Ultimate Street Car 2013
The Santa Pod drag strip has heritage for me going back twenty years and even more. As a thirteen year old in the blistering summer of 1976 (yes I AM that old) when we moved house, we had this builder called Liam who impressed me. He had a Jaguar and a real tech whizzy thing back then, a TELEPHONE in his car. This was way before cellular technology and was actually a powerful two-way radio system and you had to squeeze-to-transmit by holding the ‘˜normal’ looking handset tighter. It had a concierge type system of radio operators as you had to have THEM dial for you. It interfaced with the regular landline phone system and making a call was a bit odd. I gather it was silly costly per call. But builder Liam regaled me with tales of motor sport and drag racing and even drew the kid I was, directions to give to the grown ups to take me there!
I never nagged my folks to take me but I never forgot and in time, found myself working at Santa Pod at car shows and have done so for the site’s owners as well as at least three other employers, no four, Max Power, Fast Car, Clarion and EMMA. And it is the EMMA scene that I love the best as while the others were glamorous and involved me introducing and running show stuff as politically incorrect as it comes, (mostly involving breasty girls) the EMMA gig is about haranguing the public which I do adore and getting hands-on with the cars and people. Making video, snapping stuff to bits, paparazzi-ing pretty girls (and asking nicely, afterwards by showing them the shots, if I am allowed to use themnot OFTEN have I misjudged and been told ‘EUUW NOOO!’ but once or twice)
And this year was a corker, with perfect weather of warm sunshine and just a few showers to keep you on your toes but no long drippy horrors, nor sun that turns the bodies into lobstrous ‘˜your-mum-would-chide-you-for-not-using-sunblock’ pinkenosities!
It was a bit dark at first and here is the lesser-seen Papa Bear, setting-up, with EMMA flag.
Santa Pod in the ‘˜Sunshine with showers’ The John Kleis car in the foreground is a crazed PA broadcaster thing!
And here is DJ Jezaaaaaaa on the dex! Which was what was feeding tunes to the Kleis car and others on their stand, banners up for FOUR Masters dealers.
I had some lovely swag to give away as well, in the shape of the three packs of Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid car wax, key-ring, decal, applicator mitt and soft cloth worth around sixty quid each, retail. I have to pick cars most likely to benefit and do the full ‘˜Benign Despot’ (means nice boss) choose whom, thing. I feel I chose well
Happy Shiny Dodo Juice People! Top Lea, middle Mark ‘˜Team Ice’ Smith, bottom, Richard Salmon SQ hero!
I spent the day shooting all sorts of things and real Rayner content-tolerant types can bask in a multi-clip filmed video, like I knew I was going-to effort below
The video assembled from my day shooting clips
But if you just looked at the LENGTH and thought ‘˜not’ as you just want to watch girls being vibrated well, I have also left the hair trick source videos as stand-alones on my Presenterbloke YouTube channel, so they are here, too.
First, a long happy red-hair-mayhem
And watch this closely, the lass has a firm opinion, stated with a grin, at the end..
But the day was also about the top end Sound Quality cars and I sat in and listened to Carlo Corbin’s pug as well as Richard Salmon’s fabulous install, too. Both have this wonderful clarity and speedy in-order coherent sound field that is just delicious and better than nearly all demos you will get at a HiFi show. Just incredible. I was so moved, I even tried arty snappers’ stuff in Carlo’s car.
And met a bit of a force of nature A woman called Lea, who didn’t even come up to the front to collect her trophy at the end but showed up in a van with a serious commitment of big audio in its insides. But it was the serious commitment to bass on her outsides that blew me away.
For as well as the Latin phrase, she has two big-chassis subwoofers tattooed as part of a chest-piece! Here are Lea’s own words about the inscription. “Amat Victoria Curam” means ‘victory favours those who take and/or suffer pain’ or loosely spoken. as ‘victory takes careful preparation!’ It’s Latin!
She’s been around on motoring forums for a goodly while and has only recently become involved in the EMMA sound off scene. Yes, the install is a bit ‘˜street’ rather than elegant and swishy but then so is Lea!
I know she is keen on the whole scene and it looks like we may well see more of her around I am already a fan, as like Neil Kelly, actually getting a car audio tattoo is as hench as it gets. She’s a LIFER!
Of course, the event itself had all sorts of traders
And the Big Boys’ Rig from Vibe was on that drag, too. Check out Ryan Hawtin on the side step built originally for funeral directors to ride on or use as access to collect flowers strewn on the roof of what is now the Vibe hearse!
And of course, EMMA are sponsored by Pioneer, whose source and processing kit is the choice of a lot of SQ guys.
This lot are visibly happily bass-giggling at Jaspal ‘˜Jaz 152dB’ Golf as it pulsates and shakes the Tarmac beneath their feet. The bloke on the right in the Iceman top is Mark’s brother William Fountain and a diamond geezer.
And talking of diamond geezers, I met up with the Fireforce boys as well:
And I set Aaron Aza up in a superb rapper shot but to be impressed and fair, this girl posse WERE actually the man’s entourage and took very little persuading to swarm all up him, like
it was a great show and sitting in Mark Smith’s Volvo I got bassed at near to 160dB and LOVED it. Earplugs in against those scary bullets. Fingers holding them in place and further blocking, hat held on head. And ‘Hi my name’s ChuckyWANNA PLAY?’ and the ground shakes beneath your feet and my whole everything was just blooied about like I was just a mere nothing and THAT is really, like, novel to me in my general enormity!
I had an absolute blast and before half killing myself with vibration dose as described, I had also sat in and used my carefully protected ears to listen to two utterly delicious sound quality cars. Those of Richard Salmon and Carlo Corbin. Do check out my awed reaction to Richard’s in the big clip I think Carlo’s is a stand alone job..
So, once again a huge thank you to the Ackerleys led by Papa bear but directed by Andrew, AKA ‘˜Roo’.
Finally, if you click this link, you will get a large gallery open up, slideshow style, with more shots, including those paparazzo jobs of the Aza entourage…which he will enjoy.
link
And as we say after this event here’s to TRAX in September!