Things are happening fast since we left Sturgis over a month ago. Among other things, we signed on to travel with a film crew on the Motorcycle Cannonball Race. 45, pre-1916 motorcycles started the race in Kitty Hawk, NC. The goal is to make it to the Santa Monica pier by Sept. 26th. The UNLEADED ZEPPELIN is providing support in the form of a swanky place to congregate along the way. Below is a video of our Chattanooga stop at the Coker Tire headquarters. Coming soon...clips from our adventures with Kid Rock and the Zac Brown Band.
Sturgis 2010
With legends like KID ROCK, ZZ TOP, Bob Dylan, and Ozzy Osbourne leading the charge, and current favorites BUCKCHERRY, Disturbed, and Jason Aldean mopping up, you might expect fillers in between. Not at the Chip! Woody and his crew stepped up, and brought in classic acts that fill stadiums elsewhere... Motley Crue, John Mellencamp, Scorpions, & Tesla among many others!
A faulty regulator on the Moto Guzzi left the Zeppelin crew stranded once we docked at the Chip on Friday, the 6th of August. Fortunately, we never NEEDED to leave the premises, as the best entertainment, food, and beverage were found within spittin’ distance of our spot near MICHAEL LICHTER'S Eternal Combustion exhibit. SHADE TREE FABRICATIONS frontman Kyle provided plenty of eye-candy for bike-lovers, as well as all hetero males in attendance! Harem hardly describes the scene at the double-decker den of sin he calls a roadshow. 
New friends Danny & TJ from HARD NINE CHOPPERS dropped by to tease us with their crazy-cool ‘42 flathead (BMX chopper?). Nicknamed “Podium”, DMX ruled the bike show scene in Sturgis (at least the ones that mattered). The Unleaded Zeppelin was also proud to welcome our newest celebrity... Bird Raynolds. Stay tuned, as more B. R. info is forthcoming!
The week’s highlight came when Kid Rock asked us to pull up next to the tour buses (see video), and host his after-party on the Unleaded Zeppelin. An estimated 100,000 enjoyed his two hour set full of butt-rockin’ classics, as well as a few teases from his upcoming album “Born Free” set to drop in Nov.. Rock’s dad, Bill Richie, joined him and a dozen or so friends aboard the Airstream for nearly three hours, while the G5 sat idling on the runway across the street. RED STAG and White Label JIM BEAM flowed freely, as all in attendance were treated to a preview of what will surely be another multi-platinum effort from a Rick Rubin produced Kid Rock collaboration. Stillwater?
Who would have thought that a 3 week hiatus near this sleepy little Oklahoma college town, would lead to some of the highlights of our 2010 tour. The finicky air-bag system (and missing warning light) on our vintage Airstream motor-home caused us to miss a couple of scheduled events back east. Fortunately, Stillwater’s name is NOT indicative of the local scene. Livin’ Loud heroes KICKER Audio and legendary purveyors of fine food and fast times ESKIMO JOE’S are both headquartered here! The gods have once again smiled on our misfortune!Firstly, the aforementioned ESKIMO JOE’S happened to be prepping for their week-long, 35 year anniversary celebration. As fate would have it, the powers that be at Joe’s have AWESOME taste in music, and have tapped Zeppelin faves JONATHAN TYLER & THE NORTHERN LIGHTS to help kickoff the week’s festivities. I have a longstanding pact with JT, that states; if we are within 100 miles, they should consider the Unleaded Zeppelin THEIR tour bus. TIm at Joe’s was nice enough to carve out a parking space next to the venue, so we dropped anchor there for a couple of LATE nights. EJ’s owner Stan joined us the first night, to help kickstart the week with an epic after-party that had the NO JUSTICE boyz tapping out early! Our pals at Budweiser kept all the participants sufficiently hydrated throughout our stay!
JT and crew ripped the (removable) roof off the joint on Tuesday, and proceeded to do the same on the Airstream afterward. Country crooner & Stillwater alum KEITH ANDERSON dropped by and tipped a few with the fellas before jetting off for a gig in New York. Roger D., Kicker’s global marketing whiz, and ex-EJ’s GM, stopped in to validate the proceedings. Always a pleasure to kick it with my favorite 20-something bluesy southern rockers. Run, don’t walk to the closest Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights show...you won’t regret it!
