Harbor Town Seduction
K. Randall Ball
5-Ball, Inc., $19.95, 287 pp.
www.Bikernet.com
K. Randall Ball is better known to most of us as Keith Ball: The man who was the Editor of Easyriders magazine for two decades. The man who was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2005. The man who was the first head honcho of ABATE. The man who conquered the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats with his “World’s Fastest Panhead.” The man who has kept us entertained and informed for years with his bikernet.com website.
And he’s a writer. A damn good writer. A writer who excels in a very specialized genre—biker fiction. And that’s sometimes tough, because in this lifestyle, fact is often a whole lot stranger than fiction.
But Keith brings it all together—factional fiction and fictional facts—in the first of his Chance Hogan series; a series that features “Chance Hogan…a young chopper rider who is bent on romance and finding peace in a world full of intrigue and corruption.”
Chance is and Chance does all of the above. And his story is told with the literary flair and confidence of one of the most genuine individuals our little subculture has produced.
The subtitle of the book is “Murder, treachery, and too many women at every turn!” And it delivers. All of that is there, and more. And this first adventure being set right here in our SoCal backyard makes it all that much more fun of a read.
Fun it is and exciting to boot—just like the guy who wrote it, the people he’s known (and obviously very closely studied), and the life he has led!
–Bill Hayes
Music: Blessings and Curses from the Mojo Monkeys
Swampy Blues about Bad Girls
Take an experienced three piece group of L.A.musicians, add some outrageous lyrics
and stir in some inspired guest musicians and you come up with Blessings and Curses from the Mojo Monkeys. From the opening track Bodacious and Girl Might Do to the reverse bootycall of Can’t Say No the Mojo Monkeys cover the bases of those bad girls that we all love to love. They delve into social commentary about the current state of the state on Beating Dead Horses .The loner on the road of Baton Rouge and Californialabama gives an outlaw creed to this collection. The band throws it down and wails on In The Wind” you ain’t got a pot to piss in, but you ain’t just pissin in the wind.” On She’ll Be Alright” she’s passed out on the floor again, in her pink platforms and her purple wig” we get a big chorus and a backhanded love song.
They chug along like a big steamboat rollin’ down the river on Mokey thumb and Dirty Money. These guys have a solid swampy blues base that can swing into a rollicking big guitar sound at the drop of a drumstick. You just may end up with some of these songs stuck in your head.
Mojo Monkeys
http://mojomonkeys.net/
–Kevin Thomas
Irish Flame’s BIKER & TRAVEL GUIDE to NEVADA, VOL. 1
Dana Fruend with Karel Ancona-Henry
Moonbeam Publishing, LLC, $24.95, 272 pp.
http://www.moonbeanpublishing.com/Products.html
A couple of things about this book grab you immediately. First, it’s small and spiral-bound—just perfect for its utilitarian existence as a quick reference book, meant to be kept in the pocket of a leather jacket, in saddle bags or in the storage pouch inside a faring.
The second thing is that it starts out with the “Ancient Irish Code for living a happy, fulfilled life”—a code that includes such wisdom as “one must possess spiritual fortitude and thanksgiving,” “your word must be your oath,” and “have courage, honor and bravery.”
Those things work together to make for an easy guide to cool places on a motorcycle—places that will presumably add to those feelings of living that “happy, fulfilled life.”
This first volume of this guide helps us to find the biker-friendly nooks and crannies of Nevada.
Now, I know a lot of you might be thinking that paper reference materials are extinct. In this age of GPS tracking devices, mini-sized laptops, iPhones, iPads and all the rest, why would I need another map?
Well, this isn’t a map. And it’s not strictly for reference. It’s something to look at before you head out on the trip, not just while you’re on the road. It’s a friendly and entertaining “conversation” with someone who feels passionately about their home state; sharing the best places and fun spots that they have found, know, and love. It’s a guided tour without the guide, without the annoying sign or flag to follow, and without the bus.
It’s a neat introduction to the Silver State. And with the way I now feel about venturing outside the borders of the good ol’ U.S. of A., if you haven’t experienced things like the Bucket of Blood Saloon in Virginia City or the magnificence of Lake Tahoe, see these places first before you get anymore stamps on that passport—and Irish Flame’s Biker & Travel Guide to Nevada will help you do just that!
–Bill Hayes
The Fat Mexican: The Bloody Rise of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club
Alex Caine
Random House Canada, $32.00, 222 pp.
www.randomhouse.ca
The author of Befriend and Betray is back with an offering that is focused exclusively on the Bandidos Motorcycle Club—“The Fat Mexican” is a well-known and generally affectionate referral to the Bandidos’ center patch. Caine’s singular focus is unlike his previous book, which featured vignettes about not only his infiltration of the Bandidos, but of the Russian Mafia, the KKK and other organizations as well.
But this book is a bit of an oddity in several ways.
To begin with, it seems to have had limited exposure—strange, considering the success of Befriend and Betray. The Canadian version of the book has been out for some time, but Amazon now lists an American paperback release as finally coming in September.
It’s also odd that the book bears the subtitle of “The bloody rise of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club,” while it is essentially about one specific incident: the so-called “Shedden Massacre,” the 2006 murder of eight men in Shedden, Ontario, Canada.
