A Rare Update...Food, SICKLES, and Girls!

Finally!!! I wanted to do this update MONTHS ago, but my computer crashed, and I lost tons pictures and stuff...everything was a mess that I didn't wanna deal with...but I'm diggin' out finally.

I got a new ride! A restored 1957 Puch Allstate!



I still need some parts, like a cover to keep my pant leg outta the engine...but it runs and is quite fun to ride...except something's now loose...so I need to take it into the shop next time I have money.



Check out that paint job!



The dude I got it from found it in a dumpster 2 years ago, and restored it with parts scrounged from the Internet.



Glistening in the sun. The White walls are NOS Pirelli's from the early '60s



The speedometer doesn't work, but it smokes my friend's Metro scooter...



Here's me right after riding it for the first time. I later lowered the seat and fixed the mirror.



In with the new, out with the old...I traded away my Hondas to the guy that restored the Puch. Hopefully I have some cash in a couple years, so I can buy the bike he builds from them.



About a month ago, I went to the Speedshifters wheel club's annual summer-end party. I didn't get there 'til late, but I still got some decent Pics of my buddy Cody's AMAZING rides. Here's one of his choppers...



I LOVE his metal flake red '60 Chevy gasser!



It used to be my favorite local hot rod...



...But he's sure topped himself with his new bubble top rod!



HOLY SHIT!!



I wish it was light enough out to get the interior...White fur and clear plastic seats!

Lastly, for Halloween, The Hemingers are gonna perform as one of my all time favorite bands...The Mummies!!!



...and our buddies, No Bails are gonna be Wire!

The GO sounds of H.O.A.!

So, as usual, it's been a loooong time between posts, but this time it's not my fault. This post was held up waiting for an eBay package that took forevvvver to get here. Another future post is gonna be on my biggest purchase since starting HOA, but it's currently being repaired by more skilled hands. There's a hint to what it is in one of my pictures this post.

I've been wanting the Revells "Go sound of the slots" record ever since reading about it in the fantastic "Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth" book, and I recently scored a copy. It's a Slot car themed surf/drag record mostly penned by the late Gary Usher. You may know Mr. Usher for his work with the Byrds and the Beach Boys. He co-wrote "409", amongst other hits...that's even his car revving up at the beginning of "409". Most of the songs on here sound like a second rate Beach Boys, unsurprisingly...but my favorite song here is actually a faux soul number that reminds me of the Who's cover of "Please, Please, Please". It's also one of the few songs on this record NOT written by Gary Usher...but I bring him up because he'll surface again later in the post. Anyway, hear "My Little Slot Coupe" here.

Also in this picture is a record by a band called The Revengers. I found it at the local Salvation Army, and I can't find ANY info on it. from the label I've gathered that it was a local Coldwater, MI band in the 60's, and it was recorded in the Holland, Michigan area, but that's all I can find. The a side is decently done country-ish rock, but that's not really my bag...Listen to the surf instrumental "Revengers' Theme" here.



Lastly, we have "The Big X-L" by Ougie and the Ougots. I found this randomly in a pile of my dad's albums that he hasn't listened to since the 60's...but he claims he has never seen it, so I assume it belonged to my uncle Christopher, who was killed in Vietnam. All I've been able to find on these guys is one picture online, and I learned that they were from Georgia. Big X-L refers to the Ford Galaxie 500/X-L. Check it out here.



The kid's record player pictured I found real cheap at our local antique mall along with the Lesley Gore record. The record on the turntable is a beat-to-hell copy of J. J. Barnes' "Baby Please Come Back Home"/"Chains of Love". Some of you may know "Chains of Love" from the Dirtbombs' cover of it on "Ultraglide in Black". The green and white Platter Pak is from UHF in Royal Oak, MI, and the monster button is from the vintage clothing store next door. The orange swirl Platter Pak I scored on Ebay, after losing out on many others of the same design. I wish it was in better shape, but whatever...It's still awesome, and it's in use too.



The Humdinger Monster was apparently a 1 quart shake. In my quickie, half-assed research I found some neat Humdinger Monster puppets from '66 and an ad, but nothing saying who made the Humdinger.



