It was St. Patrick’s day here in SoCal. A recent visit to Absolute Custom Paint, Steve Vandemon’s shop in Anaheim made for a colorful afternoon. After all, Steve’s shop is full of color - bright color. Lots of color. And Steve’s favorite color: green - how timely.

Steve told us that he started out lettering on boats about 12 years ago, and now paints just about everything imaginable including cool hand-sculpted mannequins and fiberglass swordfish. His unique style is all about creating the illusion of motion in all his works. For example, his fire looks as it would if it were actually flickering, with char marks and all. Creating a motion effect is what he likes to do. And he does it with big color. But it’s flames he’s best known for - an old schewl approach with a unique Vandemon twist.

We had a chat over a burger at the local greasy spoon and talked about Kustom Kulture, art, family, music - the works. Also joining us was Tom Prewitt of Monster Garage fame. We’ll try and catch up with Tom for an industry chat that we can share with you all sometime in the near future.

Some of what we found out is… Steve just quit his band so he could focus more of his time on his young family; a wife and young son. His long term goals - to do more fine art, which he does beautifully, by the way, with automotive paints. In fact, he has a few pieces in the Laguna Art Museum. Steve’s early influences include tattoo artist Guy Atchison, Frank Frazetta and Roger Dean.

Steve’s advice to newcomers: Start small and build slow. You don’t have to have a large shop and tons of tools to get started - just a pinstripe brush or airbrush, and some paint.

Enough talk…. Let’s check out some pics.

Steve pinstripes those green flames with quick strokes of white.

There’s a lot going on at the shop. Projects in various stages of completion await their turn for graphics.

Cool hoods adorn the walls…

with plenty of them making their own artistic statement.

Did we mention that Steve likes green?

An impressive collection of art and panels line the office walls.

Tom Prewitt with a custom painted helmet in the works.

A.D., Steve, and Tom (and a horse of a different colour painted by Debra Mahan).

Click here to visit Vandemon online.

Yesterday, it seemed we were the ones in line to be interviewed. Charlie Brechtel from Big 7 Productions called and we chatted a bit about motorcycles, art, and life on the road for his internet radio show “Bikers: The Inner Circle”. These guys have a real passion for American iron motorcycle and anything that has to do with them. Obviously, we have similar interests here at AirbrushTour.com, and if you’ve followed this Blog at all, you’ll see a ton of hot bikes already posted with many more to follow. Hey, airbrush and motorcycles go together like bikinis and sunshine.

For those few of you not familiar with Mr. Brechtel and his work, Charlie is the voice of the Charlie Brechtel Band and they’ve played a plethora of events including Hollister and the legendary Buffalo Chip at Sturgis among others. He’s an old-school biker who sings of his passions for life on two wheels.

We’ll pass along more info as to when our interview with The Inner Circle airs as we get it. In the interim, visit Charlie’s site and check out some of his other interviews and his music.

We spent a fun couple of days at Coast Airbrush recently soaking up the unique and upbeat buzz of the shop, and chatted with many of the personalities that were hanging around there. Dave Monnig let us record our interview with him so we could bring a snippet to you here to enjoy. We asked him about his cool “Coast Lounge” which is full of hand painted art items given to him by lots of different artists. It’s a wonderful, whimsical visual overload. Go ahead, click the play button - you know you want to >>> .

Dave also shared with us that he continues to offer workshops in the classroom that he has dedicated for that purpose behind his store. He regularly brings in Craig Fraser from Air Syndicate, Debra Mahan from Kal Koncepts and Noah as instructors. He likes to provide one day workshops and also demo sessions where the participants get pizza with their paint.

His plans for growth include what he calls the “invasion” of the east coast. Coast has a warehouse currently in West Palm Beach, Florida, making it possible for them to provide rapid shipping times most anywhere in the United States. Dave says they can turn around an order in about three days to anywhere, and they’re continually looking into ways that they can most effectively serve their east coast customers.

In the well-equipped shop just behind the store, you’ll find Ryno and Mark Remling getting creative on everything from automotive and motorcycle sheet metal to refrigerators and snow boards — we’ll do a follow up focus on each of them soon. If you happen to be watching CMT (Country music Television) on Friday evenings you’ll catch a glimpse of Ryno doing his magic on his show, “Trick My Truck”. We caught a couple of episodes recently with Dave and Fraser, and if you haven’t seen them, you’re missing a great time with a bunch of west coast wild guys customizing the big rigs - way to go Ryno!

