You can't grow, if you rip your root's out of the ground...

The Farmers Alliance building on the freeway (101) side of downtown. Built in 1922 by the Paso Robles Almond Growers Association (PRAGA) as a crop storage and staging area. Paso Robles at that time promoted itself as "the almond capital of the world". But by 1936 the almonds had mostly moved to the Central Valley, and after 36' the building was used to store harvested wheat. As a forth generation Paso resident, I am only the second generation that does not make a living farming. My Grandfather farmed west of Paso, and worked quite a bit in this building, up until it closed for good in 1976. Until recently this building had been for sale, but two weeks ago, I noticed that the for sale sign was down, and a new banner had been put up advertising some sort of a wine tasting room. I became concerned immediately for the historic building. My hope is that it's protected, or at least the new owners are looking at preserving it, and not thinking of tearing it down. Today as I drove by, there were workers taking down the tin building on the north side. Time will tell, I hope the city won't allow it to be torn down and re-developed. But then again the city officials are blinded, by the pursuit to overcome the Napa Valley wine region. This building is a huge part of the history of farming in the area, and farming built Paso Robles. Wine production is farming, but only a select few in the wine buisness will admit to being farmers. Most look at that label as an insult. Hopefully this building is "campy" enough to be saved.

EXCLUSIVE: First Look at New Clash Documentary | SPIN.com

EXCLUSIVE: First Look at New Clash Documentary SPIN.com


Caught this tonight on the BBC... Very Good Television!!!!

David Mann...

Little wonder why these old bikes are rare. I can't imagine catching that much air (above pic) on a rigid bike. Seems like a hard landing, can't be good for the frame...

Overwhelming...

Put down your spray gun, throw your brushes away. It's official, the Japanese are better at us than we are...

Good for Vampire Weekend... But that Honda commercial, over and over again, I just can't stand anymore!

Brian's (The Boy's) Ayala Brother's 48' for sale on Ebay...HERE

***SOLD***

Dream Truck step by step...

The many lives of the Dream Truck from the Barris site...

Fox Theatre...

Fox Theatre, Paso Robles. The theatre has been closed for many years now. The building and sign were starting to their age. So the city had the building owners repaint the facade. In it's way, the aged peeling paint covered sign, earned it's look. I thought it looked great, and so did many other people (Google search the Fox Theatre Paso Robles, and see all that comes up). Although I preferred the sign to be left alone, I can understand the city's stand, and the want to make the building more "wine friendly". But if you are going to repaint the sign/building, at least research the color history, and paint it accordingly. Better yet, get some money together and do a proper restoration on the sign and building face. The city should get behind this and kick in some money. Make this a showpiece right in the center of town. Anything would be better that a tan and white flat house paint, painted facade. Most towns would kill to have a classic theatre, Paso should quit looking past theirs.
This is actually the way that the theatre should be restored, back to the Hi Ho theatre, as it appeared in 1941.

Here's what I've been working on...

I did this van some years ago in vinyl. There were some changes in the company, so they needed to change up the lettering. Now if you have ever dealt with old sun-baked vinyl, you know that it's a real pain. I spent a day pealing and buffing off glue. By far, the worst job in the sign field. The new logos are mixed media, with the lettering all being vinyl and all of the light green color being paint.

Today's email...

Interesting, I rode one of the "new" Royal Enfield 500's around in the mid 90's, they were built from the old molds. They shifted like old bikes, stopped like old bikes and took a lot of tinkering to get right. I wonder if these new models are any different? One things for sure, they still look pretty good, for a new bike...

Maherajah Water Skis 1972...

As a young apprentice sign painter in 1989, I would dig around the shop, through the piles of old signs, artwork and anything else that 40+ years will pile up. One of the items that I came across was this poster from 1972, featuring a very young Suzanne Somers. The poster was not in good shape, as it had been stored rolled up, with boxes stacked on top for years. My boss, saw the poster, and became very protective of it, as if it had been lost, and he had now found it. He then told us that it was very rare, and worth a lot of money. "And don't even think of taking it out of the shop"! Now, I would have thought, from the way he reacted, that he would have taken the poster and stored it away in a better environment, like in the office, but no. He rolled up the poster and threw it behind the easel. Thinking that time would pass, and he would forget about the poster, I waited. For some reason though, he would re-find the poster every year or so. Each time making as big of a deal about it, as he had made the first time around. Several years later, in a rare "freak out", about how cluttered the shop was, he started throwing years of patterns, silk screens, and paperwork in the truck, and had me drive it to the dump. Only after, did I realize, that in his haste, he had thrown out the poster. He never even mention the poster again, perhaps he had finally forgotten. This is more often than not the case, old guys become attached to items, and the won't let them go. Only to misplace them, or decide to throw them out, without placing them in the hands of someone that they know would appreciate them. I sure would like to have that poster for the shop wall, but it was not to be...

I've hauled some sketchy loads before, but this one has me beat...

...TCB...

The last picture show, 1971...

I have seen this movie quite a few times over the years. Caught it again last night. It is such a great movie, that you can watch it over and over again, without feeling bored. If you have grown up in a small town, or know what it's like, this movie captures that feel perfectly. There is also quite the cast (very young) with Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid and Cybill Shepherd in her first role. This movie is very well acted, written and shot. It will put you in a early 50's Texas small town, totally...

Oh and did I mention, the young 21 year old Cybill Shepherd is absolutely breathtaking...

This last pic is not from the movie, but I threw it in just for art's sake...

This weekend, if your not in Yokohama...

The Hydramatics are playing at the Loading Chute after the ride, around 1pm. Come out...

On eBay...

Saw this on ebay, and thought it was funny. I have always been a fan of the Cadillac's that have been converted into pick-up's, but this?