Been A Long Time Coming

Since I have not posted shit in forever, I thought since I broke out of my massive inspirational coma today, I'd share some cool shit that's gone on over the last little while since I dropped off the face of the earth!  I believe my last post before today was just prior to Daytona Bike Week down at the Broken Spoke letting you all know what we had going on down there.  As it turns out, the event was a huge success and the feedback that I've gotten from those who came to work and party with us has been stellar.  It is very rare indeed that I ever leave the property when I'm working a bike rally but I could not resist taking off on the Chop In Block / Cycle Source ride around what I believe is called the Wildlife Loop out in Ormond.  A friend was kind enough to loan me another friend's bike and I jumped in to the pack and we took off.  The ride was amazing, the people along for it could not have been better and for about an hour and a half, we all got to forget that we were there to work.  Here is a shot that our friend Uli captured while on the ride.  I'm not sure what it is, but there is something that just strikes me about this shot.  I'm not sure if it is the way the sun shines off that amazing paint job or the blur of the trees making it look like we are rolling 100 mph or what but I just love the hell out of it so I thought I'd share it with you lunatics.

Once again I had the great honor of hosting some of the finer happenings at Arizona Bike Week this year and there were quite a few moments that really stood out and a few memories that will stay with me for as long as I live.  I got to once again do a gig with the incredible folks over at HD of Scottsdale and they clean, clear knocked it out of the park again.  It was the kick off party for AZ Bike Week and the crowd was pumped up.  In true Jack Shit fashion we hooked them up with all kinds of Free Shit and the crowd was so massive that we had to use a cannon to reach from 1/3 of the crowd back.  The concert  portion of the event was held at their new training facility which by the way is totally state of the art and enormous.  I've yet to think of anything that could not be pulled off with this amazing facility that they have there.  The shot below was taken from the lighting console which was about halfway back in the crowd from the stage.  I love seeing the crowd here but what I really love is the shot of that flag on the stage.  There is a great story here to go along with that flag as well.

Another great shot that was captured that day was of me screwing around when I didn't know anyone was looking.  Shortly before the shot was taken, I had introduced and watched the performance of one of the best bike stunt teams that I had ever seen.  It was a warm day and I had a shit ton of property to work that day and from the jump I decided that I would ride my bike around the property rather than walk back and forth endlessly.  On one of my trips back to the main stage I was informed that there was a delay in getting Steppenwolf off the stage from their sound check and our rehearsal would have to wait.  I was riding around the training facility when I realized that I had never surfed the bagger since I got it and what better time and place to do just that, after all, it is a "training facility", so I couldn't pass it up.  As I came around the lighting / sound tower I had just began going up on the bike when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone standing there.  He never got a shot of me all the way up but he did catch me getting there.  Who knew that you could surf a road glide?  Getting that loose neck fixed after 2 years sure paid off!  Thanks Bob from Independent for the hook up!

What makes working for this group of people so great is just that, "the group of people" and the head of that group is the one and only Dr. Bob Parsons and this man is nothing but class!  He spent top dollar to throw this party and here is the kicker, if you have a mc endorsement on your drivers lic., then entry to the event is totally free!  How classy of a move is that shit?  Dr. Bob went way out of his way to fill the entertainment roster that day.  When you bring in a big national act, it's easy to just hire a local band or two to open up for them and save yourself a fortune but he sure as hell didn't do that.  He took the expense to bring in a band from Nashville that was really great but the point of this is the band that he brought in all the way from NYC.  The band is called Madison Rising and they were extremely talented.  More than talented, they are truly patriots and it really shows in their performance.  Just like Dr. Bob, the lead singer is a Marine and as you see there I didn't say former Marine because as I've learned, there is no such thing!  The band played a set earlier and was just incredible but it was the job that they did later that evening that flat out blew everyone's minds.  The original video the band made is stellar but I thought that here, now, I would share the video from that evening.  So check it out right click me now.  As much as the performance live was incredible what moved me the most was when a moment of silence was asked for by the lead singer and in a split second, nearly six thousand guests fell instantly silent, it was incredibly powerful!  This is a band that because of the fact that they are patriotic, find it very difficult to find a welcoming audience because as you know, you are damn near shunned now for being proud to be an American!  If you see these guys anywhere, make sure you go and support them.  The original video made by the band on youtube has nearly 4 million hits and that's pretty damn impressive to me!  

Dr. Bob is the founder of Go Daddy and although he is a MASSIVE success, he takes care of his people and his customers at a level I've yet to see any place else.  About 20 minutes before we brought Bob up on stage we were hanging out backstage, we had gone over what was going to happen when he came on and we were talking with the band and that is when I saw and heard something that I'd never imagined was possible in the entertainment industry.  Dr. Bob was speaking with these guys and asked how they are supported and how it is going for them.  The reply was the same that nearly every band gives, "we do it all on our own" until we make it big enough to get some support but as I mentioned above, in this nation, is these times, being a patriot is perhaps the ultimate curse in the entertainment industry.  Dr. Bob turned to one of his top guys and said "bonus these guys $ _______, write them a check right now" and the look on the faces of the band had to match the look on mine.  That look was shock, awe and total surprise!  I won't mention the amount of the bonus that was given because that really isn't my right to do, but I can say this, HOLY SHIT!  Dr. Bob, you my friend are nothing but class!  I'm proud to be part of your team!  As I mentioned earlier, there was a story behind that flag that we used on the stage.  A soldier's dad carries that flag around with him and is such a massive fan of Madison Rising that he attends many of their shows.  We knew that we needed a flag on stage for this special moment and we asked if we could use his and he was humbled and honored.  I never had a chance to hear the entire story behind the flag but I can say that it was very moving to say the least!  Here is one of my favorite shots captured that evening!

 Below is a shot captured that night right before we all went on stage.  Dr. and Mrs. Parsons, Madison Rising and your pal Jack Shit!  This was a night that I will never forget.  The only thing that could have made this better would have been if the owner of the flag could have been in there with us.

I could go on and on in this post but I won't because it seems to be getting long and since I've not really posted in five months, I don't want to kidnap you and hold you for ransom on this page.  Next time I get back on here, I'll share some of the other great shit, sad shit and cool shit that has been going on in our lives over this past half year!

I do have to say that it feels good to write about what's going on again and let you fuckers back into our lives.  It's not always easy to just spill out for the whole world everything that is going on and I feel that if I can't lay it all out on the line then why share anything.... ya know what I mean?

So then, until we see each other on the road again,

Keep the wind in your face,
Tits in your back
and The Man Off Your ASS!

Your friend,
Jack Shit