Dave previewed the new and forthcoming Coast Airbrush web site. It’s a radical and fresh site design to compliment the prevailing energy and excitment at Coast Airbrush. Watch for it’s worldwide debut soon. Click here to visit Coast Airbrush online.

Tikis, bikes, boats, trains, planes and automobiles… by the time we left, our eyes and heads were full, but it was a lot like eating Chinese food - an hour later, you’ll want to go back for more.

Hope you enjoy a few of the pics below…

Mark Remling , Ryno and A.D. Cook - watch for our forthcoming interview with Ryan “Ryno” as we discuss his CMT series Trick My Truck.

The Coast Lounge is full of cool stuff; motorcycles, bikes, cars - you name it - if it’s airbrushed, it’s here.

Yah, cool refers too!

All this airbrush memorabilia makes the Coast Lounge one hot spot to check out all that is kewl.

(more…)

We did ; -)

California is synonymous with warm weather and hot cars. Saturday was host to Temecula California’s Rock N’ Rod Run. Although this year’s show was a bit on the wet side (weather wise), the cars were hot and automotive enthusiasts attended with a desire to share their passion for the ultra-cool in automotive cars and memorabilia. A great selection of hot rods and Harleys cruised Temecula’s old town and parked proudly for a fun day of show and shine for the 20th annual Rock N’ Rod Run.

New cars and old were on display where the young and young-at-heart attended to check them out. After all, real car guys don’t let a little rain keep them from taking in a day of gathering and comparing their knowledge of two and four wheel wonders.

A hot yellow rod…

…featuring some sweet scallop flamed graphics.

Black flamed rods are always popular…

…and this was no exception. This was one of the cleanest rods on display. Kudos to it’s owner.

There are plenty of radical PT Cruisers roaming the streets of SoCal, but this beast is extreme;

buried in hand-painted flowers…

…and featuring an airbrush mural with a surfer motif, painted by Ron Williamson of Winchester, California.

There were plenty of dropped sleds on display,

some rods in the works…

…and a few smaller ones for future rodders.

That’s it for this years Rock n’ Rod Run. See ‘ya in Temecula for next year’s gathering on March 9th & 10th, 2007.

Ed Roth aka Big Daddy Roth was ahead of his time. A popular icon in the 1960s, Big Daddy Roth was a major influence in the world of art, pop culture, hot rods and motorcycles. Sadly, Mr. Roth passed away an 2001, but his legend and his work live on today. You can see his influence expressed throughout the contemporary world of Kustom Kulture, and in his passing, his memory lives on.

Recently, a friend shared the above image with us, and we, in like kind, wanted to share it with you. You can learn more about Ed “Big Daddy” Roth by clicking here to visit EdRoth.com. It’s a cool site and worth the visit, so check it out, and remember… “Think like a fink”

LINKS   |   STORE   |   A.D. COOK FINE ART

We were in Thousand Palms, California (just outside of Palm Springs) and thought we’d check in on Mitch Bergeron. Mitch is well known for his metal masterpieces of rolling steel, and for his television appearance on Discovery Channel’s Biker Build-offs. The Discovery Bike is an outrageous design sporting a long stretch and a mean attitude, and an incredibly cool paint job by Martin Bouchard aka Fitto, an airbrush master of macabre and aggressive designs. Click here to visit Fitto’s site.

Unfortunately, Mr. Bergeron wasn’t in on the day we stopped by, but Kenny, the newest wrench at Mitch Bergeron Customs gave us the nickel tour and filled us in on upcoming happenings at their new home; Mad Dog Motorcycle Company. Seems they’re growing, and rightly so. What we saw on the floor was hot stuff, and we understand they’ll soon have a showroom full of Big Dog motorcycles to compliment Mr. Bergeron’s creations. Their new space is cool, and we’re excited to watch them grow into it. We’re going to do our best to stop in on them again, after they’ve had a chance to get all moved in. Until then, here’s a peek at some of what we saw.

A couple of Mitch’s special builds, including the Discovery Bike.

The Discovery Bike up close.

A closer look at Fitto’s airbrush artistry on the Discovery Bike; front…

…and back.

