"I'd like a time trial helmet, made out of hair, please"
We’ve remarked many times on the connection between the pained musician and the Cyclist. Layne Staley and Marco Pantani being a prominent example of a reflection in a pond of mental strife. Perhaps something about finding strength – or at least some kind of peace – through suffering is a personality trait that Cycling shares with being an Artist. But sometimes it is much more simple than that. Sometimes, you just want to get psyched to get out and ride. Or to stay in and ride, as the case may be. @blackpooltower lets us in on his own dirty little secret.
Yours in Cycling, Frank
Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee and the other assorted Ramones like Linda (yes, really, I checked) might not look like God’s gift to the performance-minded cyclist, despite Johnny’s quite aero hair, but in fact they’re practically a secret weapon.
I’d love to say that my training is all Man-With-Hammer-seeking epics and Moser hill repeats but frankly I live in central London, an hour from anything resembling countryside so, whisper it, I do also spend some time on the turbo. Filthy habit, I know. Sorry.
Although, you know what? Graeme Obree did a fair bit of indoor training and if it’s good enough for the JK Rowling of cycling (which is to say: made it with no one’s help, on welfare/benefits, therefore a total hero) then it’s good enough for me.
Of course indoor training is a bleak prospect without music. And it can’t just be any music. It has to be the right music.
So, if there wasn’t a band whose entire output was recorded at between 90 and 100 bpm, with irrepressible energy levels and just the right blend of anti establishment individualism (totally fake in Johnny’s case), catchiness and outright dumbness to keep an underperforming wanabe racer spinning those stupid fan blades round for one more effort … you’d have to invent them, no?
But no need. The Ramones, AKA punk rock pot belge, exist. Or at least their music does, and that’s the bit you need.
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@frank
Goes to 11?
Am I the only one left that can get psyched from listening to John Tesh?
http://youtu.be/NldWKBEFsnA
Unfortunately I never got the chance to catch the Ramones live - so I did the next best thing - I caught the Perth based Japanese trio Mach Pelican. So much fun:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r6GPpSE0YAY
@The Grande Fondue
Get out.
@wilburrox
Remember that if you're really going to emulate Johnny, it's gotta be all down-strokes.
@sthilzy
I recognize the Tube Screamers and the Swollen Pickle, but what are the two pedals in the middle?
@frank
It just doesn't get more classic! That's nice. Very. Complemented w/Tube Screamers and Leo's G&L. @shilzy Ohhh that'll go to 11 yes. The list of rock n roll and heavy metal that was made with 80's 50w JCM Marshall stacks goes on long. Tom Morello's music with Rage Against the Machine just might be on top of my list. Along with Slash's classic GnR work. My experience has been that most of those older JCMs when they show up nowadays in guitar stores are just plain beat up. If I stumbled on to a clean half stack like that looking for a new owner I'm guessing the music room would have a new add'n. Very cool.
My Marshall set up contrasts big time being an early 70's 20w lead-bass head coupled with Mesa Boogie 1x12 Thiele EV cab. It's an unusual combo. Nice and tidy and perfect for home. After the tubes have been cooking for 30 min's it'll sing. Regret however that the amp, being all original, as in like everything including wire and solder joints (but not tubes), no surprise, does need some tlc as attenuating the power leads to tube issues. I haven't been prepared to turn over a classic and original hand wired Marshall head from England to just any amp tech.
@Steampunk
>>> music on the bike could be the single most dangerous thing a cyclist does <<< Except, maybe riding at night ? or with your eyes closed? Or drunk ? Or w/o hands on bars ? Or racing a Cat 5 crit ? Just jokes on that one (now, racing with moto's and team cars in the mix ???) but still... No denying that riding with ear buds is generally not safest way to ride a bike. Agree. And that's too bad because I do on a rare occasion enjoy it though. Cheers
@sthilzy
Yes, it goes all the way up to "Registers on the Richter Scale"!
@TMJM
A couple J Rockett Archers. Chris Van Tassel and Jay Rockett were involved in the mythical Klon Centaur pedal design and build this pedal. It's all hand-wired, and badass as shit. Very similar in function to the Tube Screamer, but it changes the base tone of the amp less, not to mention that they are incredibly harmonic. Fact is, my favorite is to use one Archer and one Tube Screamer together for a really great, growly tube overdrive.
@wilburrox
That is a unique setup, although I wish they made the 800's in a 20W head for some less ear-bleading overdrive.
I love using overdrive pedals in pairs as you can see, SRV-style. The two Tube Screamers are both set to pure boost (full level, no gain) and the Archers are a bit different; one is set to about 10% gain and the other to about 30% gain.
The head is a '87 2205, which is possibly the best unmodified head Marshall ever made; it was the first time they added channel so you can have some variation in the tone. I actually have the drive and channel volume high (8ish) which gives some great tube compression and then have the master volume as low as I need to keep the complaints from coming from the neighbors. I love a cleanish tone that breaks up! I wish I could have that as my clean tone a full Marshall gain tone for the second channel but I suppose I could do all that with the OD pedals...
@TMJM
There's a great quote in this educational video that Tommy Morello did on how to play his songs...at one point he gets into this thing about up and down strokes (or chucks, as he calls them - up-chuck or down-chuck)...so he wants to show the big difference between the sound and demonstrates. Then he finally says, "OK, it sounds the same. You can chuck whichever direction you want."
I have always been a downstroke guy myself.