Biker Gangs
meatyogre
2,080 Posts
Are some of the realest motherfuckers around. Alot of good music came from dudes who were in biker gangs. Is there any good books about biker gangs I should be readin?Discuss.
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I don't really know anything about biker gangs, bikers, or even bikes, for that matter, but I thought I'd share a story my mom's friend told me.
When this dude, let's call him Jake, was about 22 he spent a lot of time hitchiking around the states. This was in the late 60's or possibly the very early 70's so, according to Jake, it was a 'fairly' safe way to travel. On one particular occasion somewhere in the North West Jake caught a ride with a group of bikers who happened to be driving right through the city Jake was heading for. It was like a 600-700 mile trip, so about halfway through the bikers pull off into the woods and set up campsite. Now, the dude that Jake was riding with was a real friendly guy but some of the other bikers were, appropriately, more surly. One dude in particular started to give Jake a really hard time. Asking him if he was a hippie, and telling him he heated hippies cause they did drugs. As the night progresses, big biker dude gets more and more drunk and more and more belligerent to the point that Jake starts to feel threatened. In the course of heckling Jake, the biker at one point asks him if he's ever done LSD. Jake responds honestly that he's done so on a number of occasions, and then asks the biker if he's ever tried it. The biker guy gets really pissed off and says something to the effect of "hell no, i don't mess around with that hippie shit". I don't know what compelled him to do it, but Jake takes the opportunity to press dude's buttons and asks him with a straight face, "Why not? Are you scared or something?". You can imagine what sort of effect the suggestion had on the big dude, who predictably responded "No fucking way, I'm not afraid of anything". Of course, Jake was carrying LSD on him at the time, so he simply took it out of his bag and told the biker to go ahead and try it if he wasn't scared. Within about 40 minutes the big biker dude is completely passed out, and when the other biker who'd given Jake the ride walked up and asked how much he gave the guy, Jake just laughs and says "I don't know, but it was at least five times more than I've ever taken".
i thought that was pretty ballsy.
i just ordered this:
haven't gotten it yet, so can't say how rad it is. I got it cheap on Amazon(overstock I think) for $3, hardcover.
I just read Hunter S. Thompson's book on the Hell's Angels. Big bonus for me, since it was mostly set in the Bay Area. Pretty fascinating stuff (although I don't know if it's all true).
fuck dem dudes...
Hunter Thompson "Hells Angels"
There is a film in production about the Milperra Massacre, in which 10 people were killed when 2 rival bike gangs started shooting at each other in the street 20 years ago.
They mostly controlled the heroin market in down here... not much music came out of them.
On some surf rock, bongolian trip.
BTW, fuck those nasty ass, dirty cr*ckers. I do admire some of the bikes though.
Is it bomb?
http://www.soulstrut.com/features/ish/304/raj.php
I remember seeing this documentary on those dudes and they were getting DOWN to "It's Just Begun".
I just finished reading "Hunter" which is a biography on Hunter Thompson from the early 90's. They talk about his "encounter" with the Hells Angels where he claims they all jumped him but according to Sonny Barger it was just one dude that whupped his ass and made him run screaming like a woman down the street. I should read that book he wrote on them.
Nowadays though, most of the Harley-riding dudes I see here are fifty-something white professionals trying to recapture their youth via riding expensive HD's. Hell, who else can afford them. But there's been a growing contingent of very visable black biker clubs around here over the past several years, the difference being that they usually ride Japanese models. If you ever want to see about 200 bikers in the Chapel Hill area, every Sunday morning they descend en masse to this restaurant down the road from my house. They look like pretty much normal people, but with lots of flawlessly-maintained leather. On the other hand, the rougher redneck bikers in our area congregate at a grill in Durham where apparently they enjoy lots of classic rock and sports on TV.
No doubt there's lots of cool biker movies (starring real bikers) and soundtracks (made by non-bikers) from the 60s and 70s, and even a few bands like Steppenwolf & Crow that have a big biker appeal. But I'm skeptical that many true bikers got their shit together long enough to actually record an album. Though that outsider biker psych folk dude Nicodemus might qualify.
