Ssssstingray

Collection of vintage Schwinn bikes outside of Bill's Cycles in Woodside, Queens (NY).
My boyfriend and I went on a very long (somewhere around 30 miles) bike ride this past weekend to check out Flushing Meadows park, and I hit the brakes when I saw this fine assortment of vintage Schwinn Stingrays and Fastracks outside of a bike shop on Roosevelt avenue.

Once we made it to the park, other sparkling sights from an era gone by included the giant Unisphere, constructed for the World's Fair '64/'65 (which was a horrendous failure)...


(Note the severed tree that was just part of the damage from the tornado that ripped through the area two days before, which tore down the street in front of our apartment as I was looking out the window worrying about the putrid green color of the sky...)

And the other abandoned building from the Fair, the New York State Pavilion, which used to look like this:


But now looks like a horrific abandoned futuristic circus big top, prime for the set of a B-grade slasher movie.


I was inspired to practice my circus skillz.

Morning Calisthenics

Bada Bing Babes Burlesque // Jacksonville Boudoir & Pin-up Photography, originally uploaded by LINDSAY PULLEN design.

ROD-A-DAY:: 1957 Dodge Custom Royal

1957 Dodge Custom Royal D-500 @ the Carlisle All-Chrysler Nationals, July 11, 2010.
Photo via Flickr by Paul Balze
I've said it many times before, but for some reason, when asked what my all-time favorite classic car is, the 1957/58 Dodge always comes first to my mind. DeSoto, Coronet, Royal...all with their enormous bat-like wings and front end with a menacing grimace. Virgil Exner hit the nail on the head with this one.

Closet Cleanin'

Well, well, well...months and months ago I was working in earnest to clean out some of the years of junk accumulating in my closets, when I came across a number of rolls of undeveloped 35mm film. (Oh, remember the days?!) Lo and behold, at least one of the rolls contained a bevvy of photos from an old NSRA show I'd been to in PA. Joy!

Fast forward to now, when I'm sick as a dog at home, trying to keep my mind off my throbbing throat and numbing my brain with a little website maintenance, when I realize that HEY NOW...I never posted those old photos to my website.


...voila! I mustered up my last bit of energy for the evening to provide you with some "vintage" Garage goodies. Click the image above to head over to our RODS page and open up the NSRA '00 photo gallery.

2010 Coney Island Rockabilly Festival

It's summertime and the time is right...time for cars and guitars, surf and turf at Cha Cha's on the Coney Island boardwark!



Here's alllll the info for the events this weekend. If you're like me and have nothing to do, maybe you'll swing down to catch some tunes, some tan and some titties (there's always a huge burlesque show involved. Yeah, I know, that was an alliteration stretch there...).

Friday Night, September 3rd
Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Viva Le Vox (Davy Jones Locker, FL)
Guitar Bomb (Brooklyn, NY)
King Sickabilly (Providence, RI)
Hickry Hawkins and The Panty-Sniffers (Charlotte, NC)
The Holy Roller Sideshow (NYC)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Saturday, September 4th
On the Outdoor Stage
Hickry Hawkins (Charlotte, NC)
Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers (Brooklyn, NY)
Elsa Cross (Dover, NH)
Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. (New York City, NY) - these guys are worth going to see all by themselves!
$8 advance / $10 at the door

Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Tombstone Brawlers (New Jersey)
Jason James and the Bay State House Rockers (Worcester, MA)
Mean Mean Man and the Brass Knuckle Band (Charlotte,NC)
The Hollowbody Hellraisers (Gainesville, FL)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Sunday, September 5th
On the Outdoor Stage
Nick Williams and The Anteaters (Staten Island, NY)
The Mallard Drakes (Brooklyn, NY)
The Krank Daddies (Chicago, IL)
Tex Railer’s Doomtown (Allston, MA)
$8 advance / $10 at the door


Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
Sasquatch and the Sickabillys (Providence, RI) - featuring my buddy Bobcat on guitar!
The Memphis Morticians (NYC) - one of my favorite Psychobilly bands in the city!
Soul Reapin' 3 (New Haven, CT)
Creepin’ Cadavers (Amity, MA)
Live Burlesque and Sideshow
$12 advance / $15 at the door

Monday, September 6th (Remember...no work today!)
Cha Cha's on the Boardwalk
The 2010 Miss Pin Up Coney Island Contest, Hosted by Eddie Dickfingers
Matty B and The Dirty Pickles (Erie, PA)
Nerve Tonic (Dirty Jersey)
Filthy Still (Providence, RI)
Electraluxx (Garfield, NJ)

I'm not going to Myspace link all those bands right now, but you can find more info.....uh, basically in one place (and there's not much more info than that!). Rockabilly events in NYC - always pretty awesome, never very organized...everybody too busy wrenchin' and drinkin', I suppose.

Die you zombie bastard!, originally uploaded by orgutcayli.

Rumblers NYC 10th Annual show - THIS WEEKEND

It's that time again, kiddos, for those of us in the NYC area to get our fill of flames, open exhaust pipes and slap bass at the 10th Annual Kustom Kills & Hot Rod Thrills show under the BQE, right near Union Pool.




It's only $10 to see the bands over at Union Pool, including my ol' friend Bobcat's band the Arkhams, Al & the Black Cats, Labretta Suede and the Motel 6, Rehab for Quitters, and Those Hated Hearts. I've never heard of any of those other bands, but I'm always up for good music, and have yet to be disappointed at a Rumblers show. I also have no idea what the band schedule is, as I can't find the info anywhere (the Rumblers always seem a little disorganized when it comes to promoting their yearly show, but whatever). They also have a Facebook page now, which might have more info as the week goes on. Union Pool doesn't even have a real website yet (no surprise there), and neither their Myspace page or their new blog say anything about this event either. Oh silly, lazy hipsters.

See you fools there!

Man...Or Astroman? An Interstellar Return

Holy Haley's Comet, Spaceman! It has come to my attention that the ever amazing Man...or Astroman? is heading to the East Coast to play some shows after some triumphant sets during this year's SXSW.


Image courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan
Having somehow missed out on seeing them play in their heyday (mid to late 90's), I am happy to report that tickets go on sale this Friday for their shows at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan (11/12) and the Williamsburg Music Hall in Brooklyn (11/13), where I will be, with my 9 volt tongue.


Check out more photos from a recent show in Toronto at Brooklyn Vegan.