PRIMUS' Ler LaLonde Reflects on Fire's Destruction: A Lifetime of Guitars Gone in Flames
In a raw and revealing conversation on the Sixty Scales And The Truth podcast, PRIMUS guitarist Larry 'Ler' LaLonde laid bare the emotional wreckage left by the January 2025 wildfires that ravaged his home in Los Angeles County. With a heavy heart, LaLonde recounted the gradual realization of the extensive guitar collection he had meticulously amassed over the years, only to see it reduced to ashes. 'It's weird because it's been, like, slowly just remembering, 'Oh, this…' 'Cause I didn't have everything super cataloged,' he admitted, illustrating the painful process of piecing together memories of lost instruments, particularly lamenting the Roland synth guitars that made up a significant part of his collection.
As the flames danced closer, LaLonde's thoughts turned from material loss to the safety of his family, including his beloved cats. 'Yeah, that's what your brain does. It goes, 'It's only stuff.' Literally if one of the cats didn't make it out, I would have traded… I would take getting all the cats out over any of the guitars,' he said, revealing a juxtaposition of priorities in the face of disaster. While his guitars were a lifetime of passion and dedication, the human element was what truly mattered in the end.
In the wake of the destruction, LaLonde found himself reflecting on the significance of ownership and the nature of loss. 'Maybe not quite as much,' he noted when asked if his perspective on owning rare guitars had shifted. With a wry chuckle, he recounted how a previous burglary at a friend's storage unit prompted him to bring his gear home, only to find that it was far from safe there. The irony was not lost on him, as he now mused about the importance of safeguarding one's treasures.
Despite the heavy toll, LaLonde has strived to maintain a positive outlook, stating, 'First of all, there's nothing you can do about it. So all you can really do is… It's only how you react to it.' With around 60 guitars and an arsenal of pedals lost to the inferno, he acknowledged the emotional weight of such a loss but insisted on focusing on the future. 'It does suck. It was a big drag, but like I said, there's nothing you can do about it. It is what it is.'
In a stroke of kindness amidst the chaos, legendary guitar maker Paul Reed Smith reached out to LaLonde, sending him two stunning guitars to help replenish his collection. Yet, the sentimental losses still haunt him, especially the Stratocaster that played a pivotal role on early PRIMUS records. 'There's one Strat that I had on all the first PRIMUS records… that one was in there [the fire],' he recalled with a tinge of nostalgia. 'The first thing that I grabbed… was the double-neck that Alex Lifeson gave me.' While some treasures escaped the blaze, the weight of memory remains heavy.
As the ashes settled and the initial shock wore off, LaLonde's wife, Shane Stirling LaLonde, shared the harrowing reality of their loss on social media. 'Our home is gone, and so are the homes of every one of our friends and neighbors,' she wrote, capturing the devastation that swept through their community. 'We lost everything. It doesn't sink in easily that you have nothing… It's still sinking in minute by minute.' In the face of such loss, the LaLonde family stands resilient, a testament to the enduring spirit of those who live for the music, even when the instruments are lost to the flames.