I cosign on Hunter Thompson's HELLS ANGELS and also add the Rolling Stones flick GIMME SHELTER as insights into the biker experience. Though I doubt anyone in their right mind would think most of these dudes are truly "cool." Sure they have that American outlaw appeal going for them, but a lot of 'em are dumb, racist, violent speedfreaks - not really my idea of a role model.
Not strictly Biker Gangs, but they were definitely on the scene in Brooklyn in the late 60s. You can still find this sort of thing in Williamsburg and Bushwick if you can see past the frat-yuppie hell.
[from] http://www.dynastyrockers.com/history.html
>>>>>History Of Uprock
Bushwick, Brooklyn, circa 1967-1968
Throughout the mid-60's and mid-70's; Brooklyn was home to many street gangs. Rubberband Man and Apache were all too familiar with these violent times, they grew up in the Bushwick area. They often hung around with the Devil Rebels and other local Brooklyn Gangs. Although they socialized within a dangerous circle of friends, getting into trouble was not their ultimate goal. They loved to dance; mainly to Soul and Funk music, and wanted to channel their energy and skill towards something new-so they created a new dance form called "Rocking".
Rubberband Man and Apache would dance on the street corners while listening to the radio. They used mixture of moves from Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Salsa, and later the Hustle. As the dance developed, body movements called "jerks" and hand gestures called "burns" would be added to imitate a fight against an opposing dancer. Rubberband Man and Apache morphed these dance styles, movements, and gestures together to create a unique and original street dance. Many gangs, and more specifically gang members, began to perform this dance. It became commonplace to see gang members hanging out in corners rocking against each other. Rocking became a competitive dance that caught on very quickly.
By the early 70's Rocking became a local dance, not just a "gang" dance. Many non-gang-related youths from around the area started to Rock. You could witness Uprocking at block parties, teen dances, and many other festive gatherings. A man by the name of "Crazy Rob" organized the first Rock Contests in existence. Competition was fierce and Brooklyn became a breeding ground for intense dance contests (or battles).The dance caught on so quickly, and had spread so widely, that the name had to be changed. The term "Rock" in a "Rock Contest" would confuse many "Rock Music" fanatics; they would show up expecting a "Rock concert". Mistaken as a rock & roll dance, "Rocking" became "Uprocking". It was the same dance with a different name.
my funny Hell-Angles story
I was in Amsterdam in the bar of this shitty red-light district hotel I was staying in. It was late and I was sitting at the bar enjoying a nice beer and was rolling up a joint. Unfortunatley these annoying as fuck british public school assholes sat next to me, but shit, I was on a record buying trip, made a nice score earlier that day and was about to smoke up a gram or two of Sage, so it would take a lot to ruffle my feathers. anyway about 7 Hells Angles walk in, American ones(dont get me started on euro hells angles, dudes make me laugh, some of them ride scooters and shit) the real deal. anyway these assholes next to me say something along the lines of "ooooooo, Hells Angels, I'm scared" really loud and sarcastically. I look up from what I am doing and immediatley collect my shit and move to the farthest seat in the bar, I, in no way, wanna be associated with these pricks casue I know something is gonna happen. So now I am in the back of the bar at a table wishing I had some popcorn to watch what is going to happen. One of the younger Hells Angles, who looked looked just like Dave Navarro approches him and asks "what the fuck is your problem" and then one of the older, beer bellied scary looking muhfuggers walks up to him and bitch slaps the british dude harder than I have ever seen someone get slapped before. It was funny as shit, i wish i had that shit on video. Then the bartender told the british dudes to go up to their room or get the fuck out...it was hilarious.
Chris
Find a famous person to write an intro, and it sounds like a coffee table book proposal could be in your future!
that would be DOPE!!!
Then I sign on and see this at the top of the threads.
WOSMC Clubhouse front door, North Philly.
that might be the raddest thing I've ever heard in my whole life!
C.Y.H.L.A.M.F.
we need a Graemlin for this!
seriously. some odd looking shit to these western eyes, but these dudes are not to be fucked with in japan.
here's a book of photos about them.
http://www.trolleynet.com/0954264835.php