So the journey has begun. I have been working on Popp Over America since October of last year. Back then, I thought this would be a solo trip, but as life would have it, things change. I’ve realized the musical expedition is one that is better off with a bandmate.
I have been practicing with my old friend Shaugn O’Donnell on a collection of songs I have written over the years. Popp Over America is now no longer a solo endeavor, but a band. Having earned his doctorate in musical theory, Shaugn is a literal musical genius. He is often flown around the country to lecture on Pink Floyd or the Grateful Dead. But Shaugn has never been tied by the bonds of the musical egghead scene. He has a working class ethic that I also share, and when we rehearse, we grind it out old school. There are no breaks. We play until we can’t play anymore.
Shaugn and I both started at City College of New York on practically the same day 13 years ago. He as a Theory Professor, and me as a tech for the Sonic Arts Center. He was reserved at first, and the joke goes that he didn’t talk to me for the first two years of our employment. But after prolonged exposure to each other, we became friends. We both shared the turmoil of divorces but more importantly, a love of live music and guitar led us to meandering multi-hour conversations. We would later form a band with renaissance man Tylor Durand on drums, Shaugn on guitar, and me playing the bass, called Plasma in the Ukraine. The life of the band would be short as I could not stomach being a bass player – the job did not match the cut of my jib.
Fast-forward two years later and we are sharing the stage again. Shaugn sticks to the guitar and leaves the vocal shenanigans and songwriting to me. We are sort of the Jay and Silent Bob or perhaps the Penn and Teller of the acoustic rock scene. Music is meant to be shared and I am lucky to get to do just that with one of the best friends of a lifetime.
Our first gig at the famous Shrine in Harlem, NYC (as seen in the video above) was a barn burner. We were well practiced and had a great crowd to cheer us on for this first outing. As you can tell, I couldn’t be happier. A big thanks to everybody that attended the show. Your presence means more than you will ever know…
So sláinte to Shaugn O’Donnell, now an irreplaceable half of the musical duo that is Popp Over America.
Pictures by: Evil Kel, Heather Laurel, and Jenny Mavronas
Chris Hornberger’s Tech Day in Wilmington, Delaware May 9th, 2015 Starting Mileage: 12894
Chris Hornberger from the Pace Podcast invited me down for his tech day in Delaware. I decided to take the trip because I am always looking for an excuse to ride. The 250 mile round trip would serve not only as a chance to meet Chris, but as a test for the bike.
What is a tech day? I didn’t know myself as this was the first one I ever attended. Chris is a good mechanic and a good guy. To help out his motorcyclist friends, he has them over for a barbecue and beers and works on their bikes for free! Chris changed a few rear tires and worked on a clutch when I was there. He is a big hearted guy with a great sense of humor. Everyone razzed him even though he was doing most of the work. I smiled wide as I watched him complete task after task. This guy loves bikes so much, he wants to do everything in his power to promote the joy of motorcycling. I witnessed him manufacture a tool to get off an odd nut holding on a Honda Sabre clutch basket. He is a true creative craftsman and I learned a lot at his tech day.
The VFR800 performed admirably. I caught a patch of bad weather on the way down, but only had the rain suit on for a few miles. A really nice day with a lot of really nice folks. A big thanks to Chris for his hospitality!
Bikes at Tech Day
A very cool beer holder
Chris making a socket
Crafty…
Trip to Cold Spring, NY May 17, 2015 Mileage: 13142
The weather was so nice I thought I would head up to a place I have not been in a long time – Cold Spring, New York. I took my favorite path up the Palisades Parkway and over the Bear Mountain Bridge. When I approached the entrance of the bridge, the traffic was stopped dead. I looked up ahead and noticed a rescue helicopter transferring an injured person to an ambulance. I get nervous when I see accidents. I’ve had more than my fair share. I’ve been hit by a car while on a bicycle. I’ve had two head-on collisions in cars. I’ve been run over by a mail truck as a pedestrian in NYC, and I’ve had 5 motorcycle accidents of varying degrees. I am extra careful these days, but I do get a little rattled when aboard my bike and I see trouble.
