Easyriders Video 1-10 By Skids Poppe
Imagine what a perfect world it would be if you could get through Easyriders magazine without having to actually read it. I mean, really, the first thing most of us do is look at the pictures anyway, right? Who needs words?
Now, finally, we don’t have to read a single sentence in order to enjoy the full, rich texture and depth we have come to love in Easyriders Magazine. At last, we have Easyriders: The Video Magazine.
Okay, so it’s been around for a while. Episode one premiered way back in 1988 and it has been coming out quarterly ever since. Right now they’re up to episode twelve and I’ve seen one through ten. This one’s a keeper. A definite plus for your very own home Skids Library.
If you order the backlog and start with number one and watch them all the way through, you’ll see they only get better. One had a slow start (but hey, they didn’t know what they were doing yet, so cut ’em some slack) but by three, director Rick Schmidlin and company had the format down to a veritable art form.
Now, I’m sure you’re asking (I know I did) what kinda stuff am I gonna find on one of these tapes. Save your questions ’til the end boys and girls, Professor Skids should answer them all by the time he’s done.
First off, they all have generally the same format. You can expect each tape to have some killer music by anyone from The Doors to Lynyrd Skynyrd to some great rock by people you’ve never heard of. Follow music by little featurettes about brothers from all over the country talkin’ ’bout their bikes; how long they’ve been ridin’, how the bikes have been rebuilt or if they’re completely stock or whatever they want to talk about. One guy explained the theory behind all the dragons he’d welded onto his machine through the ages. Kickin’ stuff! After all this comes the really good stuff.
The main features on each tape cover a wide range of topics. One tape has an interview with Wino Willie and this dude has got the scars to back up his stories. Another tape talks to Dave Mann, the guy responsible for all the wicked cover art the print magazine has become famous for. In addition to interviews, they’ll take you places you’ve never been and always wanted to go (if you’ve been there, this’ll just bring it all back to ya). Places like Sturgis or riding along on the Vets “Ride to the Wall” or even the 50th anniversary of Daytona.
But to top it all off, the icing on the cake, the gravy on the potatoes, the studs on your Harley…each episode is guaranteed to have at least 37 breasts (that’s by my figuring, not theirs…although the figures they do show are worth looking over at least once, if not three or four times).
These tapes are available singly or by subscription (about four a year) and range in price from $9.95 to $29.95 depending on how many and which ones you buy. To make it even easier, they’ll pay for the call. Really. 1-800-323-3484 will get you all squared away. And tell ’em Skids sent you. It probably won’t mean anything to them, but it’ll give you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 