A tricked-out bike and side car combination.

We’re told the store’s “official” grand opening is expected to be April 23rd. Next time you’re in sunny southern California, check them out at Mad Dog Motorcycle Company, 72009 Metroplex Dr., Thousand Palms, California, or ring ‘em at (760) 343-5300 or click here to visit Mitch Bergeron Customs online.

Walk a few miles here and you’ll find beauty everywhere. Kathy and I took note of an incredible quite scenic road, which, of course begged to walked. It was like a private country road in a lot of ways, yet it was right in town. The homes on Skyline Road are beautiful, in a true historic kind of way. They are an eclectic statement of the area; dome homes, large and small homes, old and new - all mixed together along the hilltop. A little over three-and-a-half miles later and our legs were feeling the elevation changes so it was time to head back to the rig.

Lake Elsinore is the perfect place for walkers and hikers. The southwest is truly a beautiful area and worth taking a break on occasion to take it all in.

Learn more about Lake Elsinore here.

You know, we almost missed it; Temecula Valley Choppers (TVC) is hidden of sorts, like a chopper treasure store waiting to be found. Of course, the locals know it well. In reality, if you were to stroll Temecula’s Old Town Front Street for a few minutes, TVC would reveal itself with the roar of a continuous stream of hot custom bikes running in and out of the place. We found it with a small sign street side that simply said “choppers” with an arrow pointing to the back side of a business park along highway 15 (or as the locals say… “The 15″). Needless to say, I’m a fan of the style of bikes these guys inventory, and as you’ve probably figured out by now, this place is pretty cool.

The Von Dutch influence is everywhere here. Literally, most everything at TVC has been touched by the famous Flying Eye.

TVC carries a couple of brands in particular that are amazingly beautiful and I couldn’t help but be taken in by their beauty. The Von Dutch Kustom Cycles and the Big Bear Choppers showcased at TVC are cool, in completely different ways.

Von Dutch, aka Kenneth Howard, was a California legend in the heart of custom bikes and hot rod cars during the 40’s and 50’s. He helped re-define the custom culture movement that is experiencing a strong resurgence today. Von Dutch is the agreed by many to be the original innovator of free hand pinstriping.

Von Dutch Kustom Cycles is a licensed motorcycle manufacturer of American V-Twin Choppers, Diggers, Cruisers and Accessories. Their motorcycle designs are the result of creative expression, extensive product development and solid state components. The results are a measured outcome of disciplined manufacturing processes focused upon the expertise of hand craftsmanship with one thing in mind, quality. And it shows. I’ve seen a lot of bikes, especially production choppers, and I can tell you, these bikes are drenched of detail. Zeak’s Designs is their primary custom painter. Zeak has painted more than 10,000. motorcycles and is renowned for his free hand prinstriping and quality of his work. Zeak’s skilled team utilizes the latest House of Kolor premium finishes. It’s obvious that Von Dutch Kustom Cycles are as much art as motorcycle.

You know you want to ride her, but remember - there are no front brakes on these babies.

Old Skewl Kewl bathed in great paint and pinstripes. These bikes have tons of detail in pretty much every regard.

Yah, that’s a suicide shifter just over the belt drive. This bike will keep your attention on the ride.

Click here to visit Von Dutch Kustom Cycles.

A beautiful selection of Big Bear Choppers, out of Big Bear Lake, CA, were on display as well. I’m a huge fan of their Sled 300 ProStreet, which is designed to look fast and sleek, with a a seat hight of only 19″. Traveling down a winding road just inches off the ground has to be a total rush! These things come stock with a 100″ motor, and they’ll put a S&S 124″ 130 HP drive train in there if you want. And chrome - lots of it. Don’t think we didn’t notice the paint; their stock paint jobs are beautifully designed and well executed. Big Bear Choppers collaborates with Aggressive Designs from Santa Ana, CA for all of their custom paint for their builds unless the customer specifies otherwise. Custom paint jobs are available and are designed and quoted individually.

Big Bear Choppers also offers many of their bikes in kit form. Here’s your chance to build and paint your own. Check ‘em out by clicking here.

Visit Temecula Valley Choppers next time you’re in Temecula at 28860 Old Town Front Street, Suite B6, Temecula, CA 92500, or call Larry Kane at (951) 693-5206 for more info on their store or click here to visit them online.