Southern rocks

Can a Kent-based band boogie like real southern rockers? Y’all bet yer arse they can! MelonHeadMan ripped through their high-energy ‘boogalizing’ songs at the Dublin Castle in Camden on Wednesday, December 29, and made our trip down from Lincolnshire well worthwhile – even if it was only an abbreviated set in a typically busy night on the cramped backroom stage of London’s famous music venue.

MelonHeadMan is a five-piece band from Tonbridge, inspired by souther rock legends like Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, ZZ Top, Molly Hatchet and Raging Slab. Front-man is Simon Savage and, in his own word from the band’s Myspace site, MelonHeadMan ‘sing songs about bad doctors, medicine men, and wild-hearted women.’

If you’re a southern rocker then it’s worth catching up with MelonHeadMan. There’s a bunch of shows already lined up for 2011. Check out http://www.myspace.com/melonheadman for gigs plus details on their new album ‘The Good and The Bad.’

Of Motorcycles and Music

So why the fuck does the world need another blog about motorcycles and music?

I guess it doesn’t. But what the hell….. 

I’ve been into bikes and bands since the late Sixties. The two kinda go hand in hand. Well they did in Easy Rider…..

I reached my peak in 1973 when I bought my first brand new motorcycle, a 650 single-carb Triumph.  The same year I also discovered southern rock. Thanks Skynyrd!

Yeah, I’m a refugee from ’73 all right*. And ‘Southern by the Grace of God’ (southern England that is).

I’ve been lucky enough to have worked (term used loosely) in the motorcycle racing industry for years and while I truly admire complex new tech, my personal choice of motorcycle is a ratty twin or single. The older I get. The shittier I like ’em!

I’ve got a shagged ’91 Sportster that’s in the process of being hacked. Chopped would be the wrong word. I attacked it with a hacksaw and now my mate is tidying it up and re-wiring it (I’m fuck all use with a spanner in my hand no matter how hard I try) and once finished it’ll be a kinda’ bar hopper style thing.

I’m also the proud owner of a tired 350 Bullet I bought over a year ago and aim to have on the road in the new year. Oh fuck, the new year is tonight. I guess I never specified which year…..

And I have a ’79 XS650 Yamaha I bought brand new that has been in bits since mid-1980-something when I tore it down with the intention of rebuilding it into a flattrack custom but is now gonna be a kinda Brat style softail creation. Fuck, I’ve even bought the frame lowering kit from Visual Impact in Pennsylvania (I found them at http://www.xs650chopper.com/ - the place if you like your XS650s custom-style).

I’ve promised myself to get the 650 done this year – once the Harley and Enfield are road-worthy. The dream is to have all three bikes on the road this year – and that’s one reason for the blog to kinda give myself a reason to get them done.  I can already envisage the nightmare it’s gonna turn into. Hey, I’m a glass half-empty kinda guy!

Another reason for the blog is to engage with others who don’t just share similar biking interests – but also who share the same tastes in music.

I love music. Southern still rocks. Fuck, I’m constantly blown away by the constant stream of brilliant new bands I keep discovering……

Enjoy the ride.

*     ‘Refugee from ’73’? It was a cheapshot remark in a Frank Marino gig review I read in some crap UK music rag. He played Hammersmith Odeon, wore a silky bat-wing tee-shirt, jeans tucked into knee-length platform boots and shredded long (very long) guitar solos. Very Hendrix. They said he looked - and played - like ‘a refugee from ’73’. Fuck ’em. It was a cool gig!  And I always remembered that slogan.