Some People Like to Rock! Some People Like to Roll!  But movin’ and a groovin’ Gonna satisfy my soul, Let’s have a party Ooooh, Let’s have a party!
      -Wanda Jackson
   
The legendary California heat of this summer is nothing compared to the heat being generated here at Gearhead.  The magazine is in full production now, more on that shortly, but first let’s talk about parties.

There’s lots of reason to celebrate these days. The dark painful past is behind me now and all sorts of fantastic milestones are on the horizon. 2015 is a time to commemorate it all. As you know, Gearhead® was started back in 1993 and I came on board in 2000 to launch the record label. That was fifteen years ago, yet it seems like it was only yesterday.

It’s been a long time since I threw a party and it’s about damn time to do one, so drum roll please, SAVE THE DATE!! Saturday Sept 26, 2015, I’m throwing a party to celebrate my fifteen years with Gearhead!

It will be hosted at The Blue Lamp, 1400 Alhambra Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95816. Starting at 6 pm with a Blessing of The Cars (I am a minister after all), bring anything with wheels to the front of the Blue Lamp for an informal, non-denominational blessing. Afterwards, the first band, Sacramento’s The Moans, featuring The Secretions own Danny Secretion will kick things off, followed by the rockin’ sounds of The White Barons (have you bought their new album yet?)

The legendary Pat Todd of The Lazy Cowgirls will crank things up further with an appearance from his Rankoutsiders  and topping the evening off Gearhead is pleased to announce psychobilly hell-cats Thee Merry Widows!!

They have officially joined the Gearhead roster and you can buy their first two records now on Itunes. I’ll have more great news to announce about them later this year, but I’ll let you in on a little secret, there’s a new record in the works.

During intermission, there will be a Ms. Gearhead contest, with all the proceeds going to the local SPCA. Girls come dressed up with your best Gearhead gear and compete for a chance to be featured in an upcoming issue of Gearhead.

No party is complete without good food, right? There will be food trucks, plus goody bags for the first fifty customers through the door. I’m so excited to see all my friends in one place having a good time, so you do not want to miss out on this! Tickets are $10 at the door, but you can save a couple bucks by buying them in advance now.  This is also the official relaunch of Gearfest too, the last one being almost thirteen years ago so yet one more reason to make sure you don’t miss this party!

If an anniversary and a new band weren’t reason enough to celebrate, how about the release of the long awaited issue number 19 of Gearhead Magazine? After months of writing and collecting stories, the release is scheduled for late summer but you can still be part of this legendary relaunch by advertising with Gearhead  If you have a cool product or shop you want to advertise, contact me ASAP to nail down an ad for this sure to be sold out edition.

If it sounds like I’m bouncing all over the road with enthusiasm it’s because I am. It feels great to be back again, and Gearhead is back with a vengeance. Lots of the classic Gearhead shirts are back in stock  now, thanks to those of you who supported the What The Fuck is Gearhead?  fundraiser campaign. We made our goal and the shirts should have already arrived in your mailbox. They look great; it brings a chuckle to my lips every time I look at it.  I’ve also put a bunch of specially priced collections of cds, posters and stickers together on EBay for those of you not familiar with the Gearhead Brand. And for those of you who are, its a great way to fill in some holes in your Gearhead collection at a low price.

On a more sober note, my heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Steve Rodriguez, bass player for the legendary Dragons  who passed away suddenly July 21, 2015. He was a bright spark of love, warmth and humor in this tumultuous business that sometimes causes people to forget we’re all just human. Steve was always the guy who could rock with the best of them, and then just as suddenly, turn around and give you a hug, just because he was happy and loving life. The years I worked with Steve and The Dragons were some of the best of my life and I will cherish my memories of this fabulous man and the great music he helped create. My heart broke when they called it quits and now it’s broken once again. RIP Steve, you will be deeply missed. RLF. I’ve written some further thoughts and shared some pictures in the News Section  on the Gearhead website.

There will be a memorial concert Sunday Aug. 2, 2015 at The Casbah in San Diego. Check out the facebook event page for more information. There is also a Go Fund Me account set up in Steve’s memory. Please donate! The proceeds will be put towards expenses as well as a college fund for his son.

People have asked about their records, so I’ve put together several special packages of Dragons Merch for sale. All proceeds from the sales will go to the Go Fund Me account. If you love the Dragons, turn your friends and family onto this exceptional band; you’re doing a good thing while you’re at it.

Until the next newsletter, you can stay on top of all goings-on by following Gearhead on Facebook, Instagram, You Tube, Twitter, and now Pinterest and Soundcloud.

Much love,

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Rev. Michelle

The smell of coffee permeates the room around me. It’s a cool morning, still summer, but there is a hint of dying leaves in the air; fall is just around the corner. I should be gratefully sipping that first cup of rich black liquid and relaxing into my day. Instead, my heart is pounding, my breath shallow. I feel like I might pop right out of my skin at any moment. Fear has gripped my soul with icy fingers.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face…you must do the thing you cannot do.”  I flipped open a book while I was waiting for the coffee to brew, and that quote from Eleanor Roosevelt was the first thing I saw; suddenly it all made sense. I am terrified of moving forward. All the things I’ve been struggling with over the past few years:  poverty, a crumbling business, broken dreams, authenticity, finding my true voice and passion and what the “grand purpose” of my life is, crush me like a 2 ton boulder, and I am paralyzed.

