STAIND Guitar Brings $4,850
December 1, 2005A STAIND fan bid $4,850 to win an acoustic guitar owned by the band's frontman, Aaron Lewis, via an eBay charity auction to benefit the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation. As part of the winning bid, Kelly Duluoz, a 32-year-old resident of Kent, Wash., will receive tickets and backstage passes for a solo concert Lewis plans to give at his alma mater.
"It's for just such a great cause, and I'm a hugeSTAIND fan and an even bigger Aaron Lewis fan," Duluoz told The Republican.
Lewis was surprised that the guitar, which he played on tour for three years, drew such a high bid.
"I can't believe it got that much," he told The Republican in an e-mail. "I'm starting to think about selling all my guitars for that kinda money."
Lewis had donated the instrument to the Longmeadow Educational Excellence Foundation, which provides grants in whole or in part to fund programs that cannot be funded through the town's public schools budget.
Duluoz, who formerly worked with screenwriters and film directors in Beverly Hills, Calif., bid $4,000 and then $4,500 before winning at $4,850. She does not plan to play the guitar.
"I dabble a little bit, but I really don't play," she said. "I don't plan on playing this one at all."
Duluoz will receive the guitar fromLewis, who graduated from Longmeadow High in 1990, at the concert. The show date will be set by the end of the week, and organizers hope the concert will take place in late January.
Peter Greenberg, president of the foundation, said after the guitar was put up for auction last week that he hoped it would bring a $5,000 bid. Yesterday he expressed satisfaction with the $4,850 bid.
"We did all right, so I can't complain," said Greenberg. He also praised Lewis for his generosity.
"We can't say enough about Aaron donating the guitar," Greenberg said.
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