ROAD TRIP PART 5: MORE AUSTIN FUN

AUSTIN ROCKS!
(Yea, check out the GUNS sign above the American Apparel. Perfect.)

Almost through with Austin.... this city is AMAZING. I've got to go back. Really dig it there. Got some great shopping done, ate some serious BBQ....and now just a few last photos to finish up with...

The last day we stayed in a really rad hotel (Hotel San Hose)... a bit expensive but absolutely worth it for 1 night. Most hotels don't encourage you to chill outside your room but this one had all these outdoor areas for eating and drinking and debauchery!

The landscaping and decor was so zen. Love it.

Chillin by the hotel pool late night. Our little mirage in the lone star state... (the coconuts are SO David Lee Roth. ROCK!)

The pool.... it was so hot I for sure would have belly flopped right into it. But instead I was convinced (easily) to drown myself at the bar... a few feet away.

We cooled off the next day in this gorgeous lake... my friend Brian had a friend with a boat and we just took it easy for about 6 hours straight.

HOT STUFF!

chillin.

YEAAA! VH SUNGLASSES!

GIMME SOME SAUCE FOR THESE NOODLES!

.... so many beers and the world is our bathroom. I love nature.

Next up: Back-roading through San Antonio and on to Houston!

ROAD TRIP AUSTIN..... HONKY TONK NIGHTS!

....Getting rowdy by nightfall...

BACK at THE HONKY TONK!

Another night of partying, dancing and live music. This time at a bigger saloon- the 'Broken Spoke'. A local hangout, loads of fun.

Beer drinkers and hell raisers!

I love beer guitar signs.
Note the whammy bar.

I also love jukeboxes, bullheads, posing with my air gun, and short shorts.

This old dude offered us a dance and I accepted. He tried teaching me to 2 step... in the middle of the dance floor. Total disaster!

And then the song slowed down... real slow. So creepy! Look at his face! I'm sweating this moment hard, desperately wanting the song to end. Agh!

The bar had leather and guitars on display, country memorabilia. LOVE IT!

ahhhahahaha my friend Brian: Distress! HELP GET ME OUTTA HERE! The girls took me to the honky tonk 2 nights in a row and I'm losing my mind!!!!

.... Next stop the ROCK BARS!!!!

ROAD TRIP AUSTIN.... DAY TRIPPIN!

1st day in Austin and we hit the streets... Hard!

Mission: Vintage and leather shopping. On the lookout for all things weird. And we found a TON of stuff that will keep you guessing!

One thing I should mention: my friend Malia's goal on the trip was to find anything animal print.

She writes this blog called 'Mark of the Beast'- updating the world about all things gaudy, extravagant, glam... that has a touch of the wild. So you'll see a bunch of photos included in my blog of animal stuff I think is worthy.

Stuff your L.A. hair metal cousin and your 80 year old Jewish grandma would love. ;)

Walking down the street I made an amazing discovery.

I almost lost my head over this one! Sick!

And what goes on with these monster plants?! I WISH these grew in my backyard....If I had a backyard.
I bet the dogs don't try using this one for a toilet!

.... with your head?!?

I know in Texas they're all about no trespassing or you'll get shot, etc. etc. but this guy took it to the next level.
And is that bull a scarecrow? Beware of rabid bull inside? Look at all the cameras!
This MUST be Mel Gibson's house.

I think these guys were neighbors. Note all of the propane tanks stacked.

And they have similar taste in unusual scarecrows.
Note the beer gut.

So this guy was a favorite. Didn't speak much but his work really spoke for itself. A custom boot maker and master leather craftsman.

He had a totally rockin' shop. I hope to have such an inspiring collection of leather one day!

.... and some more shopping!

Tequila Time!

Can I remind you all to insert a margarita between each above photo!?!

....What??? We needed to stay hydrated through all of that walking and shopping!!!!

...er no this picture isn't blurry...umm can I get another?!

HUUUUUUUUGE things happening in LEATHERLAND!!!!!!

****New**** Denim + leather strap line to be sold at Loren Cronk with his super high end denim designs.

... AND.... Coming next week, GUITAR STRAP CONTEST with YOUTUBE guru Rob Chappers channel & his band Monkeylord! To be announced from his place in the U.K..... KEEP IN TUNE!

QUICK HUNGER BREAK

‎"Its like your lunch and 2 other people's lunches are having a 3 way in your mouth!!!!!!"



