Semester coming to an end...

#selfie

BMW CCA Auto-X @ Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, CA

A good friend and also a long time sushi bar regular, invited me for ride alongs during the last few sessions of the afternoon. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to get my head thrashed around the chicanes of the infield of Auto Club Speedway. Also known for hosting Nascar and Indy races.

After a few hot laps in Brian's '71 BMW 2002 technical problems forfeited his car for the rest of the evening. That 110mph top speed in a car like that and then breaking down 2nd gear to make the first corner coming off the straight would be pretty harsh on your motor mounts. 

I continued getting ride along with other cars and the one I found most impressive was the driving skills of a 21-year old instructor, Tristen. He drove the yellow E36 pictured below. Tristen has been instructing since he was 18 and has been doing auto cross since he was 16! Truly, a skilled and experienced driver. 

It's hard to fully capture the ant-like feeling you get looking out towards the towering bowl of bleachers when you're in the infield. Instructors and their cars cooled off along Pit Road waiting for sessions to start. Cars were classified from A-C Class A being "Alpha" class.  

I'm a sucker for meaty sticky race slicks. 

From left, Tristen's E36, middle Brian Moon's 2002, and anonymous driver but much love for it's aggressive yet functional wheel stance. The extended wheel studs would give more room to squeeze more inches of rubber if he wanted to widen it a bit more. And who knows, a blow dryer and a cloth wrapped baseball bat could help stretch out the fenders for an even wider stance. Nonetheless the car was one of my favorites.

JDM wheels on euro cars?...I dig! 

Ah ha, there you are white prancing horse! I promised myself when/if I retire I'll buy myself a Porsche, but at that point I wonder what they've developed over the years to make Porsches like this beautiful white GT3 even better. 

The blaring exhaust notes of this ZR1 were not forgiving on my bare naked ear drums as it came down the finish line stretch topping out.

The blue on these two 2013 328i's caught my eye right away and the sun's light reflecting off the pavement brightened the faces of these cars quite nice. 

I found this ZR1 cooling down it the garage. I love it's aggressive body lines and the fender brake vents along the front fenders giving it an even meaner race car look without disrupting the existing the stock body lines.

The first chicane coming from your top speed stretch. 

＿終わり

Coachella 2013: Weekend 2_Part 2: Grinderman

If you want the life sucked out of you, gargled with ghost chillies and a slug of whiskey, and then spat back into your mouth like mother bird feeding her chicklings, go watch a Grinderman performance. Compared to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Grinderman is what you would listen to when setting a vehicle on fire rather than taking a stroll down Jubilee Street. 

Here's to you Mr. Cave! 

Well folks, unfortunately thats the last of my Coachella photo roll...until next year eh? I know it's just rumors and most people (including myself) want to believe that these rumors are true but I'm holding my breath for a Daft Punk appearance. By then I will be legitimized with a press pass and I'll cover all weekend. Until then, I'm just gonna keep refreshing these 2 Coachella posts as a sulk in the "Post Coachella Depression."

＿終わり

Coachella 2013: Weekend 2_Part I

The moment you've all been waiting for....(drumroll)

Coachella 2013!

This is my first time going to a festival of this caliber and I must say it has set the bar fairly high for what I expect at a music event. Definitely one of the most memorable events I've had shooting as well. For those of you who know the rules and regulations for Coachella, not having a media/press pass restricts anyone with a "pro" camera access to taking photos inside the venue. Let's just say I took my chance at both gates and miraculously made it through with ALL my artillery. I took the opportunity as far as I could to shoot and still be able to fully enjoy the Coachella experience. I felt it was appropriate to give Nick Cave his very own post since I took the most pictures of the Grinderman performance. Here's some of the performances I just HAD to watch. 

The Coachella main stage 

An old time favorite of mine, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra! I never thought I would have been blessed to see these whackos perform, let alone in America. I couldn't stop bouncing during their set, they had such an energetic presence. Even if people didn't know them, you can't help but groove to some good 'ol Japanese ska.

As you can probably tell by these action shots without a trace of sound that these guys are not just amazing musicians but performers in their finest form. Imagine trying to play this baritone sax while jumping around through stage, I would be winded after a few minutes.

やっぱあつしめちゃかっこいやろ！

たかしは生き生きしてた

おつかれさまでした！超楽しくっていっぱい踊った

From this point on, things were heating up...literally. After 40 minutes of non-stop dancing in the mid-afternoon sun I was roasted and dehydrated. We searched for a cool shelter to simmer down and ended up in house music nirvana. Yuma, the only fully covered and air conditioned stage at Coachella was popping off and the floor was well prepared for candy walkers and 2 steppers alike. Despite the initial  intention of cooling down, I actually worked up a heavier sweat from all the dancing.

The aliens have landed!

...time for the "freaks" to come out

The usual crowd you'll find at a Jello Biafra set...

...and then "Holiday in Cambodia" happened. All hell broke loose and some looney decided to mosh against the current of the mosh pit. Always wear a helmet kids!

Someone's gonna have a rude awakening.

Hats off to you...oh, and shirts as well!

It's time for that trap music son. Lunice and Hudson Mohawke (TNGHT) killing it!...and my eardrums. It was worth getting in front and getting smashed up against the rails. Sickest Kanye and Rick Ross remixes which I'll probably never be able to hear in this type of set up.

...like I said before, Mr. Cave gets his own post so here's a teaser of the next post to leave you all drooling.

＿つづく