I swear...

It wasn't me! Ok, maybe it was, but I have no recollections of the events in question! Twine ball goodness! This thing was huge. Really. Twine Ball was a great, grass-roots event that you should make sure to check out if they do it again next year. The heartland of America is definitely the place for some good ol' tom-foolery and drunken greatness. Just give yourself more time to get there so you don't wind up dead to the world before it starts!


Whaddya mean I gotta go someplace else??

Hurtin' from the drive in. 28 hours non-stop.

Bill feeling the pain side of "no pain no gain".

On the road to the ball!

Jeremy made Dan his bitch!

Thanks to all that made it out to suppor the event! Was a great time and hope to see you all out there again next year!

Sometimes you just gotta stand up!

Even when you have a comfy seat. Period. GV trip. Good times.

Outta here!

Not quite, but almost anyways. Gotta tidy up a dozen or so things on the bike, then I'm off to OC to pick up the OL, then off to Duarte at the buttcrack of dawn and then to Big Sur for shenanigans and camping, then off to Grass Valley for continuing shenanigans and more sleeping in dirt. Then if we're still alive, we'll come home. There's still time to pack your stuff and join in!

Off it goes...

Well, another is out of the stable for the time being. I loaded up the '65 pan and handed it off to Rico over at Hi-Bond Modified to have a look-see. After peeking in the spark holes, there doesn't look to be any top-end damage. A little accumulation on the exhaust valve on rear head, but nothing noticeable other than that. It's in Rico's more-than-capable hands now and I'm hoping it's just a freakin' kicker gear or other tranny problem at this point. Crossin' fingers.

And I thought I was just gonna put the new shaved legs Wompy did for me on there and blast up to Grass Valley. Silly me.

Good stuff to go do!

I just tossed this up on the EC blog too. Last year we had a ton of fun and made a bunch of new friends too! This year will be hard to miss with the lineup they are having and knowing what kind of gig they throw. That said, you have to go and make up for my absence. That's an order. Do it now!

Born Free Greatness!

Wow, what a weekend! Could've lasted longer, but I decided to let the sand in my vag take over and split out last night before things got any further out of hand! Great time all-around for sure. Met up with a ton of people at the Super 8 in LB on Friday. Drove the murder van down solo and didn't know what to expect early on, but everyone was in early and out in force. We took over the parking lot, invaded In-n-out (yeah, I know, no Whataburger, but still...), and had a great time long into the night. I had to be up early for setup at the show, and 7am was not my friend at all. Blew out the door early and got a prime spot right next to Moon Eyes and Lowbrow. Didn't take long before I was completely mobbed by booth traffic, so here's some of the photos I did get. My buddy Dave Herren dropped by and kept me company while doing his amazing photo work, so that was good. I'll live vicariously through his lens once he posts everything up. Great meeting tons of new people and had a ton of fun. Glad to be back at the ranch though. Now to go unload all that crap... later!

My good pal Buddy down from Sacto representing!

Bikes were stuffed in every corner of the Super 8 lot.

Shawn the crazy Canuck showed up! Diggin' the license mount brother, keep up the good work.

Not everyone made it in one piece...

Vegas crew represented in force.

That's just some from Friday, I'll post more of the show later for sure. Good seein everyone out there!

New tank's on the way!

Jason Roche, also known as Special '79, has finished my tank for the knuckle. Looks sweet and I'm stoked to get it in and on the frame. Jason is a stand-up guy who does amazing fab work. Go check him out HERE and let him create a little piece of the dream for ya!

Narrowed sporty with a domed top and flanged bottom. Jay hooked me up with a tunnel that allows me to use the stock forward bracket without cutting the frame and still get the look I was going for. Thanks man! I knew that wide-glide front was gonna come in handy someday!

Caught in the act...

Our boy Mike D. just spent the last week living it up overseas in Italy at the Jesolo Bike Week festival. Bastard. Even though it looks like it rained a ton, I'm sure he had a blast, as evidenced by these super action photos...

Master D showing the shocker to the natives...

... and then kicking over the world's bikes since we know those guys are all soccer playin sissies. Just sayin'

For Sale!

Friend Scotty is selling this beaut! It'll run you 12k and will be worth every penny. Great guy, great bike. Go get her! Contact Scotty directly at tmscott@surewest.net

Remember When?

Remember when shit was so much simpler? When people did what they did because they loved it and didn't have to deal with the nonsense BS of everyone being "out for self"? Remember when what people said actually held true? You know, they actually meant it and weren't just saying what you wanted to hear. If you don't, I feel for you.

I journeyed out behind the Orange Curtain today and had lunch with my long-time friend Steve. You see, Steve and I met back in 1988 when everything seemed different. It was still filled with angst-ridden punk and hardcore, pushing hard for the next show to get on a bill with the bands you loved, but a bunch of us did what we did for reasons beyond the next dollar or getting over on people to reach some fabled "top" of a ladder.

Life didn't have rungs back then. We just did what we did to have some fun, make enough to eat and survive, and take care of those close to you. Printing t-shirts and selling them for break-even. Recording your buddy's band and not worrying about when they were going to pay you. You knew the friends you kept would come through for you exactly the same way you did for them. Helping every time you could with everything you had. When you said something, you fucking did it. No bullshit.

