STURGIS RIDER LIVE
Chaotic Clarity
Submitted to SLR 04-24-08
By Felicia Morgan
Huddling in the corner here at the Sturgis Rider Live headquarters in the Sierra foothills, I struggle to catch my breath as my trusty Heritage sits panting in the driveway, ready to hit the road again if the need presents itself. April has been a productive blur of life on the road and back-to-back parties as we’ve torn up the highways all over the great state of California in order to scoop the hottest gigs and motorcycling moments. We’ve been rubbing elbows with some of the most notorious bikers around and we’ve caught it all on film. I’m telling ya folks, no sacrifice is too great for us here at Sturgis Rider Live to make in order to keep you, our devoted subscribers, entertained and apprised.
The first of the month found us in San Jose, partying with the Ancient Iron MC folks at their 27th Annual Bike Blessing where the faithful among us could have our bikes blessed. Father Tom Finsterbach doused riders with Holy Water and inspirational words as the crowd partied in the parking lot for a rocking Easter Sunday. The Daily City Red n’ White kept us well fed and you can check out some of the shots of that hoe down in the free photo section of this site.
Next thing we knew we were on the road for a major blow out with the folks from Paisano Publications down in So Cal. Ya know you’re in for a pretty memorable evening when there’s a stripper’s pole bolted down in the garage. From the motorcycle that lives on top of the garage-where SRL model Kristen climbed up to flash some flesh for a snapshot or two- to the fossil car parked in the front yard, the party palace oozed “cool” and by the time the film crew yelled “wrap!” we’d all experienced a So Cal wing-ding of brain freezing proportions. Next mornin’ found us with Clean Dean from Biker magazine and Kim Peterson from In the Wind who gave our crew a tour of their magazine’s headquarters (where party streamers taped to the ceiling are a permanent party of the décor). We shot a few frames and thanked the guys for their killer hospitality as we wobbled back home to NorCal to try to rebuild a couple of brain cells before we hit the road again, this time for a gig a little closer to home.
The V Entertainment Group of Beverly Hills is producing a builder challenge show that will be aired on CMT beginning in May. The show, Chopper Challenge, will include 3 NorCal builders, Kirk Taylor out of Novato, Scott Long from Santa Cruz, and Cole Foster from Salinas as well as 3 guys from So Cal and another 3 from Arizona. The show will begin airing on May 14 at 8:30 on CMT. We got an invite from Kirk Taylor to attend the filming of his wrap party, so we beat feet down to Novato to scope out his entry, the Geico Insurance inspired green machine, at his Custom Design Studio. The grill in the parking lot was fired up to feed the hordes of fans who showed up to party with Kirk and his wife Lisa as we all admired the sleek, sparkly bike he kicked to life. Exceptionally nice folks and a great party as well. After drooling over the bike for a bit, we tossed a leg over our own saddles and blasted off the see Scott Long’s entry into the build off.
Nestled in an industrial section of the Santa Cruz hills, it was a beautiful ride over the fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge to Central Coast Cycles, which was in full swing party mode as we coasted into the parking lot. Scott had twisted the last bolt just a couple of hours before and as we dropped our kick stands, the beast roared to life. The film crew caught the crowd’s reactions and wrapped up the day’s shoot with the band rocking out in the back ground. Scott’s bike is also green, but the theme is the Hulk and is reported to be bound for the upcoming Hulk 2 movie. The paint job boasts a bad-ass close up of a gnarly set of eyes glaring out from under several coats of shiny gloss. Ya really gotta get up close and personal in order to truly appreciate the detail imbedded in the paint. We’re all anxious to see how this show pans out and who will be scoring the grand prize for this intensely competitive build off. The show begins airing May 14 and will continue for the following 10 weeks. Be sure to check it out.
The really big news for us for the month of April has been the addition of a film crew! We’d like to welcome Daron Ker to the family. He owns Water Buffalo Films out of San Francisco and has joined forces with Sturgis Rider Live. We are all thrilled as hell and honored to be working with him. Daron has a long list of films to his credit, including “Candy Corpse” which is a super 16mm short that was recently shown at the Sacramento Film Festival, but the most notable work that riders can relate to is the flick he’s been working on for the past 3 years. Touring the United States with the infamous Fryed Brothers Band, Daron has been shooting the band’s life on the road and at gigs. Developing a rep as a “rebel filmmaker” due to his affiliation with the band and riding world as a whole, Daron says he’s known as a “wild and crazy guy” among the local old school filmmakers. “I’m really not,” the soft spoken Daron explains, “they just think so cuz I’m hanging out with bikers.” He’s recently wrapped up the artistic documentary’s filming, which includes scenes shot from the handlebars of Harry Fryed’s motorcycle as well as other creative touches, and it’s off to the audio editor to finish off his intense labor of love. Folks can go to the website www.iridemovie.com to see some of the band’s escapades that he’s committed to celluloid, but a concert sponsored by Loco Productions with the Fryed Brothers and the Charlie Brechtel Band taking the stage for an evening will include a public showing of clips from the Water Buffalo Films “I Ride” movie on July 12 at the Fox Theatre, 241 S. Main Street in Salinas. Our clan will all be there and we hope to see you, too.
“What’s happening in May,” you ask? Well, we’ll be headed to Half Moon Bay for the very elegant Legends of the Motorcycle, a motorcycle art show’s in the works, Motorcycle Madness by Horse Power Productions in Santa Maria is mapped out, as well as a trip for the film crew to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina to hang out with bike builder Randy Simpson for what promises to be a lesson in Southern hospitality. The annual Frog Jumps are gonna be hopping at the Murphy Hotel in Murphy, California as the Charlie Brechtel Band plays there for the Top Hatters MC and then later that evening in Copperopolis for the Sons of California MC. To scope out what the maniacs at Sturgis Rider Live are up to, check out the “Members Only” section for flicks, females, and flesh.
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For a complete calendar of dates and times for the above mentioned events, as well as others, swing by your local Harley Davidson dealership and snag a free copy of Thunder Press magazine.