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Biker night gig in Texas last night

One of our not-so-regular venues is a "biker bar". It's not-so-regular because the "individual" that does the booking is an idjit and has illusions of booking-agent grandeur, but that's another thread!

Sure, there's some rough folks that chill there, but I have never been treated badly by them, and they sure are appreciative of the music we play.. and let us know. I assume they'd do the opposite also. By FAR the most "interactive" venue we play!

About 30 yrs ago I was part of a "team" that provided SR for a "Banditos" (yes, the same folk prevalent in the Waco incident) special event.
They hosted it on a fenced-in (12 feet high) 5+-acre lot in Mingus, TX. Look that up on a map!!
They had their own security and it was a private event. Could not have been nicer to us!
They had local rock band talent, and folks like Jerry Jeff Walker, Bugs Henderson (local dallas dude) and many others.
2 days of party!
 
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Speaking as a multiple gun owning Texan, and aside from it being a web portal and search engine I am not entirely certain just what a Yahoo is, I would have to say that the Biker brawl thing in Waco is no different than the gang fights / shootouts that happen all over the major cities across the nation, including in California...
Except I don't hear nearly the level of condemnation of biker gangs who are criminal and shoot each other up as I do the gangs in other major cities. I wonder why that is...

Not really. I know why.
 
Not real happy with random slaggin on the Lone Star state. It's a place rich with history and I'm proud to have some great friends from there.

There's plenty of people around with problems. Texas has no exclusive on that, we've got plenty right here in L'il Rhody, the Ocean State, believe me.

Do me a favor and save me the work of cleaning all that nonsense up. If I have to do it tomorrow, I'm gonna be irritated, and y'all don't want that.

Thank you.
 
Played a biker's clubhouse anniversary a couple of years ago in Odessa, TX. Was absolutely the best we were ever taken care of! In fact halfway through the first set my GK 212 cabinet decided to blow up. As I was trying to determine what to do to finish the gig, one of the "roughest" looking of the bikers came up to me and said "I play bass also and my rig is in the truck, ya wanna borrow it?" I told him I didn't want to put him out and he said tell the boys to take and break and it won't be a problem. He and his guys loaded in a sweet Mesa rig and the show went on. One of, if not the best private shows I have ever done.
 
I have played many biker rallies including Bike Week in Laconia, NH. Myrtle Beach, SC and Daytona, Fl. I have never had a problem with anyone. In fact, most of the bikers were very polite and bought us beers. At one rally there were a number of Hell's Angels. They loved the band and were great guys to hang out with. One time someone started some trouble with our drummer and a couple of Hell's Angels members stepped in and stopped it before a fight broke out. In my opinion, bikers get a band name because of a few trouble makers.
 
What's the problem?

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Except I don't hear nearly the level of condemnation of biker gangs who are criminal and shoot each other up as I do the gangs in other major cities. I wonder why that is...

Not really. I know why.

Because biker gang violence is generally more geographically dispersed and less statistically significant than, say, street gang violence on Chicago's south side or in SE DC?

Or were you just trying to suggest something ugly about some of the folks on here without having the courage to state it directly?
 
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Except I don't hear nearly the level of condemnation of biker gangs who are criminal and shoot each other up as I do the gangs in other major cities. I wonder why that is...

Not really. I know why.
Because biker gang violence is generally more geographically dispersed and less statistically significant than, say, street gang violence on Chicago's south side or in SE DC?

Or were you just trying to suggest something ugly about some of the folks on here without having the courage to state it directly?

Or New Orleans, or Houston inner loop, or Los Angeles, or Seattle with the skinheads.
 
I encounter those guys on rare occasions in rest stops or other place when I'm on the road on my bike. They are personable enough individually, whether they are identifying themselves as members of some club or not.

I don't recall seeing much issue with skinheads these days. Frat boys who get drunk and cause trouble in areas that have a large gay population have been more of an issue around here. There have been a few random shootings, too. I don't know that they are gang related. We certainly haven't had any shoot outs, skinheads or no skinheads. What happens here also is that self-styled anarchists break things whenever anybody stages a protest of any kind. It's a little like drug dealers using homeless people as cover for what they do - cowardly and a PITA.
 
Because biker gang violence is generally more geographically dispersed and less statistically significant than, say, street gang violence on Chicago's south side or in SE DC?

Or were you just trying to suggest something ugly about some of the folks on here without having the courage to state it directly?
I'd be happy to state it directly on a forum where it doesn't get me banned. But while I do agree that there is probably less violence from biker gangs per capita, it's still a very bad thing.

That said, I've played plenty of biker bars in my day, and most have been very friendly and kind toward me and my bands, and many of them do lots of good works for charity, so I'm not calling for universal condemnation of all biker gangs by any means. But man, come on. Crime is crime.
 
Yup. Today's "biker" is a baby boomer with a full-time professional job, house in the suburbs, and a $30k custom Harley that he rides on the weekend.
I think the "yuppies" have moved on already, but most biker gigs I have played ( including one that had 200 people dressed as Santa Clause.. Man I wish I had a pic of that dance floor!) were thrown by bike clubs which very few true yuppies belong too.