A quick glance at Pollstar.com revealed that Rock & Roll Hall of Famers (and my FAVORITE band) ZZ TOP was slated for a rare, small venue appearance at the legendary Tumbleweed Dance Hall in Stillwater, later that week. The heat index was off the charts as ZZT’s crew loaded in the same equipment that had rocked London’s O2 arena just days before. Multiple tour buses were stuffed into the backstage area of what is one of the nicer outdoor facilities we have encountered. No room for the Airstream, so we posted-up just outside the backstage gates and began sweating. Newly-minted friends from Eskimo Joe’s and Kicker joined us to escape the sauna that is Oklahoma in July! That Little Ole Band From Texas did not disappoint, as everyone in attendance seemed genuinely excited to be in the presence of rock and roll royalty. After the show, we retired back to a much cooler Airstream for the post-gig debrief and re-hydration marathon. Billy F. Gibbons, himself joined us shortly after, and laid down an hour and-a-half’s worth of the finest yarn-spinning the Unleaded Zeppelin’s walls will surely ever encounter. You didn’t hear it from me, but look for a Rick Rubin produced ZZ Top album to drop sometime in 2011...
Rock-N-America!
The show drew it's share of celebrities. Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil and legendary VH1 host Eddie Trunk dropped by for the event. In fact, Trunk used the Unleaded Zeppelin captain's chairs for his band interviews on Sunday (see Footage). John Corabi (ex-Crue) and Gilby Clarke (ex-GNR) were among those found relaxing within our swanky confines!
Ramble On
After a brief (unscheduled) pit stop, we are back on the road this week. The pause allowed us to complete a few upgrades we wanted to squeeze in, but had lacked the time and manpower to accomplish. Look for a safer, swankier Airstream lounge next time you see us. In celebration, I decided to re-name our vessel... the UNLEADED ZEPPELIN!!! www.unleadedzeppelin.comStay tuned for breaking news regarding newly-added events. In fact, we just signed on to co-host the VIP after-parties at the Buffalo Chip in Sturgis this August. Kid Rock, ZZ Top, Buckcherry, Motley Crue, and Ozzy will all be joining us that week!
Dierks Bentley VIP Hookup WINNER!
Dierks Bentley VIP Hookup
- Platinum selling country troubadour Dierks Bentley has a new album available in stores June 8th. In celebration, he's offered to hook up one lucky Unleaded Zeppelin follower with a VIP package that includes a signed copy of "Up On The Ridge", as well as 2 tickets plus meet & greet passes to one of his shows! All followers of The Unleaded Zeppelin Blog/Facebook/Twitter accounts are eligible to win in the drawing at the end of the month. Sign up for all 3 to increase your chance of winning!
Dierks and the Zeppelin crew go way back. We participated in the Nashville stop of his Miles and Music for Kids charity event last year. We also provided the swanky lounge atmosphere for his jam session filmed for an upcoming segment on CBS Sunday Morning.
In "Up On The Ridge", Dierks pays tribute to his roots in bluegrass. Always the innovator, "D" combines the best old school players with chart-topping songwriters and producers to create a piece of genre-bending art that all his fans will enjoy!
KICKER iKick Winner!
Congrats to Scott, the lucky winner of our follower sign-up contest for the month of May! Thanks Scott, for the support!
Our pals at KICKER stepped up last month to provide a custom Unleaded Zeppelin skinned iKick 501 iPod/iPhone dock for the May contest! These things RAWK! Designed to be the loudest docking stations on the market; we use iKicks exclusively, to power both the internal and external tunes on the Unleaded Zeppelin.
Stay tuned...the June giveaway will be announced SOON!
Be sure to sign up, as another lucky winner will be chosen from our Blog/Facebook/Twitter followers list at the end of June (join all 3 to increase your chance of winning). If you have issues signing up, just send your name and email address to unleadedzeppelin@gmail.com and we will enter you manually. Good Luck!
Hallowed Ground
The Dume Room
Tucked into an ageing strip mall along an affluent stretch of PCH in Malibu, The Dume Room squatted like a transient on Rodeo Drive (pronounced roDAY-o, for you fly-over dwellers). Dislodged former locals and current celebrity neighbors squeezed into this smoky, apartment-sized den of iniquity to swill stiff cocktails and suck up lungfuls of carcinogens.
The thought of a fight breaking out in Malibu invokes visions of botoxed celebutants, or litigious suits. NOT at the Dume Room. Liquid courage flowed freely there. Nearly every weekend saw misplaced Pepperdine students and disgruntled former residents taking deserved swings at each other. Refreshing, I must say, for this southern boy. In fact, I nearly joined the club when a first date decided to opt out, and hitch her wagon to Martin Sheen's lesser-known Hispanic son. Can't really blame her though, I took her to THE DUME ROOM! Nice of the bartender to make sure he picked up my tab along with my date. She resurfaced a few days later with some
pretty cool stories.
