Charlie Brechtel and Bill Hayes, producers
Presented by Big 7 Productions
Reviewed by "LoDown" Dan Parker

Charlie Brechtel and Bill Hayes are two talented guys who, for most THUNDER PRESS readers, require little or no introduction. But for those few who have, say, been lost in the woods for a while, here are their nickel version bios. Brechtel writes rocking blues tunes that focus on bikers and the lifestyle and performs them across the country, including holding forth at the Buffalo Chip Campground annually in Sturgis. Hayes is a busy man too. He is the author of "The Original Wild Ones: Tales of the Boozefighters MC." He also pens stories for THUNDER PRESS, teaches martial arts, and plays in a band.
You wouldn't think these guys have any time left in the day but that's dead wrong. Proof of that is the "Bikers Inner Circle" DVD, on .which Hayes and Brechtel have so successfully collaborated. We've all heard of reverse engineering: Take apart something like a motorcycle, find out what makes it work (or doesn't) and then rebuild it, often making improvements in the process.
Patent and trademark issues aside, that's rather* like what was done with "Bikers Inner Circle." Fed up with television reality shows that purport to portray the biker lifestyle, Bill and Charlie set out to build a better] trap. Or, in this case; create a show that—through photography, music, and interviews with "real" bikers in a documentary style—would not only entertain but would tell the real story of the American biker.
From the opening strains of Brech-tel's hard-edged music, and guided by master of ceremonies Jim Elrite, a longtime member of the Hell's Angels in Northern California, viewers can be certain they are in for a unique insider's view into the world of hiking.There's plenty of great footage of rider runs all over the country, with lots of pretty girls, and bikes on the highways and byways, all with the Brechtel band providing a super soundtrack.
 
But what really sets this presentation apart from anything one might see on cable or satellite television are the interviews conducted with members of various clubs, including the Boozefighters MC (with some original members who were in Hollister in 1946), the Top Hatters MC, Hell's Angels MC (including Mitch, the VP from the Rochester, New York, chapter), the Lonelyones MC and others. One of the more insightful is a chat with Jim Owens of the Banditos MG •
There are contributions too by folks like Kim Peterson of In the Wind magazine. In every case there is no watering down of the content, nor is there any hyped-up histrionics j about how crazy-cool it is to be a motorcycle club patch holder; this is straight-from-the-shoulder stuff wit no additives or fluff.
If there is one criticism it is that \ the production values are not even across the whole project. But then again, Brechtel, Hayes and crew' shooting from the hip, so to speak, and, to some extent, learning as I went. While not exactly cinema< ite, Volume One of the "Bikers 1 Circle" DVD strives for and; a certain unvarnished honesty, the end, the content outweighs a I audio or visual glitches.
Brechtel, who will be back at the Buffalo Chip Campground again this month, has parlayed the "Bikers Inner Circle" into a weekly, free hour or so of original programming on the Internet to which Bill Hayes is a frequent contributor. And Brechtel is hard at work too on another Internet presentation called "Sturgis Rider Live." To receive those adult-oriented broadcasts, one needs to become a subscriber. Go to www.big7productions. com to order the "Bikers Inner Circle DVD Vol. 1," or to hear the weekly Internet radio presentations, to order one of "Goodtime" Charlie's music CDs, or to subscribe to Sturgis Rider Live. The' Bikers Inner Circle DVD is also available from www. biker truth.com or via eBay. ?
AND ALSO GET READY FOR BIKERS INNER CIRCLE 2
CHARLIE AND BILL OR AT IT AGAIN !!!!!!