I took a few deep breaths and the traffic eventually started moving. Once over the bridge, I took a left on 9D and calmed down a little. The weather was beyond perfect and my bike was running like a top.
I arrived in Cold Spring and parked the bike. I was searching for a bar named McGuire’s that I visited here on my BMW K75 a few years back. I couldn’t find it, but I ventured into the place where I thought the joint used to be. Sure enough, Doug’s Pretty Good Pub was the old McGuire’s. The inside hadn’t changed at all and neither had the clientele. The patrons are mostly bikers and working people, a relief from the rich antiquing crowd that visits here to dump their money on stuff to fill their apartments.
I ordered a beer and a Reuben and texted an old friend of mine Jay. The last time I was in this bar, I ran into him and we had lunch. Jay informed me that he had moved quite a while ago. I laughed at first, but then melancholy thinking how time slips away so fast. Friends move away and circumstances change in a flash before my eyes. Thanks to the omniscient eye of social media, I watch people who didn’t know each other meet, get married, and have a kid, and then watch those kids grow up and head off to school. Time is bendable, and as I age I can’t get used to the speed at which life moves.
I poked around the town and went to a cool barn sale, snared by the sign I read, “Pop’s Barn Sale.” There was a collection of neat old objects and a player piano. Seeing all of the stuff made me long for a proper house like the antiquers. I’d love to have a garage, a yard, and a dog, but those things don’t factor into the New York City formula. The tradeoffs of city living are many.
I left Cold Spring and headed up 202 which is an amazing road along the east side of the Hudson. I stopped at an overlook and gazed at the river with many others also captivated by it’s beauty. We evolved from the water. Babies placed in water will innately begin to swim. I wonder if this genetic code is the urge that draws people to beaches, lakes, and rivers.
I headed to CCNY where I work and mounted my new Gunfighter and Lady seat sent to me by my sponsor Corbin Seats. I sat on my bike and immediately noticed the difference in comfort. My previous seat hit me in all of the wrong places but the Corbin is perfect. It is also leather and not synthetic, so it will get even more comfortable as time goes on. I feel honored to have them as a sponsor. I would have bought the seat anyway, but the company sees that I am trying to achieve something and they are supporting me – such a gift. Installing the new seat was a beautiful finish to a perfect day.
I headed back to Ryders Alley and along 9th avenue was a street fair as far as the eye could see. After parking my bike, I watched people for a while, and then headed home. The greatest thing about having my bike is that I don’t have to decide on one lifestyle or another. If I tire of the bewildered herd of New York City, I just hop on my bike and head to parts calmer.
Trip to East Hanover, NJ May 24, 2015 Starting Mileage: 13257
I am working like crazy on Popp Over America. I am recording an album, creating a script, and trip planning, all while working a full time job. My work load is massive, but I am trying to balance that with riding. One of my locations for the show is my old home town East Hanover, NJ where I lived from when I was born until 12-years-old. Since we are shooting here, I thought I would go back and get a lay of the land. So many memories flooded back to the front of my brain – things I have not thought of in 40 years. I don’t want to spoil the pilot episode and I won’t say too much, but I made a realization. Everything from my youth seemed so much bigger when I was a boy. The driveway I used to skateboard down is a mere speed bump. and the vast park I remember is not much more than a tiny field.
Traveling and visiting other places provides perspective. I have been lucky to travel far and wide and collect great experiences. Coming back here is a bizarre feeling as if no time has passed at all. My schools, homes, and church all stand on the same ground with only a slight patina of time polished onto their surfaces.
I am very excited to start production and this short trip has provided me with so many new ideas. I wonder if the people at my old house saw me taking pictures and wondered who the dude on the red Honda was? Too funny.
Lurker Park where I asked my first girl to go steady
Lurker Park – I played baseball on this field
I used to check out Nok Hockey tables with my sister Catherine from this building.
My middle school
My grade school
The church where I saw my first electric guitar
A culvert now grown over where I used to catch frogs
The house where I lived between 3 and 12.
One original wall standing for legal reasons of the house where I lived from 0- age 3.
Another amazing sponsorship from Hoffee Cases which are made of exotic Carbon Fiber. The best of the best! Location scouting and a gig booked with my old pal Shaugn O’Donnell.
