A little fear is a good thing.



Here we are at yet another installment of passive aggressive, one sided banter, but the December 10th, 2012 edition. Now if you listen to bearded prophets or old timey native cultures, this means we have exactly eleven days left here together. You can either ignore this theory and go about your daily rigamarole, or you can live like Eleanor Roosevelt would want you to, and every day for the next week and a half, do one thing that scares you.

Well, I’ll tell you something… It was on Saturday night when I did just that, and accompanied my lady friend to a lingerie store while she did some shopping.

Please note, this isn’t just any average run of the mill store. This is the place where when you walk in the door, attractive young women pour you flutes of champagne and cater to every need the customer might have. If Chris King made thongs, garters and bras, these are the ones they would make.

Like someone who would shop at this store on the regular might be flabbergasted that anyone would possibly pay $160.00 for little colorful cups of aluminum;

I was literally scraping my jaw off the floor to find that someone would (and according to the sales people, do, with enough regularity that they haven’t felt even the slightest pinch from the recession) think nothing of dropping $150.00 on a thong.

So as I sat nervously in the boutique sipping champagne, surrounded by lacey, frilly and prohibitively expensive things that will all eventually just wind up in a pile on the floor, I held my ground and faced my fears.

No doubt, Eleanor would have been proud.

Speaking of wearing next to nothing, my old chum Sean from Ritchey Deigns sent me an email the other day which gave me pause;

When it comes to displaying apparel, I think you could learn a thing or two from these guys.

While that is an intriguing way of displaying bicycle clothing, and as I told Sean, I am the only model I have, and I hate the appearance of my body so much I shower in the dark. I will have to rely on the forms of others, and the head of Chlöie to pedal my wares;

Now then, and not relating to that in the least, I’ll post a video for you if only for the simple reason that it’s been emailed to me, or posted my Facebook wall no fewer than a dozen times;

Ain’t nothing wrong with the Bad Brains.

And kind of speaking of them, I had a random series of thoughts relating to the band the other day after seeing that Gaythiest had been featured in the new issue of OUT Magazine;

Those random thoughts being these- When I was eleven, Alternative Tentacles released a punk rock compilation called ‘Let Them Eat Jellybeans’, though I didn’t actually hear it until the following year. My friend Adam and I would sit in his room and play that, and the P.E.A.C.E. compilation over, and over again.

However, of all the tracks, the one that stood out in my mind was (the one so deftly performed by the Peanut Gang in the above clip), ‘Pay To Cum’ by the Bad Brains. I can remember being dumbfounded by the power of this song, and repeatedly looking at the little thumbnail of the band on the record’s liner notes, not believing my eyes.

“Wait a minute…. These guys.. The guys in this band are black?”

Growing up in Crackerville, Colorado, I had three black friends when I was young, but by and large, never experienced a great deal of racial diversity. And secondly, in the then-burgeoning Front Range punk rock scene, there was nobody but us white folk.

Then, along the way somewhere, my friend Jeff arrived to school with a 7″ record by a band called The Dicks on which was a song that became our anthem of anti-authortianisim;

I was thirteen years old, and an entirely new world was opening up to me. If the Bad Brains being black was a mind bender, you can only imagine my response upon finding out that The Dick’s vocalist, Gary Floyd, was gay.

It was at this time that any underlying prejudices, and all pre-concieved notions went completely out the window, and I have punk rock to thank for helping me along with those realizations.

Just seeing that one article brought all of these thoughts up and I have been dwelling on them for days. I’m thankful that bands like these both have and do exist, and I’m hopeful that they will continue to have a positive effect on people who cross their paths as they did for me so many years ago.

Now in closing, I’ll rally back over to the bikecycle side of things with a clip that my buddy, and committed Expat Lockwood sent on;

The Moo Stosh. Pretty awesome. The locals go nuts for this guy. Enjoy.”

Photo courtesy Danny Zelck.

What an amazing array of experiences for Alex Revell. It is with an unparalleled grace and determination that he seems to exist despite the fact that he is clearly up to his neck with a thing that would give a mere mortal not just fear, but unadulterated terror.

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29 Responses to “A little fear is a good thing.”

  1. Shannon December 10, 2012 at 5:45 am #

    being a gita model is not for the faint of heart nor tiny of hands.

  2. pedalman December 10, 2012 at 6:50 am #

    Nothing breaks down walls faster then music (except maybe an awesome moo-stosh).

  3. Ryan December 10, 2012 at 6:50 am #

    “Hate the Police”, I always thought Mudhoney wrote that. Used to think I was punk..

  4. Rich December 10, 2012 at 7:02 am #

    ‘Let Them Eat Jellybeans’ and P.E.A.C.E…..brilliant. Sometimes it’s like I’m reading stories here from my own history….

  5. Gypsy December 10, 2012 at 7:37 am #

    Hi. My name is Joe Strummer, and I approve of this message. (Paid for by the committee to elect Darryl Jenifer for president.)

