RED FANG - "HANK IS DEAD" . . . . IN ANTICIPATION OF TODAY . . . . THREE BEARDED BLOKES IN A TIGHT SHOWER CUBICLE . . . . IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THAT, NOW DOES IT . . . . ???? HUMOUR, WHAT A FUCKING WONDERFUL THING IT IS DARLING . . . . NOW IT'S TIME FOR BED . . . . NYE-NYE SWEETHEART . . . . XXXXX

SOUNDWAVE IN BRIS VEGAS TODAY, SHOULD BE WET, MUDDY AND MARVELOUS . . . . APART FROM CYPRESS HILL, ANTHRAX, SLAYER,, METALLICA, KYUSS, BLINK 182, RED FANG AND A CAST OF THOUSANDS . . . . SUPER EXCITED TO CHECK OUT 'GALLOWS', KNOW SWEET FUCK ALL ABOUT EM BUT IF THEY'RE GOOD ENOUGH FOR TIMMY LOVELESS . . . . THEY'RE MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME . . . . I'LL REPORT BACK WITH A POST GIG RAVE . . . . 666, FUCK YEAH !!!

FILE THIS AWAY UNDER - "WHEN TOO MUCH ROCK AND ROLL IS BARELY ENOUGH" OR "BLACK TEE SHIRTS ARE MANDATORY" AND "DON'T SMILE TOO MUCH, AND DON'T FORGET TO LOOK TOUGH"

JUST BOUGHT ANOTHER PAIR OF THESE TO REPLACE THE ONES THAT SOME SCUMBAG PILFERED OFF MY LID BEFORE NEW YEAR . . . . COMES A TIME YOU GOTTA ACCEPT THAT SOME THINGS AIN'T NEVER COMING BACK . . . . THESE'LL BE MY THIRD PAIR OF HALCYON'S IN TWENTY FIVE YEARS, A 'THIRD' WASN'T PLANNED . . . . KINDA UGLY BUT THEY'RE ALL FUNCTION, NO FASHION, JUST BRASS, GLASS AND LEATHER . . . . DID I MENTION THAT I FUCKING HATE THIEVES ????

ROYAL CROWN REVUE "ZIP GUN BOP" . . . . THERE WAS A SHITLOAD OF WIMPY, CARICATURED, COPIEST SKA EMMINATING FROM THE STATES IN THE MID NINETIES . . . . 'HEY, LETS DRESS UP LIKE MADNESS AND PLAY SKA MUSIC, IT'LL BE REALLY KEEN' . . . . UNFORTUNATELY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF IT WAS UTTER FUCKING DROSS, EXCEPT THESE DUDES . . . . IT WASN'T SKA FOR STARTERS, THEY WEREN'T PRETTY BOYS EITHER . . . . AND THEY FULLY TORE IT UP LIVE !!!

THROWBACK FINNED ROCKER COVERS RE-POST . . . . NOTICED LOTS OF TRAFFIC HITTING ON MY BLURB ON JOSH'S FANTASTIC FINNED ROCKER COVERS . . . . SADLY, IT WAS FROM THE DAYS BEFORE MY FEEBLE MIND HAD FIGURED OUT HOW TO PUT UP PHOTOS . . . . SO HERE'S THE ONE I DID LATER ON WHEN THE MAGIC OF PICTURES HAD BEEN REVEALED TO ME . . . . AND YES, THEY ARE EVERY BIT AS GOOD IN THE FLESH AS THEY APPEAR IN THE SHOTS . . . . THANKS AND ENJOY.

When I saw Irish Rich's write-up on these divine pieces from the ultra talented Josh Frazitta my mindbegan to swim, they looked the absolute duck's nuts, only bigger and finned and meant for shovelheads not the feathery bit between the legs of a drake, and I knew I had to have them . . . . I have had a love affair with cast alloy performance parts for years, ever since dad put a finned rocker cover on the LC GTR back in the seventies . . . . when I got my first set of Midtracks in the mail in 1977 that only intensified and moreso when the 169 Indy's arrived some two years later, I remember holding them and kinda rolling them around in my hands, the tiny surface irregularities, the dull sheen instead of a hard, antiseptic shine of chrome or high polish alloy . . . . think Halibrand and American Racing wheels, the wonderful Minilite and all the go fast goodies from the late fifties and early sixties cast from high magnesium content alloys, there is a tactile quality about them quite apart from the straight up visual allure . . . . Throwback's rocker covers are in the same league.

I waited a while until Josh had them all machined and ready to go and when they arrived in the mail, dang, if they weren't even better in the flesh than I imagined they could be, beautiful is a massive understatement, the detail and attention to it, is fully mindboggling, perfectly machined faces, bolt holes and seats, no daggy flash hanging off anywhere and the aesthetic appeal of classic era performance parts, amazingly presented stuff, real quality has an appearance you just can't fake . . . . these things have it in spades.