The Shedden Massacre was certainly a horrific incident, and its detailed story is as compelling of a mystery as, say, a good episode of Law & Order or CSI. However, it’s dangerous to apply—or imply—its causes and effects to the whole of any group or organization. That would be like judging all of the U.S. Congress on the Gary Condit/Chandra Levy affair/murder or the Barney Frank male prostitution scandal; or all cops on the Rampart Division mess. Hmmm…but, then again, maybe those aren’t good analogies…
Finally, while Caine is known for his exploits as a mercenary, involved with law enforcement infiltrations of various groups, that’s not what this book is about. Primarily it’s a research book. Rather than a personal, hands-on recounting of the Shedden incident, Caine explains (in the book’s Source Notes) how he gathered the material: The book is mostly composed of cited court testimony records; cited law enforcement journals and documents; “contacts”; sources “that, unfortunately, cannot be identified”; and “websites run by the [motorcycle] clubs themselves.”
Maybe there’s a reason this book hasn’t had as much exposure as Caine’s previous work. Befriend and Betray, it’s not.
Motorcycle Journeys Through The Pacific Northwest Second Edition
Like riding with a friend who has been down that road many times before Bruce Hansen takes you on a journey through the Pacific Northwest. “ The routes I suggest are merely starting points for adventure and discovery…Most of these journeys begin from an urban hub. Since it’s common for bikers to fly in and rent…” Bruce advises where to eat, where to get a drink where to sleep and also where to avoid all of the above. His love for the area and the sport are combined to give you numerous routes in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
There are eight sections total. Each starts with a map of the entire area and an introduction for each. Then each area is broken down into separate trips in that area. There is a map the author intends for you to tear out and place in your tankbag, with turn by turn directions printed on the back. Truth be told I don’t have a tankbag (yet) and the maps are tiny and hard to read. Your best bet would be to get a state highway or atlas map and mark it up using a highlighter using the turn by turn directions as a guide. Each trip has a name, distance, terrain and highlights section. Then the author tells you about the ride, where to turn, what you will see, where not to eat and what direction to go. At the end of each trip section is a list of food and accommodations.
I highly recommend Motorcycle journeys Through The Pacific Northwest as a planning guide and also for reading material for the long winter reading season ahead.
White Horse Press
http://www.whitehorsegear.com/motorcycle-journeys-series
–Kevin Thomas
Wicked Bitch
Amy Irene White
Lulu, $19.95, 247 pp.
www.lulu.com
“I found where I truly belonged. I crossed a threshold of acceptance and found myself embraced by the people who had primary oil in their veins. I found a place where I truly fit. The biker world was a wonderful amalgam of everything I loved combined; horsepower and highways and music and sex and laughter…”
Wicked Bitch by Amy White is a masterpiece on so many levels.
In a personal sense, it takes you into the center of Amy’s heart and of her soul as she struggles with marriage, infidelity, love and the ravages of a devastating disease.
In a motorcycle culture sense, it is a rare example of the love for this lifestyle actually written from the inside—by someone who found a place where she “truly fit.”
The third level that Wicked Bitch operates on is that it takes the reader into the South—deep into the South. We get to live out those Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. tunes. We become characters in those Tennessee Williams plays; feeling the heat—not just of Southern summers but of the boiling passion and human interaction that just isn’t known to those of us who don’t know grits from greens or who have never lived in a house with wheels.
Wicked Bitch actually provides a lot of insight into life below the Mason-Dixon line. “I wonder if I am the only woman to spend her honeymoon in Drew County Detention Facility,” ponders Amy. “Nah, probably not; this is Arkansas.”
–Bill Hayes
Race Tech’s Motorcycle Suspension Bible
The missing element of bike building covered at last
The most neglected part of a cruiser motorcycle is the tires. The second most neglected
part is the suspension. Most riders will check their tires at the beginning of the season and just roll on for the rest of the year. Ask any of your friends if they have ever changed out their shocks or springs and you might hear they changed them out if they lowered their ride. You might even hear a horror story about using a gas station air compressor to top off an air shock system and the resulting sudden loss of the use of the shocks.
To the rescue comes Race Tech’s Motorcycle Suspension Bible. The title says it all. While the text explains the form and function of all types of suspension and the theory behind each one, the numerous illustrations provide graphic detail in each case.
The author is the esteemed owner of Race Tech, Paul Thede. He distills his many decades of suspension know how and suspension seminars into this 256 page book. Assisting in tying this together along with the ample and crisp photography is Lee Parks.
The big easy to read graphics explaining the theory behind the text is illustrated by Allan Lapp. For your money you get six chapters of theory, one chapter of troubleshooting and one chapter with seven projects on rebuilding everything from your forks to your shocks. At the back of the book you get six appendixes followed by an index. All told this is a valuable resource for any motorcyclist from dirt bikes to road racers to cruisers.
Whitehorse Press
http://www.whitehorsegear.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Suspension+bible&x=15&y=10
–Kevin Thomas
Inside Looking Out: Portraits of American Bikers, the Flash Collection II
Beverly Roberts
Flash Productions, LLC, $29.95, 151 pp.
www.flashproductionsllc.com
Inside Looking Out: Portraits of American Bikers, the Flash Collection II is the second in an eventual three-book series that contains the priceless vintage photographs of Jim “Flash 1%er” Miteff.
As in the first book, Portraits of American Bikers in the 1960s, the photos in Inside Looking Out center on the Outlaws Motorcycle Club; but the images in both books go far beyond a single subject. The stark black and white large-format pictures dissect an entire era—the era—the ’60s. They grab you with a grip that was much tighter back then when it comes to the pure abandon and wildness of the motorcycle culture.
Inside Looking Out does differ from the first book in that some current photos of the OMC are included in the mix. Especially compelling are the “then and now” images of members who have given decades of their lives to the club. Those pictures alone speak much more than “a thousand words” about the strength and longevity of this brotherhood.
Compiled by Miteff’s daughter, Beverly Roberts, these photos are brilliant in their composition, their intensity—and most importantly, in the fact that they are real!
–Bill Hayes
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