Lastly, My newest eBay score...more Gary Usher madness! This JUST arrived on my porch today. I still need the other 2 Mr. Gasser albums...and I REALLY need the Weird-ohs and Silly Surfers LPs...if anyone's holding.

Don't trust anyone under 30!

Hey-a, loyal readers! Like always, it's been a long time between updates. I've been up to a lot lately. One thing I did since last update was have an art show as part of the return of the amazing Chicago Blackout. I sold a lot of paintings, but this one was one of my favorites!



Another thing I did was turn 30. The Hemingers got to play a super fun show in Kalamazoo with Peach Kelli Pop for my B-day...here's a pic!



I finally got my hands on one of these nifty bird banks. I almost got one a couple years ago, but when I showed up at the antique store with money, it was gone. This one is in REALLY great shape, and still has a key to open the bottom and a scroll with a poem on it intact. It's made by Oy Mk Tuote Ab in Finland, in I'm guessing sometime between '65 and '72. Gonked Glooked Slurped wrote about these a year or so ago.



Here's another view of it on my cruddy living room couch.



I got this neat ceramic drunk monk bank from the local goodwill for $2. There's no maker's marks, and I assume it's just something someone made in a ceramics class.



This folk art PBR can man was at one of my favorite local antique stores. It's neat but when you lift his can....



....he has a wang! The rubber band is broken, but when you lift the can, he's supposed to get a boner. I had to buy it, 'cuz I'm nothing if not classy!



We picked up this nifty Stanley cabinet last summer in Lansing, and I never got around to uploading the pictures until now. Our friend Colleen wrote about this exact cabinet last year on her excellent Space Age Squirrel blog.



We had our eyes on it for a long time, but it was out of our price range. Every time we saw it, it got a little cheaper until we finally snagged it for $95.



It's at Melanie's bakery,and is currently LOADED with antiques...and the bakery now has a cooler floor. Right after we got this, my mom scored a pair of even better cabinets by stanley at an estate sale for $75. I'm jealous!



There are no manufacturer markings on this KILLER chair. We found it in Marshall, MI at another of my favorite antique shoppes. I now need a giant world map with red pins marking my next targets, and a long haired cat to pet while I plot evil deeds.



This picture is in the bakery basement, but it currently sits in the office. Any info on the manufacturer would be much appreciated.

Busy Busy Busy...

I planned on giving an update a few weeks ago, before my trip to Florida. Of course, as usual, I got distracted by other stuff...mostly getting stuff around for THREE art shows...the big one being a solo show in Orlando. I had a real good time...if you like drinking and rock n' roll, as I do, you can't do much better than Orlando. Plus, The Mummy ride at Universal is insanely cool!

I didn't take too many pics in Orlando, but I had to stop and snap a photo of the Beefy King sign...Too cool!



This is one of the first pieces I sold. I love this one, but it went to a great home.



Here's some more of my show at Will's Pub. It was all part of Floridas Dying Records' 6th anniversary celebration. There were a ton of really great bands playing all weekend. It was so much fun, and I highly recommend catching the Jacuzzi Boys and Cop City/Chill Pillars on their US tours this spring.



The next 4 paintings were also shipped to Florida right after these pictures were taken.















The next two paintings, "Demon Dork" and "Demon Dweeb" JUST got mailed off to Victoria, BC Canada for a group show at Talk's Cheap records.







This owl necklace is what Melanie got for Valentine's day.



...Speaking of Valentine's day, these velvet-ish plastic cats were probably someone's V-day gift in the early 70's. We picked them up last month in Lansing, Michigan, while we were in town on a mission for Vietnamese food(which I fell in love with in Florida, and isn't available anywhere near my town).



The little Eskimo has 3 different faces, but the crying one is by far the best. I grabbed this off eBay for cheap. I've seen a ton of them around over the years, but they usually seem to be priced a bit higher than I feel like paying(which isn't much). The deer is from Hog Creek, a local-ish antique mall. It's the same place I found the owl necklace. I don't really know anything about the deer other than it's made in Japan, and I assume it's from the 60's.



