, but it was immediately taken down,” he said. So, he turned to his personal Facebook account, sharing photos of the instrument with a caption: “I found this bass … I suspect it was stolen from a car or someone’s home. If anyone knows about a missing instrument, please contact me.”
The post was shared over 400 times across Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit’s r/Ottawa, prompting multiple offers to take the bass off Bourgon’s hands for free. However, he remained determined to return it to its true owner.
Bourgon’s persistence paid off when Rick Vantour, who operates School of Rock in Orléans, recognized the bass from a repost in a local music group. The instrument had been stolen from Vantour’s studio.
“It was spring 2021 when some of our gear went missing. We checked pawn shops but found nothing,” Vantour said. “That bass was a gift to the school when we first opened 10 years ago. We even used it in promotional photos. It has a unique look and a missing tone arm.”
After confirming the bass’s identity with a photo of a former student playing it, Bourgon arranged a meeting to return the instrument.
The reunion at Bourgon’s rehearsal space, just over a week after finding the bass, was a moment of relief and connection. “There are telltale markings, although someone had changed the strings and repaired a tuning peg on the headstock,” Vantour noted.
“They clearly took care to make the instrument usable. As for how they acquired it … Well, we know roughly how, but not exactly,” Bourgon said.
The story of the bass’s return quickly spread on Reddit, where users celebrated the outcome with comments ranging from hopeful—“Sometimes the internet is a force for good”—to playful, dubbing it the “Brotherhood of the Travelling Bass.” Another user remarked on the rarity of such a successful resolution: “Took years, but he got it back!”
Bourgon understood the significance of his find. “Musicians invest a lot of time and money into their gear. (A guitar) represents someone’s possession, their music, their art,” he said.
“When that gets taken away, which happens quite often, it’s heartening to see the community come together with the help of the internet.”
For Bourgon, the quick recovery and return of the bass was less about personal achievement and more about upholding the respect and support that musicians extend to one another—a baseline kindness that underscores the local music scene.
“When people find gear that seems out of place, it would be great if everyone did their due diligence to return those items,” he said.
The incident has strengthened local connections, particularly between Bourgon and Vantour. “He’s around my age and occasionally puts on shows,” Bourgon said of the School of Rock owner. “He mentioned reaching out if he needs bands or anything.”
Meanwhile, Bourgon’s solo project, Iconoclast, reflects his two decades of rock and roll spirit. “You connect with people in the most unexpected ways, through shared gigs or random encounters like these,” he said.
“Matter of fact, I have a show at the Brass Monkey on August 31st.”
What better way to conclude the story of a lost and found bass guitar than with a performance that brings the community together once again.
