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Hot Rod Show
I crawled into the sack at 2.30am, only to be woken by the alarm at 5.30am
to be back on site again to coordinate the huge Hot Rod Show for Sunday.
It’s marvelous what a box of muesli bars and a hit of caffeine can do! The
GreazeFest was blessed with superb weather and blue skies, proving yet
again that there really is a Rockabilly God. I reckon our recently
departed buddy, Tyson from the Salt Flat Trio might have had a hand in
this.
The vintage iron started rolling in early and the oval at
Davies Park quickly (and neatly) filled full of rats, rods, kustoms,
stockers, choppers, bobbers and lowrider cycles to create a very diverse
and colourful hot rod show.
GreazeFest Awards
I say this every year and I’ll keep repeating it until it sinks in, the
GreazeFest Hot Rod Show Awards are not about competitiveness, mechanical
prowess, perfect paint jobs or any other tech spec. The GreazeFest isn’t
about rules and often the best looking hot rod in the show is the least
likely to be selected. The GreazeFest Awards are simply about recognising
the GreazeFest spirit and the effort that’s needed to be part of this hot
rod and kustom kulture.
The vehicles that received GreazeFest awards were as
follows:
King Rat - Ray Flemming’s 1956 purple and white flamed
Customline
King Rod - Gavin’s 1928 flat black and orange Hi Boy
King Kustom - Darren’s 1953 flat black two-door Customline
King Ride - Paul’s 1954 Triumph chopper
King Lowrider - Slick’s spider web custom Malvern Star
Trophy Queen - Janet’s 1961 Ranchwagon
King Kroozer (longest distance) - Col Stevens’ HR Holden from Ballarat
Col was driving his 1957 Pontiac to GreazeFest, but it broke down, so he
turned back home and fired up his Holden for the long trip north. I heard
a few similar hard luck stories from people determined to get to The
GreazeFest, including a man from Perth whose vintage ride broke down on
the trip, so he turned back and jumped on a plane instead. It’s so
inspiring to hear that the greazer spirit is live and kicking across
Australia.
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Low Brow Art Show
The Art Show received a large and varied input of art displayed from local
and interstate artists. Pieces included water coloured tiki paintings,
stenciled and illustrated hot rods, photography, acrylic hot rod paintings
and lots of other pieces that words simply cannot do justice to. Check the
web for the pix. |
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Outdoor Stage
The outdoor stage received a big thumbs up from everyone I have spoken
to. The position of the stage meant you could wander around the rods, go
to the bar for a beer, sit and chill on the oval or wander around the
markets, all the while checking out the bands and hearing the live music.
The set up was just too perfect for words.
Sunday Bands
DJ Leapin’ Lawrie had the vintage tunes cranking from an early hour,
leading the way for first band of the day - Brandi & The Badcats -
who put in a top set of fillbilly and had the fans testing out the outdoor
dance floor with some expert jiving. Next up were West Texas Crude,
with front man Andy leading the trio through a set of top notch
rockabilly, despite having a Greazers Ball hangover that would have halted
traffic. First interstate guests of the day were the Nervous Wreckers
from Sydney, who played a sick set of hillbilly fused with psychobilly.
The dance floor became a sea of black and red when all the deadcats and
kittens pushed to the front eagerly awaiting Zombie Ghost Train.
The Zombies didn’t disappoint and had the audience spellbound with their
exciting and always humorous stage show, that saw Captain Reckless mount
the PA stack with his double bass, while front man Stu was out in the
audience getting friendly amongst the natives. Problems with the PA
earlier in the day became obvious during the ZGT set and the issues also
chewed up precious minutes on the band roster. So when the Ten Fours
were ready to rock, their set had to be cut short to comply with council
regulations on the sound ceasing. Nevertheless, the Ten Fours made the
most of the remaining time and sounded great up there on the big stage.
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After Party
The cool late afternoon breeze indicated it was time to cease the outdoor
activities and move inside the venue to start the one and only
after-party. The clubhouse was full of punters still enjoying the day and
I finally had the chance to crack a beer and soak up the vibes with
everyone. When The Throttle Zombies hit the stage, they got everyone’s
attention with an entire set of Cramps covers (bar two)! The audience was
soon yelling out Cramps requests and their set became the call of the wild
as everyone hit the dance floor with hips a-twistin’ and boots a-stompin’.
It was another memorable moment at GreazeFest.
Where could you go from here, but into orbit!! The room filled with smoke
and the strobe light signaled the arrival of Men Into Space! With space
suits and helmets, these spacemen launched into an A-Grade set of
rockabilly tunes. Surprisingly, I still found some energy to jive on the
dance floor with a brave partner (thanks James). At the end of the Men
Into Space show, a drunk punk rocker ran onto stage, grabbed the mike and
yelled ‘let’s hear it for these cats, they were greeeaaaaaaaatt,
motherrrrrrr f********kkkerrrrssss’, which prompted our sound engineer to
quickly kill the power the microphones. I turned to my buddy Neil and
said, “Well… on that last word, the GreazeFest for 2006 is over”. |
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Thank you
The GreazeFest is very thankful to the people who rally together and
make the weekend what it is. Very special thanks go to the most
understanding man in the world - my husband Johnny. Thanks also to Robot International, the GreazeForce Team – Tash, Mandy and Jude, who were sensational as my
personal assistants for the weekend; Derek at the door; Kimbo,
Cheryl-Anne, Steve and Tanya at the GreazeFest Stall; Annette, Sarah, Les,
Tia, Justin, Diane and The Three Amigos on gate patrol. Jim, Tony,
Rebecca, Fred, Joan and all the team at Souths Leagues Club. ‘Pix by Pete’
Walker for the 400 photos (my eyes are going glazy), Rob Walker for his
sensational artwork and the ‘Band in the Boot’ painting and to the Walker
brothers for organising the Low Brow Art Show. True Love Tattoo and
Sh-Boomm for their generosity and spirit, Rod for the photo discs. Teresa,
Jon, Dan, Coojee and Barry for the photo-shoot. Mike da Moocher and Leapin’
Lawrie for all the great tunes. Wayne & Gasser from Cruzin Magazine for
their much appreciated exposure. Thanks also to Tank, TCB Magazine,
Wintersun, Quest Newspapers, Time Off, Rave Magazine, Rocking Horse,
Skinnys Music, The Courier Mail, Scott Adamson and his low key security
team, C & M Productions and Instant Up Marquees. Whew.
 Biggest
thanks of all go to everyone who attended GreazeFest this year - the
lowbrow artists - the car, bike and bicycle owners - the local and
visiting bands - the punters at the Balls - and everyone who rocked up
from interstate and overseas - its YOU who make the GreazeFest unique.
Love your work!
See you all in 2007.
Lori Lee
o-[*_*]-o
GreazeFest Director |
