Unfortunately I was so busy taking 'proper' photos yesterday at the Invitational that I only took a couple of bloggable pictures on my phone (the one above isn't even of the Invitational), so words will have to suffice in describing the event until I get home to the computer on Tuesday.
I loved the set up of the show, which reflected the White Knights' creative talents; it all took place in a huge gallery space called Root, with the invited show bikes spread around in different rooms, surrounded by photographic displays.
The street was chock-full of bikes ranging from the stripped-back and sublime to the bagged-out and loud piped monsters that seem popular in NY. One of the bikes getting most attention outside was Jeff Baer's beautifully crusty and original blue '39 EL; it was great to finally meet Jeff and Kelly... Thanks for the cold beer Jeff! It was funny watching from across the street as people hovered around his bike. He told me that many people can't resist wiping the grease and dirt off the engine number boss to discover what year the bike is; something that pisses Jeff off. He's become so tired of checking who has the greasy thumb amongst onlookers that at one meeting he taped a little message onto the boss: 'what the fuck do you care?', then watched as people quickly stepped back from the bike looking around guiltily. Funny.
Another person I was happy to meet was Eric Kinsey (Tip Top Daddy), who has supported and contributed to the mag since the first issue. He and I slipped away from the craziness for a beer and some dinner; a chance to rest the cameras and talk.
I met so many great people (thank you again for the kind comments about GKM) and kept to my usual policy of never approaching those I admire... I saw Paul Cox, Max Schaaf, Knucklehead Steve, Keino... but kept my distance. The one exception was when Jimmy introduced me to Kutty Noteboom the night before; I was a tiny bit tipsy, but Kutty was extremely gracious as a drunken Londoner went on and on about his old F100. Every time he tried to tell me about the bikes he was building I just went into another chorus of 'but how cool was your truck!'. Sorry Kutty.
A great event then, which you can see more of in the next few days and the next issue. The star of the trip for me though has been this area of Brooklyn: the heady mixture of top bars, eateries, artists and motorcycles makes everyone wish they could stay.
- Posted on the move in Brooklyn
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