And just like all the bits and pieces that have come before these eyecatching, sand cast, retro styled, hand made, immaculately finished components, they have that same character, a 'patina' that only this level of quality and production technique possess, individual, massaged with love and care by the human hand, not just popped out of some endless, automated, sterile assembly line . . . . there's real commitment and passion in this shit, you can feel it, you do sense it and, moreover . . . . they look great and will also do a proper job of helping dissipate heat away from the top end . . . . the shovel's gonna thank me for this, sure as hell.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, my sincere thanks and gratitude to Josh Frazzita for top shelf service and having the balls, persistence and unwavering commitment to quality to get these babies out there, well done mate, an extraordinary result you should be rightly chuffed about . . . . I'll run them with real pride. 

"MARK DREWS AND GABE GRIFFIN SPLITTING LANES ON PANHEADS" ['MOONEQUIPPED' HCS09] - I KNOW NOTHIN ABOUT MR GRIFFIN AND LITTLE ABOUT MR DREWS APART FROM HIS TWEEK CRAZY '57 TRUMPY AND A COUPLE OF OTHER TASTY SCOOTS OVER RECENT YEARS . . . . THIS AIN'T ABOUT THE BIKES SO MUCH AS IT IS THE 'VIBE' . . . . TWO DUDES HAVING A BALL AND GETTING AMONG IT, THE HEART OF THE ENTIRE TWO WHEEL GIG . . . . GET ON IT AND RIDE !!!

PLUS, THE BITCHIN BONUS OF GIBBONS, HILL AND BEARD GETTING THEIR FREAK ON IN THE BACKGROUND WITH THEIR CLASSICALLY GROOVY TUNE 'CHEAP SUNGLASSES' . . . . AGAIN, WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE ???

IT'S HALF ONE IN THE A.M AT MY PLACE . . . . WENT TO BED OVER THREE HOURS AGO, CAN'T SLEEP WITH THIS FUCKING EYE CONDITION CALLED 'BLEPHARITIS' . . . . PRESCRIBED REMEDY IS BATHING MY EYES IN JOHNSONS BABY SHAMPOO . . . . I AIN'T KIDDIN . . . . MODERN MEDICINE, GOT TO BE HAPPY WITH THAT !!!!

ALICE COOPER "UNDER MY WHEELS" . . . . WELL, I COULDN'T GET IT OUT OF MY TINY MIND AFTER THE MENTION IN THE DERRINGER POST . . . . THE SON OF A PREACHER MAN WITH A PENCHANT FOR GIRLS NAMES, MAKEUP, SNAKES, INFANTICIDE AND BOOZE . . . . THROW IN SOME OTHER BLOKES IN SKINTIGHT JUMP-SUITS, SPANGLES, DANGLES, CHORDWANGLES AND GLITTER FROM THE SHITTER . . . . WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE . . . . GENUWHINE PRE-PUNK BADNESS

RICK DERRINGER - "ROCK AND ROLL HOOCHIE KOO" (1973) . . . . WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO RICK DERRINGER IS WHAT I ASKED MYSELF WHEN I RAN INTO THIS THE OTHER DAY . . . . HOOCHIE KOO WAS A REAL KILLER FOR ME AS A KID BACK IN '74 . . . . IT WAS THE SHIT THAT THE SENIOR BOYS WERE LISTENING TO, GROWN-UPS MUSIC . . . . I HAD "ALL AMERICAN BOY" UNTIL THE SUMMER OF 1980 WHEN I SOLD A STACK OF LP's TO FINANCE MY DRINKING REQUIREMENTS.

Yeah, 'All American Boy', I loved the shit from when I was thirteen or so, just prototypical, period rock and roll, awesome guitar lines, super tight playing, it kicked arse, the lineup of players on the album was a total hitlist of quality musos, among them Suzi Quatro, Edgar Winter, Joe Walsh and the one and only Patti Smith are just the ones I can remember, it was pretty much underground out here but it was way bigger in the States . . . . what I didn't know then was that he was the main man in the McCoys who had the major sixties bubblegum hit, 'Hang on Sloopy' and he also played guiter on one of my most loved Alice Cooper tracks, "Under My Wheels, he spent heaps of time throwing it down with both Winter freaks and many internationally famous stars to boot . . . . I vaguely recall reading back then he was also involved with Dan Hartman's mega huge disco hit, 'Instant Replay' at which time it gave me the subconscious okay to flog off his album . . . . I haven't heard anything of him for eons, if he's alive or gone to join the big jam in the sky, wherever he's at, he was definitely a big part of my musical palette in my formative years

"CALIFORNIA HOT ROD REUNION 2008" [BY 'WOLF55'] FEATURING A REDHOT ROCKABILLY SOUNDTRACK AND SOME WILD GO FAST FOOTAGE . . . . CLOSE-UPS OF BIG RUBBER, BIG BLOWERS, BIG HEMIS AND BIG SPEED . . . . ALTEREDS, DIGGERS, STOCKERS, SHOCKERS AND ROCKERS . . . . A WHOLE CAN OF CLASSIC WHOOP ASS DRAG RACING SHOWING THESE GENUINE TIRE SHREDDERS IN THEIR INTENDED ENVIRONMENT . . . . BLITZING THE QUARTER MILE !!!!

