Levon Helms

On April 19, 2012 American music lost one of it's greats.  Mark Lavon "Levon" Helms passed away from a long battle with cancer.  Lead singer and drummer for "The Band",  he was an influential musician as well as American Icon.  His southern drawl and the sound of his inviting voice gave you a feeling of a time and culture where you might find yourself riding trains and traveling through the bluegrass states.  His soulful vocals in "The Weight",  landed The Band a song that ranked #41 out of 500 greatest songs of all time.  According to Rolling Stone magazine.  Their debut album "Music From Big Pink" also ranked #34 of 500 greatest albums of all time.  Rightfully all members of The Band were accomplished musicians.  Backing others like rockabilly great Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan.  Levon and The Band truly made an impact on american music and he will be deeply missed.

Holy Pilgrimage

Southern California's land scape's are like no other.  You can travel west and hit a beach. You're surrounded by a valley just north. You head east and you're in deep into what Andrew and I called "Tweeker Country".  Just Like the religious crusade of the Knights Templars or Moises descending from Mt Sinai we were in search for something god sent.  A snapped fan shoard bracket and the noise it makes wasn't about to stop us.  Even the shady characters we ran into and the drugs they were dealing weren't a problem.  We were on a "Mission From God".  A mission to find....                                                                                                

      "The Hippy Killer Hoedown".         

Future Shock

Some how I found myself in a sling, laying on the couch, in a vicodin infused haze with a separated shoulder.  I  can't explain what happened but that it happened really fast and I feel like an idiot.  So since I can't  do a thing but watch re-runs of  Top Gear and Kitchen Nightmares.  I've decided to post Hot Rod Magazine's 1976 August issue article on one of my favorites Chevy Vans " Future Shock".  Built by Master Metal shaper David "Wacko" Kent and painted by Charles Eddy. This Van unlike most of its contemporaries was built right!  No fiberglass wheel arches and ground effects.  No boys and girls... this one is all steel!  Unfortunately its history was not as good.  After being built and heading cross-country to a show it was wrecked on the highway!  Even though it was repaired it went missing for years.  In the mid-late 2000's a fellow in Canada found the van at a wrecking yard and salvage it!  From what I heard last it's currently being restored and hopefully we'll get a chance to see it again!  So until then "Let's Play Catch Up'!  

Finishing Touches

Finishing a project can become a real clusterf@@k! You can spend hours or even weeks scouring swapmeets looking for that right seat pan or that particular headlight that you think will set off your bike! I ran into this problem when I converted my old Zenith carburetor to a S&S Super E. I didn't like that bulky tear drop shaped air cleaner that came with the kit. So I scrapped it and hit the market for something nicer.  I searched and searched for something that wasn't over designed or over engineered. That's when I came across the FMA's Velocity Stack! This sleek piece of aluminum perfection comes in a polished finish and requires almost no mechanical skill to install. Just get yourself a ball type Allen wrench, center the stainless wire mesh and carefully screw in the three included polished socket head bolts and...BOOYAA!  You've just increased you're level of coolness! Pick one of these bad boys up at www.lowbrowcustoms.com, or directly at choppedout.blogspot.com.