Asbury Park Resident Wins Upstage Reunion Guitar
Fender Squier Signed By The Boss, Little Steven, Southside Johnny & Others Goes For $5.2K
And the winner is – Eric Ellefsen.
The Asbury Park Music Foundation announced Sunday that the North Beach resident placed the winning bid for the Upstage Reunion Guitar.
Auction winner Eric Ellefsen, film producer Tom Jones & APMF Chair Jim Lenskold
“In April 2017, the Asbury Park Music + Film Festival brought together over 20 musicians who had played Asbury Park’s legendary club the Upstage for a reunion jam,” Asbury Park Music Foundation Chairman Jim Lenskold said in a written statement. “During that event, Asbury Park Music Foundation had a guitar signed by the musicians, which was auctioned off a year later.”
Former E-Street band member David Sancious played the Fender Squier during the reunion jam, and everyone from Bruce Springsteen and Little Steven to Southside Johnny and other members of the E-Street band and Asbury Park music community signed the guitar, Lenskold said.
And while the auction attracted bids from across the nation, in the end it went to Ellefsen, a new member of the Asbury Park community. Lenskold said Ellefsen learned of the auction on the final day. His $5,250 bid will go directly toward supporting the nonprofit’s Music Saved My Life youth music programs.
“We are fortunate to have him as part of our musical community and owner of this historical item,” Lenskold said.
The guitar features signatures from Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven Van Zandt, Southside Johnny Lyon, David Sancious, Vini Lopez, Paul Whistler, Joe Petillo, Albee Tellone, Gerald Carboy, Jeff Kazee, Tom LaBella, Gary Cavico, Danny Clinch, Ernest “Boom” Carter, Joe Bellia, Marc Ribler, Billy Ryan, Richard Blackwell, and Eddie Manion.
The 2017 Upstage Jam included a rough cut screening of Tom Jones’ Before the Dawn, which will feature an interview with Bruce Springsteen and footage from the jam session. The movie is scheduled for release later this year, Lenskold said.
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