THIS IS JUST WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT . . . . ALL THE SHIT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH MISSING FROM THE TIMES IN WHICH WE NOW LIVE . . . . NO BULLSHIT, NO CORPORATE GREED AND PLENTY OF GOOD OLD FASHIONED SPEED . . . . ALL MANNER OF BEASTS ARE REPRESENTED WITH SUPERB MOVIE MAKING SKILLS COURTESY OF 'WOLF 55' . . . . IF THIS DOESN'T GIVE YOU A WOODY, YOU'LL NEED MORE THAN VIAGRA.

IF ONLY WE HAD "SMELL-A-VISION" OR "ODORAMA" . . . . IT'D BE ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY PERFECT !!!!

CHRR 2011 "THE MOVIE" ['HOTRODEDDIE'] . . . . THE WORLD PRETTY MUCH STOPS FOR ME IN 1970/71 WHEN IT COMES TO AUTOMOTIVE STUFF . . . . BY 1972 THE ENVIRONMENTALIST AND GREENIE CO-OP HAD STARTED TO EXACT THEIR PISSWEAK REVENGE ON ALL THAT HAD GONE DOWN IN THE PRECEDING DECADES . . . . THE GENERAL PUBLIC WANTED PROTECTION FROM KILLER AUTOMOBILES . . . . BECAUSE RALPH FUCKING NADER AND THE PRESS TOLD THEM SO.

NOT ONLY THAT, BUT DESIGNERS SUDDENLY SEEMED TO LOSE ALL CREATIVITY AND INSPIRATION, CARS BECAME GROTESQUE PARODIES OF WHAT THEY ONCE WERE, BALLS CUT OFF BY THE OIL CRISIS AND MEDIA RUN CAMPAIGN FOR STUPID, FUCKED UP LITTLE CARS THAT WERE ONLY GOOD FOR JOCKEYS AND DWARVES WITH A STYLE DEFICIENCY . . . . THE ONCE GREAT POWERPLANTS FROM THE BIG THREE IN DETROIT WERE STRANGLED AND EMASCULATED BY THE SOCIAL DOGOODER LOBBY IN CAHOOTS WITH 'ARSECLOWN GENERAL' NADER AND HIS GLOBAL ARMY OF SOULLESS,  LOBOTOMISED FOLLOWERS, SO BY THE MID SEVENTIES WE WERE FUCKED !!!

THE MOST WONDERFUL THING ABOUT THE LAST THIRTY YEARS FOR ME HAS BEEN THE EVER MORE POPULAR RISE OF FOLK WITH A LOVE FOR ALL THE GREAT SHIT FROM THE DAYS BEFORE THE BIG DUMB DOWN, THE IDIOTIC, MAD, PASSIONATE SOULS WHO WANT TO KEEP THE ESSENCE OF THE DAYS OF UNLIMITED POWER AND PERFORMANCE ALIVE AND KICKING . . . . THE PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION OF PRE 1970 DRAG MACHINERY REPRESENTS THE PINNACLE OF THIS ETHOS, TO BE ABLE TO STILL SEE THESE BEHEMOTH BIG BANGERS IN ALL THEIR SPLENDOUR AND GLORY IS WORTHY OF ABSOLUTE ADMIRATION AND RESPECT, NOT TO MENTION THE TESTICLE TICKLING EXCITEMENT THE ORIGINAL SPEED KINGS INDUCE.

THE DUDES WHO RACED THESE WICKEDLY WILD JIGGERS BACK IN THE DAY WILL BE FOREVER MY HARDCORE HEROES OF THE 1/4 MILE, THINGS HAVE GOT FASTER SINCE THEIR HEYDAY BUT THEY AIN'T GOT ANY COOLER OR ANY MORE REQUIRING OF NUTS THE SIZE OF BASKETBALLS . . . . SITTING TWO FEET BEHIND A NITRO BURNING MILL THAT WAS CAPABLE OF SPLATTERING BITS OF THE PILOT ALL OVER THE NEXT TOWN HAS GOTTA BE THE DEFINITIVE DEMONSTRATION OF COOL UNDER PRESSURE.