Philly thugs nab Sonic Youth guitarist's axe

THUGS IN PHILLY steal everything from cash to copper. Wednesday night, they stole a famous guitar allegedly worth $20,000.

Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore reported on the band's Facebook page Thursday that someone had pinched his 1960 Fender Jazzmaster around midnight from the Best Western hotel on 22nd Street near Hamilton.

"It's Thurston's iconic Sonic Youth black Jazzmaster with all the stickers on its body," according to the Facebook post. "A police report has been filed. Please email us if anyone tries to sell this relic to yur [sic] store, it would be appreciated. Please forward to other guitar stores you may know in the area."

Such pleas have helped the band track down stolen gear before. When thugs stole a rental truck full of their guitars, amps and drums from Orange County, Calif., in 1999, fans trolling sales sites like eBay helped recover seven guitars.

Philadelphia police spokeswoman Jillian Russell said that Moore was in the hotel's bar with his luggage and guitar when he discovered the guitar missing. Its serial number is 41927, according to the band's website.

Tipsters can call Central Detectives at (215) 686-3093.

Moore was in town to play with Howlin' Rain's John Moloney at Space 1026, on Arch Street near 10th. The mop-haired 54-year-old is a founding member of Sonic Youth, an alternative/experimental band that formed in 1981 in New York. He ranked 34th on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list in 2004.