I have been on a spiritual quest to find some answers and to learn why I was going through so much shit these last few years. I took my business, Gearhead® to a dead stop because clearly it wasn’t working as it was. The Gearhead® Brand looked like it would be another causality of the shattered economy, but there were other reasons for my company’s downturn.

As I delved into healing my life, uncovering the many places where my actions didn’t match up with my intentions and making amends, I was willing to let it all go and start fresh and clean. But as you know, Gearhead® hung around, like some tarnished penny that kept turning up, begging me to pick it up. Which brings me to this moment in time, facing the fear head on that engulfs me.

As I rebuild this business from the ground up, I am starting to get some answers as to why it didn’t go away, even though I tried like heck to dissolve it, or just bury it. If I had any idea of how hard it would be to start a business back up from a dead stop, I would never have tried. It’s a good thing I’m a glass half full sort of gal. I let optimism and hope lead me forward.

I have struggled with how my loves for rock ‘n’ roll, pop culture and hot rods could serve any sort of a beneficial purpose to the world. I’m not a musician, I just know when I hear a piece of music that moves me in some way, I want to share that with everyone I know.  I know almost nothing about cars except I have always enjoyed looking at them. I love the fact that mere mortals could create these amazing machines built from the elements of the earth. Ever since I built a model racecar in metal shop as a child I thought cars were neat! And pop culture? Well, that’s what has shaped who I am today.

 I’m not a trained businessperson. I have simply followed my gut and was a bit taken aback when that led to successes as quickly as it led to disasters. This whole rollercoaster ride with Gearhead is really about courage and confidence, and stopping to look fear in the face, moving past the fear, judgments and limits that always surround a dream. Gearhead has hung around waiting for me to stop being afraid of following my dreams.

 No other business out there is like Gearhead. It is a unique entity, born of steel, grease and grit and powered by the raw pulse of pounding drums and a burning passion in my belly that won’t be ignored. It has attracted brave souls who have followed their own inner urge to create something all their own. Gearhead essentially is a community of like-minded people, all following their own dreams and passions around the main themes of kustom culture and rock ‘n’ roll.

 As I wake up the slumbering shell of Gearhead, I must face my own biggest fear of doing the thing I think I cannot do, the thing those around me think I’m crazy for trying. Fear can stop you, or it can be a motivator, giving one the courage to go for it. My business coach Jim Kaspari summed it up perfectly: "fear is the lantern that lights our way to success."

Gearhead Magazine has lain dormant since 2009, and as I start work on it again, the fear floods to the surface. “Maybe they’re right, I can’t do this, what am I thinking! It won’t be the same…” These thoughts fill my head and rattle around like old junk in the trunk. Starting up the publishing process has triggered these fears that once again led me to do some soul-searching. I realized Gearhead is simply the vehicle I’m driving right now as I learn the lessons of following one’s dreams.

 Gearhead Magazine will not be the same publication my former partner once envisioned. It can’t be because I am not he. But it can be something new, something that honors the past, but lives in the present. It can still be a place that like-minded people come together at.

 I’ve recently applied for a grant to help fund the rebirth of Gearhead. I need to get 250 votes by Oct. 3 in order to move onto the next round of the application process. Will you help? Click here to place your vote for Gearhead®! I thank you in advance for your support, and for sharing the dream.

 Passion and the intent to shine a light on the people who serve the world by following their dreams has always been the foundation of Gearhead, whether it was rock ‘n’ roll, cars or the culture around these industries.

 Are you one of those people? If so, Gearhead has a place for you as I get the magazine into production again for the long awaited issue #19. Take an ad out in the magazine, write a review of a favorite new record, book or movie you think our community should know about, or maybe even write a feature article. If you want to be involved in any of these ways, please email me today!

Gearhead Apparel is being revived with some old classics like the Gearhead Logo shirt  the Spark Plug shirt, or the classic Runnin’ On Fumes Iron On shirt, but we’re looking for new designs too, so if you always thought your artwork would make a great Gearhead shirt, send it over!

 Most of all, we need customers who can support Gearhead by buying the stuff we’re creating, and getting the word out the Gearhead brand is rolling again.

 Gearhead will have a booth at the upcoming car show Billetproof;  here I’ll be selling Gearhead® goodies and talking to the folks who stop by. If you’re in the Bay Area, come check it out! And while you’re there, put your name into the raffle for a chance to win a Gearhead® Goodie Bag!

 I’m finally getting the You Tube channel crankin’ again too: the first video in 4 years, The Yolo County Demolition Derby, went live recently, and more videos are on the way!  Become a subscriber to the channel! Facebook  Twitter and Instagram have been a challenge for me to learn, but I think I’m getting the hang of it finally. New content is going up every day because I finally realized these forums are a place where community gathers. It’s been fun sharing pictures and information from the past and as I get more comfortable with the technology, there will be a lot more stuff coming! Please follow Gearhead and feel free to repost and share.

 I’ve realized much of what Gearhead is about is being an inspiration to those who struggle with facing fear themselves, and providing an avenue to do what they think they cannot do. DIY baby, just go for it. You’ll never know if you don’t try right? Shake Rattle and Roll.

 Till next time, be cool and keep the rubber on the road,
Rev. Michelle