  6. Ben December 10, 2012 at 7:44 am #

    I tried more than once to go see Bad Brains at First Ave but never succeeded. One of them, usually HR would inevitably either get sick, or more likely go to jail at some prior point in the tour and they wouldn’t make it to Minneapple. Did end up seeing Mudhoney in their stead once though.

  7. Case December 10, 2012 at 7:46 am #

    Fear tried to pay Alex Revel a visit once, but it was scared off by the greatness of the ‘stache.

  8. FunkyLaneo December 10, 2012 at 7:53 am #

    It’s a good think your buddy never brought over a Skrewdriver album. I think I still have the Jellybeans album somewhere, the picture of Reagan always cracked me up so I held onto it.

  9. doug December 10, 2012 at 8:14 am #

    yeah, I read this shit cause I relate………and crackerville CO huh?? I grew up in Ft. Morgan, CO till I came to NorCal in 86…………that was crackerville………..

    • Stevil December 10, 2012 at 8:15 am #

      Perhaps the majority of the state could have been referred to as such.

      • doug December 11, 2012 at 9:41 am #

        true that! ……..

        • doug December 11, 2012 at 9:42 am #

          oh lord help me for saying “true that”. I am happy that I correctly spelled “that” though.

  10. Bob Croslin December 10, 2012 at 8:16 am #

    I had the same reaction when I heard the Brains in ’85 when I was a baby punker. Imagine how stoked I was to see them in ’87 and then the tremendous letdown I felt when they played nothing but fucking reggae for 90 mins sans HR. I never forgave them for that. The only upside was that the Dead Milkmen opened for them and they were sloppy and terrible but in the best way possible.

  11. I Am the Owl December 10, 2012 at 9:09 am #

    How freaking awesome is Gary Floyd

  12. Watts December 10, 2012 at 9:55 am #

    When I was eleven, I was obsessed with M.D.C.
    Gay, vegetarian, uber-political…. They challenged all of my pre-teen notions of what punk rock was and should be.
    Great post, man. Rich said it… like reading a chapter in my own book.

  13. Sean Hurl December 10, 2012 at 10:24 am #

    Imagine my surprise the first time I saw Vanilla Ice.

  14. Aden December 10, 2012 at 10:27 am #

    So glad you finally experienced Agent Provocateur! I was messengering in NYC years ago when I had my first pick up from that place. Talk about amazing and overwhelming… I fumbled and dropped my manifest when this amazing bombshell walked up in her slightly see through pink dress that she was busting out of to hand me the package.
    I was sold from that day forward.

    • Vaeringjar December 10, 2012 at 12:41 pm #

      Not exactly related, but I had a job (the best-paying job I ever had) that lead me to the basement of the building where Agent Provocateur’s located in NYC. I had to shovel up a dead rat. It had been there for a while and was stuck to the floor. I got the shovel half way under it and lifted the shovel. The rat’s body split open like a burrito and maggots poured out like chorizo. I am not particularly squeamish but I almost lost it.

      I think Vivienne Westwood’s son owns A.P.?

  15. hurltron 5000 December 10, 2012 at 11:06 am #

    no mention of Let Them Eat Jelly Beans is complete without the Feederz:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9N-JF2vR5k

    • Yafro December 10, 2012 at 6:38 pm #

      Ah yes, the Feederz. Nothing like leaving a copy of the Feederz “Ever feel like killing your boss?” CD on your desk at work… in plain sight. My boss was only slightly amused.

    • nowheels December 11, 2012 at 11:00 pm #

      Thank you! Yes. At first mention of the the album, the Feederz song comes rushing back. Damn! I also loved Isotope Soap (never knew the band. Thought is was the Germs all these years) and I still sing it for my kids while I bathe them.

  16. Double D All-Time December 10, 2012 at 1:38 pm #

    The thing about Bad Brains – HR was anti-homosexual. In fact, MDC wrote the song “Pay to Come Along” about the time Bad Brains refused to pay a loan given by Randy Turner of Big Boys because they found out he was gay. Regardless, I still love to listen to both MDC and Bad Brains…

    Stevil, I am guessing you were at the Red Rocks show in ’93 which featured Pavement, Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, and Primus? Sounds like we ran similar paths, even then.

    • Stevil December 10, 2012 at 3:59 pm #

      I’ve read something relating to that along the way, but probably forgot because I didn’t want t believe it. I’ve only run around Red Rocks during off hours. I’ve never seen a show there I’m afraid.

  17. Nived December 10, 2012 at 3:00 pm #

    Banned in DC was one of those eye opening experiences, and as I said last week to Mr Garro,,, Mudhoney makes me smile…

  18. Jimbo December 10, 2012 at 4:38 pm #

    Wot? No FLEX YOUR HEAD????

  19. nick December 11, 2012 at 12:14 pm #

    Alex Revell is a badass.

  20. Mattya14 December 13, 2012 at 12:29 pm #

    Who you callin’ cracka, cracka?