One of my favorite outdoor events in the whole world is the Goodguys West Coast Nationals, held at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, CA. This year marks the event's 21st year, and I'll be there for sure on Saturday (my 15th or so pilgrimage there). I always bring my camera, and the photos shown here (from the 2006 event) are only a handful of the 1,000+ I take each year. It's that much fun!
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FYI, Goodguys each year produces two dozen hugely-attended hot rod & custom events scattered around the US at major state fairgrounds. These are extremely well organized. People are there for the camaraderie, yes, but respect rules for the cars, always.
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Darrell Mayabb, the artist who drew ROCKIN's cover, took me to my first hot rod events years ago. Those were produced by the (competing) National Street Rod Assoc. (NSRA), and I went (repeatedly) to their Nationals at state fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, Columbus, OH, and Louisville, KY (where the NSRA Nationals are now seemingly in residence forever). There, I've seen, on one day, as many as 13,000 rods, customs, led sleds, trucks, woodies, you name it--almost too many to comprehend. Great, great adventures, always.
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While I've now thousands of photos from NSRA events, my heart these days is with the Goodguys, who've extended huge hospitality to me personally, even tho I don't presently own or exhibit a rod (but soon again, I'm hoping -- I did have a cherry-o-baby 1955 Ford F100 pickup in psychedelic yellow, back in college).
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I also should note that I love to go to "inde" outdoor events as well, like Billetproof (upcoming next month in Antioch, CA), where rat rods, true cruisers, and lowbrow art are happily combined. Other suchlike Calif. gatherings include LA Roadsters and Paso Robles, and two of this ilk, in other parts of the US, were featured in ROCKIN'--the midsummer Heavy Rebel Weekender in Winston-Salem, NC, and the late spring Lone Star Roundup in Austin, TX. There, live rock & roll is a major part of the proceedings. At Goodguys events, DJ's spin mostly tunes from the '50s and '60s, but contribute greatly to the overall ambience, even if, after several hours, it sometimes sounds a bit much like Wolfman Jack's younger cousin. But what rules are the colors and shapes, combined with California sunshine, no humidity, and a great setting.
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Gary Meadors, the Goodguys Rod & Custom Assoc. founder, wrote one of the two 'blurbs' on the back cover of ROCKIN'. What he wrote rings true today:
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"Rock & roll is one of the most important elements at the several dozen Goodguys Rod & Custom events we produce each year. Our goal is for people to have a rockin' good time.
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"Car music comes from all eras, but there's no question that the classic songs set a mood that's hard to beat. On a beautiful day at a state fairgrounds somewhere--anywhere--in the United States, the colors, shapes, chords and notes, plus all the great people, combine to create an experience that's totally American. What could be better than rock & roll and the hottest--and coolest--cars?"
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Marc Meadors, Gary's son, is now the President of the Goodguys, and he and his family have been extremely encouraging of all the developments that made the book possible and newer developments that are leading to Rockin' TV.
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So please join me (and about 7,000 cars, and 100,000 other gearheads) this weekend. Friday thru Sunday, it'll be a blast . . . as always.
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