SOTHERN SOUL SPINNERS :: NOVEMBER 12th

If you happen to be in LA check out this event brought to you by the Homeys "Southern Soul Spinners" These dudes get down, and you won't find any re issues here! No Bad attitudes, no set tripping!!!! Enjoy Rare and Sweet Soul on 45!

NEW STYLE CAR CLUB

The ‘70’s are considered to be the greatest time period in Lowriding history by all the purists, veterans, and founding fathers who were blessed enough to have grown up in this era. It was a beautiful time, as ambition exceeded innovation, forcing key holders to be more dedicated to their rides and peers than many of the casual cruisers of today. Yes, they lived and breathed it back then, and it’s safe to say that the picnics and cruises from the 70’s are something that we will never see again. During that time many car clubs began forming, with a common agenda and priority of cruising the Boulevard on the weekends. Southern California had Whittier to cruise and Northern California had Story, and King making these areas the proving grounds of those early days. It is said that as many as 15,000 people would show up on the weekend to cruise Story and King, but only a very small handful of those in attendance would make their presence felt. One club that always made their collective presence felt on that special cruising spot was New Style Car Club. Not only were they a force to be reckoned with on the Boulevard, but also at car shows throughout California, where they began to earn a reputation of building and driving quality Lowriders.





“I started New Style car club in ’73,” states the Lowrider Hall of Famer, Andy Douglas. “We were all in high school when we started it [the club], but we didn’t break out the official club until ’74.” All of the original New Style members grew up in the gang infested East Side of San Jose, CA., where they attended Overfelt High School. “We were at the Jack In The Box (on Story and King) when we got the idea to start the club,” recalls Rick Garcia. “It was Andy, my brother Manuel, Robert, and I that had the idea, but Andy was the one that said ‘Let’s get it going,’” explains Rick. “Andy is the founder of the club, he is a real go getter,” says Rick with admiration. Two blocks away from the infamous intersection at Andy’s parents’ house on Gainesville Ave, is where Andy provided the first hydraulic installations in San Jose. “That’s also where New Style started,” says Andy. “We (New Style) were the first club in San Jose with 5.20’s and hydraulics,” Rick notes with pride. “People used to make fun of our wheels,” laughs Tony Bueno. “They used to say that we had bicycle wheels.” Of course, this was before everyone else in the area jumped on board with the 5.20 look.




Andy is famous for bringing hydraulics to the masses in the ‘70’s, but it was a friend of his named “Poppy” from East Los Angeles that inspired him. “Poppy was my friend from East L.A.,” explains Andy. “He got the L.A. look inspired in me.” The 5.20’s, the dropped rear with the front lifted was something that Andy picked up from visiting his friend Poppy in East Los Angeles.

In ’74, the four-member club went down to New House in the Los Angeles area to have plaques made up for the club. “The original name for the club was The Style,” explains Andy. Once he and the rest of The Style members got to the shop, they saw plaques with a name too similar to theirs. The plaques hanging on the wall read New Style. They started debating on the name since they didn’t want a name that was too similar to another club’s name. The guy working told them that New Style was an LA-based car club that broke off from a club called Santa Ana Classics. The club had ordered the plaques but fell apart before they even got started. “We called the club and found out that they had a big fallout,” says Andy. The worker told them that he had 20 plaques ready to go and if they wanted them, they wouldn’t have to pay for the molding since they were already made. Needless to say, this good fortune drove them to change the club name right then and there to “New Style.”

LETTERING FROM CISNEROS

Xavier the Xman 1961 Impala Lowrider gets some lettering from "Cisneros"

JESSE VALADEZ :: LOW-RIDER LEGEND :: R.I.P.

Four years ago, Lowrider Magazine perhaps best captured the legacy of Jesse Valadez, a pioneer of lowrider culture and L.A. car culture in general who died at age 64 on Jan. 29, and was buried Saturday in Whittier.

In 2007 the magazine named Valadez, the owner of the iconic pink 1964 Impala known as “Gypsy Rose” (above, in action) as that year’s recipient of its Lifetime Contributor award. From the piece:

Some of the greatest works of art haven’t always been famous. Take for instance, Vincent Van Gogh, the now-famed artist who only sold one painting in his lifetime, but a century later, is recognized as one of the great artists in history. And just as Van Gogh became a well-respected pioneer of what we know as expressionism, our Lifetime Contributor Honor winner Jesse Valadez has that same influence and impact, except in the artistic discipline of lowriding.




Jesse’s work has become internationally known, and his crowning achievements have pushed lowriding into a culture far beyond what anyone would have expected. And while it took decades to recognize Van Gogh’s talents, it only took a few years for Jesse Valdez to be recognized for his.

Jesse’s ’64 Chevy Impala, “Gypsy Rose” is best known for its unique floral paint job and vibrant flow, and whether you saw it back in the day out on Whittier Blvd. or in the introduction of the ’70s television show Chico And The Man, you know why people used to refer to it as “the world’s most famous lowrider.”



Gypsy Rose remains one of the lowrider world’s most respected vehicles, and Jesse remains a true diplomat of lowriding and a respected veterano who always lends a helping hand. He’s also an upholsterer, businessman and community activist, but more importantly, he’s a lowrider who helped establish our culture as a force to reckon with.

Valadez established The Imperials Car Club with his brother in 1965. The original Gypsy Rose was a 1963 Impala painted in similar colors but with a simpler floral design. Even so, “At the time, the paint job was ‘way out,’ ” Lowrider Magazine wrote, “and some were skeptical about the car’s style and tone.” After the first Impala fell victim to vandalism, Valadez started over with a second Gypsy Rose.



Though Gypsy Rose’s fantastic exterior was painted by Walt Prey, Valadez was the visionary behind it, an artist in his own right who was instrumental in elevating the lowrider into a respected art form, one in which the perfect canvas consists of a sleek expanse of vintage Detroit steel.

Valadez and his “way out” vision for a lowrider beat out the skeptics. Gypsy Rose was featured in the 1970s NBC sitcom “Chico and the Man,” where lowriders were glimpsed during the opening credits. The car was was exhibited several times, including in 2008 at the Petersen Automotive Museum.

An Associated Press story described Saturday’s funeral procession of lowriders, led by Gypsy Rose on a flatbed truck. Valadez, who died of cancer, was buried in a customized casket painted to resemble his famed Impala, the making of which was photographed by Lowrider Magazine contributor Jae Bueno.

Before he died, Valadez bequeathed Gypsy Rose to his son, Jesse Jr.

LOW-RIDING IN JAPAN

Check out this footage our friends from "Street-Low Magazine" sent over. Low-Riding World wide, and they got style.

Footage compiled from our trip to Japan in November 2010. Started off by going to the temple in Narita, Japan. After we hooked up with Yuzo and the rest of the One Forty Rollerz out in Fukaya, Japan who showed us a few shops all over Japan. After we got the bullet train and headed out to Nagoya, Japan and met up with Kiyo of the Viejitos car club. He took us to a few other shops before we headed out to the cruise night.