I was raised by wolves. Very kind, very nurturing wolves. I love riding to a town a just barely learned the name of on a Friday, making a decision at the intersection to get myself lost 1000 miles away from home on a Saturday, and trying to figure out how the hell I can get home on a Sunday. Just ride a place and see a thing.
To me, there has always been something I’ve loved about the Desert. I don’t know why. The roads, the open skylines, the heat… all of it. The desert gets in your blood somehow, and only people who’ve lived there for a while could understand I think. It’s rugged and unforgivable in a lot of ways. It’s extremely beautiful and full of color.
Northern Utah is OK. It snows up here, there’s some cool places, but none of it if I were honest ever really held any passion or interest to me. I’ve ridden a lot less up here, and to be honest there’s not that much that I really want to see. It’s not home.
I started this blog in the desert, met my soul mate in it, and rode the hell out of all the roads I could find there and found some of my most favorite places on the planet. Arizona, in particular. My favorite route 66 places are all there, and the best Easy Rider locations are there. Places like Jerome, Seligman, Cave Creek, Peach Springs, Kingman, Show Low, Tucson, Oatman… I have great and multiple memories of. When I lived in Southern Utah, I’d ride all night to get to those places. It was pretty damn cool once I got there.
The Zip family is moving to Phoenix next month. Man, I can’t wait. Fuel for the fire…
sometimes you find that song out of nowere, that hits home on a thing. This song has been in my head all week. The Lyrics are better than the song.
All from punk rock. Who Knew?
I listen to you for hours, I’ll listen all day
Just keep hitting me the right way
Sing your song in the shower
Cause you got a way
To say what I can never say right – right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong
I won’t say your name
But you know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
You don’t get played on the radio
That’s not the game you play
Well I don’t care anyway
I glued your tape in the stereo
So I know every word, every note
And every chord is right – right on
When I feel weak you make me feel strong
Make me feel strong feel like nothing’s wrong
I won’t say your name
You know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say thank you for playing the
Way you play
Did you know you’re why I go
And waste my time
At a rock and roll show
You let me know I’m not alone
You make me feel strong, make me feel strong,
Feel like nothing’s wrong
I won’t say your name, you know who you are
I’ll never be the same again now – no way
I just want to say
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
Thank you for playing the way you play
I still get all geeked up about flying. It means going to another place, maybe seeing something I haven’t seen and learning a thing.
Nashville was awesome. We landed in early in the afternoon, and had a chance to walk down Broadway to see a thing or two. This place has a lot of history, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Hey Jim! Had to have a beer in Tootsies. You’re right — if those walls could talk 🙂
The Ryman Auditorium. “The mother church of Country music”
I’m not into country music for the most part. But I was in the birthplace of it all, and you have to appreciate that. The Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry, where Elvis played to an under-enthusiastic crowd, and Johnny Cash first met June Carter here. Even the story of Tom Ryman and how that whole place came to be is pretty cool.
My favorite spot I think, was this:
The Johnny Cash Museum.
Worth every penny of the 18 bucks and T-shirt. I was surprised how many really cool things they had. If you’re a Johnny Cash fan, this place is a must.
Johnny Cash, Marshall Grant and Luther Perkins. How it all started….
Have a love of music, put a dollar bill in the first 4 frets and come up with a sound people hadn’t heard before….
Anyone remember this old flick? hehe, I do.
Fairly awesome. Lots of Johnny and June’s things, hand written letters and history of the man in black.
Just around the corner is the Earnest Tubb Record store. It brought back a flood of Memories. My father loved Earnest Tubb. When I was a kid, the definition of torture was being stuck in the truck on a road trip while my father played Earnest Tubb. He’d sing out loud and everything. I had to check it out….
Earnest Tubb? Why, hello old friend….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWmbFXJDHrM
The Texas Troubadour
I’d heard he had his old tour bus in his record store and I wanted to see it, but it wasn’t around anymore. It sounds like they consolidated a little bit — I gotta think with the fact that no one knows who Earnest Tubb is anymore (or buys records), and the price of real estate the record store holds, this place might not be around too much longer. I’m glad I got to see it.
The next day, we grabbed an Uber and went over to see Antique Archaeology, from one of my go-to shows American Pickers:
The best thing in the store was the one of a kind custom bike built my the famous pin striper Von Dutch:
Built in 1966 – Its a Harley Davidson XA with a shaft drive, some moto-Guzzi components and a 36 horsepower Volkswagen engine. One of a kind.
Nashville was awesome. I’d love to bring the wife here and dig a lot deeper.
This Friday. I’ve never been there: The grand Ol’ Opry, the Johnny Cash Museum, and a store from one of my favorite shows – American Pickers. I’m fairly pumped up about it. I’m going there for work, but the nights are mine, if they need be. A lot of history there, and I’m 3/4ths geeked up to see it. I’ll take some pictures.
Nobody wanted this trip: I did. I don’t necessarily like country music, but Nashville is a place where an American form of music started. Maybe this punk rock/Classic rock biker can learn a thing. I can’t wait to get a feeling for for the town.
Great and catchy song: The girl getting married in the video is Carlene Carter, daughter of June Carter Cash. Turns out Rock and Roll came out of Country music, if you go back to the roots.
As far as modern culture, I’ve always been a little late to the party. I barely care, and it’s always interesting to see what trends last. I think 90% of it is pure shit, but a few of it seems to stick after a while…
I think I dig this song:
I gotta think I could twist a throttle to this and enjoy the hell out of it somewhere on a ride, somewhere. It’s fairly jammin. I think the voices in my head on a long ride end up saying these things anyway. It’s why I dig riding on long rides: it brings you back to center.
I shot this earlier in the year. Currant is a ghost town that has haunted me over the years, always wondering what this place was all about. It’s out in the middle of effing nowhere, Nevada. From what I’ve found, it was one of 2 towns that were ever evacuated from nuclear testing from area 51 in the 60s. There’s always ghosts in a ghost town, and I always love to know the stories. From this place, I haven’t found any.
I posted this video on my youtube channel, and I got this yesterday:
the currant video.. I love it. I grew up there is went to school in ely… drove every day. so may good memories when my dad had it all the gangsters from Las Vegas used to come up there and hide my dad threw parties there that would last for weeks at a time and just before he died Jimmy Durante came up there and was the bartender for a few weeks I remember him so well now look at it the shell of what it was there used to be trailers there some of the hookers from the Mustang Ranch used to come there and work and staying the trailers my dad had because of all the Oil Workers my first horse there was a Mustang they caught right off the desert floor
Jimmy Durante tended bar here. Thats more than I knew last year. Pretty cool. I hit the guy up to tell me more stories, if he will…
If anyone can tell a story about this place, please email alan@mrzip66.com
God, I love the Decendents. I followed them as a young, 18 year old punk rock kid and they throw out albums every few years that reflect where I’m at at life, and they seem to make sense. They’re my same age, and I gotta admit I dig their songs and lyrics. I don’t know why.