Well, Steve and I remember and it seems like we both still do things for pretty much the same reason. It might not be making 7"s or playing shows any more, but we still put our hearts out there to show people what we're made out of and what our intentions are. Not too long back, Steve, Rich and Bear from Insted did an album with Roger from Agnostic Front. The Alligators. It rules. Check 'em out. Guess what? They didn't do it for money. They didn't do it to "get the band back together and tour, because we're broke". They did it, because they love this shit. I love this shit too. I did the artwork for that album and there was never a conversation about money. Everyone knew that wasn't the purpose. The purpose was to make a bitchin' record and get it to people like us.

Too bad people these days are too stuck in a place of fear and insecurity to face the truth - not everyone is out to fuck you over. Some people still do what they do just for the fun and the love of it. Some people don't want a reality show. Some people don't give a fuck who's at the top. Hell, simply saying there's someone at the top, immediately places you below them. While I understand and admire proper humility, I also realize that I exist beneath no one. I'm just like you. Right there next to you and not trying to put my foot on your head. You do something better than me. I do something else better than you. Great! That could be twice as much good shit getting done. If everyone could realize this, and live like this, imagine what we could do.

Good way to spend lunch. Getting back to basics with those you started off with in the first place. Steve you rule. Thanks for the tacos.

Haha! I found this photo of Insted on the tour where I met them in 88. Good geebus, we've gotten old... and forgotten where we put our bleach.

Now go listen to THIS

Another week gone by...

Geez, where does the time go?! Been spending a ton of time in the garage trying to get the '47 motor ready to go out to Rico's for reworking. Finally lugged that lump out yesterday and then tore down the front-end to start mocking up the frame with ideas. The magical Mike D stopped by and gave me a hand with some of the fun stuff. Good to have buddies in the shop. Keeps you goin! Still can't see where this one wants to be, but it will come. Hopefully sooner than later. I'm actually doing a pretty good job of just focusing on this one project even though there are so many others to do.

Empty bones

Mike D lending a hand... literally. This f'ing bearing was torn up on the bottom side and pretty much grafted onto the stem. We notched it and nada, so we busted out the big guns.

A little caressing with the sawzall and there you have it (or Bob's your uncle for you Brit bastards). A little off the top means a new neck for that glide, but all-in-all, not too bad a deal. Kept the stock neck cups good for cryin' out loud.

New 39mm front end and bars mocked. That tank's for the sporty, but gives me an idea how the one that's being done right now will look.

Some Hoedown Goodness!

Took a couple shots of this Evil Spirit bike at the Hoedown... gorgeous work! Mike and the gang do some amazing stuff over there. Go check 'em out! Evil Spirit Engineering.

Good Times!

Hoedown yesterday. Seems like it flew by. Great times, great people, and great music made for an all-around great day. Taking it easy around the home-front today and just recuperating. Got the Simple Math logo all dolled up and ready for stickers and schwag. Keep your eyes peeled on the EC store in the near future for that and another design I did last week. I was channeling some R. Crumb for the new one... unsuspecting passers-by got a sneak peek at it yesterday at the booth. To all that came out and shot the shit with me and the crew, good to see ya and don't be strangers!

Forking fantastic!

Mcgoo and the gang over at ChopCult skulked around the Street Chopper event this last weekend and took some undercover shots of the various front-end assemblies gracing the road that day. Lo-and-behold, they thought my shovel deserved a little face time! Head on over there and check out the rest of the article... short and sweet!

And now, from the other end of the state...

Our boys up north have always got good stories and good times to be had. Good to see 'em last month and hoping to do it again soon. Our boy James "hognuts" just had a kiddo (well, his girl did, but you get the picture)! He also added another to his stable and is keeping the Honda dream alive. This new one might even get ODB salivating... especially that tank! Congrats man! Good times all around!

My boy's all growed up now!

Yep, Mr. B hit the big THREE OH! Holy shit! What's next? Adulthood? Not possible!! Blazed out to Dan's Saturday to help him celebrate making it 30 years in a world where some people still think cavemen rode dinosaurs. Almost unthinkable. The caveman thing... not Dan hitting 30. Really. Love you brother, great hanging with ya! Welcome to "almost old man" stage in life!

Sacto visit part II...

Had a good time hanging with the Sacto boys out by the driveway fire last Saturday. Trip turned out way longer than either Mike D or I wanted it to, but we got the van and made it home without issue, so I'm not gonna bitch too loud. Steve gave up his front yard and garage, and the crew had fine stories and hardware. Thanks for the hospitality boys!

Lost a friend...

Well, I'm not the best at keeping up with the world these days. I, like most people, get caught up in the hustle and forget that there's a world outside our own that is turning whether we like it or not. This time, I find that it turned a way I'd prefer it didn't. Long time friend Robbie passed away late last year and I only found out recently. We hadn't seen each other in years, but had hooked up again last year through the wonderful world of the web. He'd moved his life to New Mexico, had a beautiful wife and they recently had their first child. Life was always bright for Robbie, because he was one of the few that fought through it in order to guarantee it would shine. I never knew him to give up or give in. Whether skating, fighting school, or whatever life threw at us, he always kept the rest of the crew rooted in the fact that it just "is what it is". You'll be missed brother. I'm really sorry I didn't go out to NM to see him. Don't wait on the things you think you'll do tomorrow folks.

Back seat of my bug... I think Mac Frizzel took this... probably Duncanville skate trip around 1988-89

Smurf Ramp - late 80's

A pic of Robbie later on doing the movie thing... 

Take care brother.