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Rally
Vespa Club Los Gatos'
Classico Moto Italia
May 2-4, 2003
Classico Moto Italia 7 usually takes place during one of the hottest weekends of the year. While a good portion of
San Jose celebrates Cinco de Mayo with Mexican Flags and lowered cars, scores fo scooterists turn out to celebrate the other
red, white and green country and the scooters it produced.
Unfortunately, this year was different. Not only was the Cinco de Mayo furvor a little understated, but the crummy storm that
decided to hang over the Bay Area made scooter riding not much fun.
Friday nights' meet-n-greet at Club 4 was locals only. After we waited until 10:30 for out of towners to show (none did) many
of us went to the next stop- the Blank Club where DJ-ing got the crowd moving.
Saturday looked as if rain might have stayed away, but about 12:30, when the rally was to get underway, the drizzle resumed.
Fortunately, we had reserved a local club, and the show was inddors. The show bikes looked great under the club lights. Awards
were given to five beautiful scooters, raffle prizes were won by the crowd and I even bought a round of 10 Budweisers and
gave them to whomever had an empty hand. There were about 30 bikes and around 50 people in attendance.
Saturday night's ride met at a local cofee shop and 17 bikes rode straight to the club, to avoid any showers. I missed the
first band, but caught the sets of Sh*t Outta Luck and Radio Noise. I'm not a real fan of No Doubt, so S.O.o.L
didn't appeal to me, although I could tell the band was working hard to move the crowd. I liked Radio Noise much better. They
had an older ska sound, sort of the Hepcat era.
Sunday about 27 cooters met for breakfast and a nice mountain ride. It was overcast & cool, but no rain! After about an hour
in the mountains we ended up at a park where the BBQ was sizzling, the kegs were flowing and the volleyball got the group
moving.
All in all, it was a quality rally, but it suffered due to mother nature. I hope next year that the weather is with us and
that the crowds show up. VCLG has an excellent gymkhana which went unused this year.
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Film Review
"Vampires Anonymous"
Cinequest Film Festival
March 2003
San Jose's Cinequest film festival is known as one of the top 10 film festivals in the world. If that surprises you, imagine
how much it surprises me...I live in this boring pit! Each year I try to see at least one film at the fest and this year it
was Vampires Anonymous, a lighthearted and thoroughly unserious story of a modern day Vampire who tires of "killing
those he loves" and wants to make a clean break by twelve-stepping his vampirism.
For this ScooterGal, the film has two big draws: 1) is actor Michael Madsen, the sexy Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs
who makes me want to be "married to the mob" 2) is the prominent figuring of a Vespa in the film. The film incorporates these
two elements thus- Vic Weller (no joke) is a vampire who finds his frenzied blood craze gets in the way of his relationships
(he eats his girlfriends) and wants to go clean so that he can attain his dream of a "normal" relationship. He calls Vampires
Anonymous (VA) and is rescued by his new sponsor (Madsen) who is also a mobster.
Vic undergoes the VA way and vows to stick to the 12 steps of the program. This includes determining what his ideal blood
substitute is (Vic is deemed a Sheep man) and moving to a community where he can blend in and consume sheep's blood by night.
A VA counselor gives him a wad of money and tells him to buy a pickup truck and straw hat to blend into his new North Carolina
home. Instead, Vic buys a mod-ified P200 with crash bars and lights. He also "blends in" with pegged pants, Ben Shermans and
a maroon flight jacket. He moves into a cheap shack that had been a taxidermy shop and gets a job bussing tables at the "Country
Kitchen."
As much as Vic tries to stick with the program, his lack of affinity for sheep slaying, his ability to attract backwater hicks
and the soft spot he develops for a gal at the five-and-dime try his fortitude. Vic's addiction is much harder to fight than
he expected and the movie plays out his battle with lots of laughs and chuckles.
The film is goofy and fun and has a soundtrack including music performed and arranged by former Specials band mates. Vic rides
his scooter quite a lot and when it is dragged behind a pickup truck, he takes serious offense and kicks hick butt. While
most scooter fans search for quick glimpses of scooters in films, Vampires Anonymous should fit your appetite just
fine. If you are looking for a good addition to your scooter movie collection, keep an eye out for this film. The director
expects the film to be readily available on video, soon.
ScooterGal Confidential rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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| Check out the Cinequest Vampires Anonymous page |
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Music
Bossa Per Due
Nicola Conte
I spied this CD as I passed it in the electronic section at Streetlight Records. The cool photo of the Vespa on the cover
may have caught my eye, but the CD certainly caught my ear. It is a mix of cool jazz and quirky Esquivel-influenced dance
music.
The CD has something for everyone it seems. Its twelve songs range from straight-on west-coast jazz to pop
romps with latin flair and brazilian tinged vocals. The CD offers varied fare and each song offers a new aural experience.
The title song was used last year for an American car commercial where the drivers bopped around Key West on a beautiful summer
day. Quite appropriate for this album.
- Submitted by April
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