I've had my eye on this Kreiss Psycho Ceramics beatnik for a couple years...Every time we'd hit the antique store it was in, I'd check to see if the price came down, which after a while, it did...half price even...but that was still a little higher than I could convince myself to pay. Then last week, I checked and it was gone. Bummer!

Luckily, it was gone because Melanie had bought if for me as a valentine's present.



This big-eyed lion doesn't have any marking besides 'Japan', but it's obviously made by Enesco, just like these cats. I happened across this on eBay while I was looking for something else that I found and was eventually out-bid on. Luckily, I won the lion.



Damn, eBay is addictive. every couple years, we go on a big eBay binge, and we're in middle of a big one right now. I HAD TO HAVE THIS BANK!!! Seriously. Cyclopes cave woman? Sold! My picture didn't turn out great, so I actually am posting the one that the seller posted on eBay. It was made in Japan by Napco.



I was floored when I saw this peaking out of a dark corner in the antique mall last week. This awesome, almost 3 foot tall mid-century wall hanging was made by Happy Things Inc, and is now one of my favorite possessions...and a total steal at $15!



I've been wanting some original art(that I didn't do) for my walls for some time. A couple months ago I found this CZM painting on eBay, and after a fierce bidding war, it now hangs in my living room next to my front door(though this pic was taken in my bathroom, because my living room has bad lighting). Check out CZM's great artwork here.



I'm already brainstorming my next post...and hopefully I'll find some time to do it soon...I hate all these big gaps between posts. Also, I hopefully will have some art merch to peddle on here soon.

Randomness

So, I know I have left my readers out in the cold for several months. I feel terrible about it. I've been super busy lately, putting together 2 art shows and doing a bit of traveling. Also, I was without a camera for a good chunk of time...but enough of my excuses...let's jump in it!

I honestly don't remember where I got these bobble head tigers. Maybe I'm getting Alzheimer's early. They were at one of the local antique stores a few months ago, I think, but I don't remember which one.



Melanie and I stopped in a nifty antique shop in Memphis while we were in town for Gonerfest, and she picked up this little purse with winking eyes. She has a couple similar coin purses that I'm sure were made by the same company, but I keep forgetting to take pictures of them when I see 'em...damn Alzheimer's.




Flip it over, and it's a guy. Tranny purse.



When we got home from Memphis, we were greeted by a new floor in the bakery.



My mom got me this cat for x-mas as a stocking stuffer. She doesn't know I know she got it at the local Salvation Army for $1. I think there's a matching dog around here somewhere...A bunch of my stuff's in boxes.



This Flip Wilson talking doll was my X-mas gift to myself. At $5, I couldn't pass it up...



...especially considering that when you flip Flip over, he becomes Geraldine, and hangs out with tranny purse.



This is Gaylord...he was made in 1962 by Ideal, and I found this one still with it's bone! My parents wouldn't let me have a dog when I was a kid, and I suspect that if I was a kid in 1962, they would have gotten me this instead and told me it's just as good as a real dog. That's what this toy was...something to shut your kids up when they beg for a dog...No wonder Gaylord's time in toy stores was short. The name probably doesn't help much.





These garage rocker dolls were in the same Memphis antique store as the tranny purse. I think they look like my friend Jules. I don't know where or when they were made, but they are pretty cool regardless.



I gave Melanie this poodle for Christmas, and it turned out that she had almost bought it for me. That happens every year. We got each other Charles Phoenix books, and my mom and Melanie both got me the "Cartoon Modern" book about mid-century modern animation.

I must've had tacos the day I took this picture, hence the Mexican Pepsi bottle lurking in the background.



This awesome sad eye cat picture was an x-mas gift from my mom.



Melanie got me another piece for my big/sad eye collection for Christmas...



...as well as her big sister. I dig the big eye/pin-up crossover! I also dig my bathroom's wallpaper!



Well, hopefully it won't be such a HUUUUUUUUUUUGE gap between updates next time.