LAVELLA-BLOG!

My old pal Jon Clark, who is officially known around these parts as “the guy who saved Gearhead” (although that is a story for a different time) proved to be one hell of a host! In less than two hours, he took me through the entire show (stopping just long enough to take this photo of me with the legendary Norm Grabowski) then proceeded to drive me on tour of Detroit that included the original home of Motown Records, the Highland Park Ford plant where the first Model T rolled off the line in 1913, and the giant tigers of Comerica Park, all before treating me to a “Coney Island” at The Lafayette….whew! By the way, that’s Jon’s A-100 Dodge van in the post from 3/5, and I should mention that it won First Place in the “Conservative Van” category. Not bad for it’s first show!



Although I spent most of my time in the ol Acme/Gearhead/No Fun booth, (where I did end up signing lots of autographs – thanks for the luv Detroit!) I also managed to meet artists like Tuck, the boys behind Lowbrow Customs, and to behold the genius that is Speedcult! These guys can make ANYTHING out of scrap metal, and if you don’t believe me, just witness the sheer brilliance of the Crapmaster 3000! A combination magazine/toilet paper holder that no respectable bathroom should be without! I was so impressed by it that I had to donate a set of Gearhead mags to their display one, although I still wonder if any tome is worthy of this magnificent invention! I’d like to thank my new friends Matt and Brenda Pomroy for making my visit to this huge and visually overwhelming booth a very memorable experience. Damn, I wish I had more time here in the Motor City, but Scarlett Fever is tomorrow and in just a few short years it has become the ultimate “be there or be sorry” event in the Bay Area. I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ll be back in Detroit much sooner than later though… I mean, now that I’ve witnessed just some of what this town has to offer, how could I ever stay away?



I also want to mention that this post marks the one-year anniversary of LaVella-blog! and I gotta say that doing it has been a fairly fascinating experience. I’m still figuring out what type of content most people are interested in seeing, but based on the feedback (actual comments on this blog and the ones I’ve gotten in real life) it really is a mixed bag, so I suppose I’ll just keep posting a combination of what I’ve been doing mixed with things that I find entertaining. 165 posts in my first year ain’t bad, that averages out to a little more than three a week...and to think that ol’ Jer was worried that I wouldn’t keep up with it after he helped me set it up. Yes, I had help! I’m 44 years old people, I still think that color television is an amazing new invention. Anyway, thanks for reading.