The Dume Room's fate was sealed from the start. Money can't buy cool, but it can sure get rid of it. The place closed back in '06, and last I checked, they still hadn't opened the Starbucks that was slated for it's spot. Hmmm...
Tucked into an ageing strip mall along an affluent stretch of PCH in Malibu, The Dume Room squatted like a transient on Rodeo Drive (pronounced roDAY-o, for you fly-over dwellers). Dislodged former locals and current celebrity neighbors squeezed into this smoky, apartment-sized den of iniquity to swill stiff cocktails and suck up lungfuls of carcinogens.
The thought of a fight breaking out in Malibu invokes visions of botoxed celebutants, or litigious suits. NOT at the Dume Room. Liquid courage flowed freely there. Nearly every weekend saw misplaced Pepperdine students and disgruntled former residents taking deserved swings at each other. Refreshing, I must say, for this southern boy. In fact, I nearly joined the club when a first date decided to opt out, and hitch her wagon to Martin Sheen's lesser-known Hispanic son. Can't really blame her though, I took her to THE DUME ROOM! Nice of the bartender to make sure he picked up my tab along with my date. She resurfaced a few days later with some
pretty cool stories.The Dume Room's fate was sealed from the start. Money can't buy cool, but it can sure get rid of it. The place closed back in '06, and last I checked, they still hadn't opened the Starbucks that was slated for it's spot. Hmmm...
DTN
Don't Tell Nobody
I lifted this saying from legendary Newport Beach restaurateur, and civic pain in-the-ass Sid Soffer. The sign that hung inside his abandon warehouse turned secret, locals-only steak house read: "Welcome To Sid's...Don't Tell NOBODY!" Sid was famous in this affluent beach-front community for serving up great food and stiff cocktails at a good price, in an authentic setting with TONS of attitude. He ran Sid's Blue Beet for years before going "underground" at his place on Newport Blvd.
Sid's battles with the City Council were of epic proportion. He once was voted to the coveted 100 most Influential People in Newport Beach list. The story goes, he was bestowed this honor in order to aid in his apprehension. Seems his feud with a local judge (also on the list) had evolved into a bench warrant that authorities were having a tough time serving. Always the outlaw, my boy Sid skipped the gala event in order to relocate to Las Vegas! I was lucky enough to spend time with him in Newport and in Vegas. His love of obscure blues music, as well as his disdain for power-tripping politicians inspires me to this day. I'm told that Sid has joined his friend Evel Knievel at that great Vegas lounge in the sky. My heart goes out to their bartender, yet I hope to take his place someday!
The DTN section features some of my favorite local escapes, so please... DON'T TELL NOBODY!
Spinning Wheels
Welcome blahgers! Click around and you will find that I have added a few things to the site this week. I know some are hard to find, but I kinda prefer it that way. Like life, you get out what you put in. Speaking of...it's been an exciting off-season getting the Zeppelin ready for the road in 2010. We logged upwards of 10,000 miles last year, and could clearly double that if (when) all goes as planned this year.
In other news, I'm giving one random follower a Black Cat Bar t-shirt at the end of April. That's right - sign up as a follower and you may receive a free t-shirt honoring the coolest extinct live music venue ever to serve up a cold hotdog on 6th street in Austin. These highly coveted shirts are available only on the Unleaded Zeppelin, and are in limited supply. Stay tuned as random followers will be rewarded periodically with additional freebies and other underground info. If you have issues navigating the follower sign up, email unleadedzeppelin@gmail.com, and I'll add you manually.
Ramble on...
-ko
What the. . .
Where would you go, if you didn't HAVE to be anywhere? As captain of the Silver Mullet, this is the question I face every day. A long-time peddler of baubles and bling; I am fortunate to have developed friendships in the music and motorcycle industries. These relationships provide the kind of unique access most would kill for. The dilemma was how to combine a passion for off-beat travel and a raging live music addiction in a way that would keep the bills paid, and my rig topped off. Why not a mobile lounge that showcases hard-to-find art and accessories geared toward musicians and other rugged individualists? Easy enough... what could POSSIBLY go wrong!
The typical day begins in a random parking lot, but may end backstage at the closest music festival. Most days involve stops at greasy spoons, flea markets, filling stations, rodeos, rattlesnake hunts, and any other "shiny objects" that require exploration. The goal is always to seek out unique experiences or individuals, and mine the stories within. What follows is part diary and part guide book, but mostly a chronicle of one rambling Pursuit of Happiness.Ramble On...
-ko
Click on the images below to trace our initial return to So Cal from Louisiana.
View January 2009 - "Laissez les bons temps rouler" in a larger map
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)