O.K. ... here's an idea.

what if there was no bread and it was replaced by fried chicken? like at KFC?

.......and the chicken could be stuffed! ... with cheese!

=cheese stuffed chicken +cheese slice +cheese stuffed chicken+tomato+lettuce+burger+cheese stuffed chicken +cheese slice +cheese stuffed chicken

.....now thats a sandwich (for professional food eaters only)!!!!!!!

ROAD TRIP PART 2.5: A QUICK STORY ABOUT RUSH

Hey so in between road trip stories I'll add bits and pieces from the trip that I missed... I'm so scatterbrained and fried from the trip and I'll remember stuff I left out as I write....

When I was in Nashville, one of the things I got to do was go see RUSH. Yea, the band. Rad, right? I got super excited when I heard the news that my friend could get us in for free..... was ready to get all dressed up and pre-game (we had big plans for this that are not included in my P.G. rated blog!) But me & Malia were running around town and decided to go straight to the show from shopping.

Got there and realized we were watching RUSH the band on a movie screen! DUDE. Thank god we did not pre-party!!!!! hahahahaha!



It was super rad anyway- the movie was great (I had no idea I liked that many Rush tunes) and the theater had a full bar. Afterwords there was a Q&A with producer Peter Collins (synth Rush era).




It was at the Belcourt Theatre-
2102 Belcourt Avenue
Nashville, TN

ROAD TRIP PART OMID!

Hey check it out I was cleaning my bathroom and finally replaced this 'zine with a fat collection of 'the onion' book. So sad to see it go but I'm for sure holding on to it!

-Omid (remember my Nashville buddy who has the ultimate collection of metal stuff)

"THE BIGGEST COLLECTION OF RUNAWAYS STUFF IN THE ENTIRE WORLD"... epic!


Note the bathroom watermarks at the bottom!!!!



...More road trip stuff coming tomorrow!!!!!

a little INTERMISSION--HEAVY LEATHER NYC collaborates with YAMAHA & NATHAN EAST!

***STAY IN TUNE!*** Heavy Leather NYC now collaborating with YAMAHA to make custom guitar straps to be included in a package with a signature NATHAN EAST (Eric Clapton bassist, pro session bassist and solo jazz artist, etc.) bass sold exclusively in JAPAN!!!!!!! WOOoooo!****

Are you reading this and thinking, hmmmm I work in PR and should have a HEAVY LEATHER NYC strap on MY artists and sold with THEIR signature guitars? Well, feel free to send me all your info! Rachael@heavyleathernyc.com

Rock on!
Party on!

ROAD TRIP PART 5: AUSTIN HERE WE COME!

AUSTIN HERE WE COME!

WooooOOO! On the road to Austin! Only 4 hours from the Style Station in Waco. We make it in 3.

Random over-sized animal spotted on the roadside.

FINALLY! We arrive in Austin! And like they say, it is weird! And AMAZING!

Soooo METAL!

Tons of great guitar shops. This is South Austin music. Heavy Leather NYC straps will be sold there next month.

South Austin Music
www.southaustinmusic.com
1402 South Lamar Boulevard
Austin, TX 78704
(512) 448-4992

And I got the guitar straps selling at MusicMakers Austin.

Musicmakers Austin
517-B S Lamar
Austin, Texas 78704

My neighbor in NYC has a brother who lives in Austin... he had an empty apartment that we crashed at. For the first couple of nights. That really is the best way to visit a new place, hanging with the locals.
First stop: LITTLE BIGHORN BAR! A totally awesome honky tonk bar with a live band and dancing the 2 step and all!

(Check out my expert Photoshop job in this one!)

YeeeeeS! Texas!

Oh, wait.... lets add a little extra Texas and throw a boot in there...


This is my friend Brian. He lives in Austin and took us around town. He totally ROCKS. A true southern gentleman. But the dude's got a wild side... he just got back from living in Alaska, moved for the natural beauty and because he can carry his guns into the McDonalds there. LOVE it. did I mention he's also a pro salsa chef.?!?!?


Wasted. You would never know.


...and they're not just dancing, they are 2-stepping! This rules!


So I guess everyone knows how to 2 step here. They don't teach you this stuff growing up in NYC! This dude in the photo below tried to teach me to dance- for about 1 second! He was wearing flip flops (this should have been a warning...) and I was wearing cowboy boots. I told him he needed to come back wearing steel toe and we'd try again!!!

SHORT SHORTS and COWBOY BOOTS!