Norcal Knockout

So, yesterday Rachelle, Leah and I drove up to Vallejo to attend the first Norcal Knockout. I added the link up where it says "link" but will do it again here, because I am still learning how to use this blog. http://www.norcalknockout.com/ I should have used that "link" function in my first blog, but I'm still a newbie on this thing, so please bare with me.

Norcal Knockout is hosted by "Hollywood" Hank and his girlfriend Korena. I met them about 4 months ago, and thought they were pretty cool. They have had some success hosting car shows and events in Sweden, and I am personally glad that some people with experience hosting European events are venturing into Northern California.

Since this is a new blog, and there will be some readers who don't really know me, I will start by saying I envy the Rockin' scene in Europe. They have weekenders all over, almost every weekend. Here in the US we have Viva Las Vegas, and a bunch of mixed music styled weekenders like Ink N Iron. I will probably write more about that later, but I digress from the topic of this post.

We arrived in Vallejo about 1:30 parking was a breeze, the lot was not full, but there were still a lot of cars.  Texas Steve playing and he must have just started, because he played for at least 45 minutes after we arrived. Inside the fairgrounds there was a good amount of cars parked, lots of shade, and the weather was perfect. I saw a few people I knew, did some chit chatting and went to explore the vendor area.

Mike from Gearhead was there vending, and we had a long chat about punk rock, Booze Broads and Hotrods 12, and shows he's going to be vending at, like the Strangers in San Jose July 11. There weren't many vendors that interested me, but one person I know bought 2 pairs of vintage shoes.

At this point, I had lost Rachelle and Leah...actually I'd lost them almost from the beginning when we walked in. This happens to me often, I get caught up chatting with someone I know and my friends wander off. I don't mind, and have no problem walking around events alone. My friends know this about me, which is one reason they rarely wait for me when I start chatting. Besides, they might be waiting a long time since I do talk a lot.

I found Rachelle and Leah after looking at the vendors and we all strolled over to the 3 refreshment stands. This is an all day event from 10 to 6, and the only food vendor was a guy who was out of hot dogs and only had the $10 Rib plate or $7 Polish dog available. The other 2 vendors was someone selling bottled water for $3 and soda for $4, and a shaved ice vendor. I opted out of the food and got a shaved ice. This was probably the worst aspect to this event, the lack of food. I am not sure if they were selling beer anywhere, either.

While waiting for my shaved ice, I lost Rachelle and Leah again and strolled over to say "hello" to Texas Steve and to watch Dusty Chance. Both Steve and Dusty are on the Wild! Record Label. For those not familiar with Wild!, there is a pretty good article in the LA times about Reb Kennedy and his label recently. http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2010/06/mexican-revolution.html I snuck a cigarette or two while hanging out with Steve and chatting with Dusty's wife, Jen.

Both Steve and Dusty were backed by a band comprised of Omar Romero, Jeff Gerow, and Ozzy (sorry can't remember Ozzy's last name!). All three of these musicians are tops. Steve and Dusty are both local favorites of mine, and the Bombshells were lucky enough to have Dusty get up and sing with Steve when Steve played our Booze Broads and Hotrods show in April. 

I had my camera with me but dummy that I am, I didn't take any photos. Now that I started this blog, I guess I should be more diligent about taking photos.

Overall, this event was well organized, had a nice mix of people, and I have great hopes that it will grow and be bigger next year. There is potential for this to be another Billetproof, and I wish Hank and Korena much success for next year!