I'm looking for any first-hand recollections of any Hambers who actually attended the Custom Car Caravans, Teen Fairs and the like.... Roth, Dick Dale, Lil Coffin, King T, Barris......whoever or whatever caught your interest at that age and time.... Thanks in advance! Ace
Hi Johnny. Boy, that was a reeeeal long time ago. I went to the Teen Fair at the Hollywood Palladium in '64. We were a couple of hick kids who traveled down from the Antelope Valley to see it. I think the bands were Sky Saxon & the Seeds. The thing that made the biggest impression on me, was there was a '29 Ford sedan delivery there. I think it was at the Hot Rod or the Rod & Custom booth. There was this beatnik dude there who pinstriped the thing, inside and out. He ahd an eye stuck on his forehead and wore his hair in a flat top with fenders. He's stripe for a while and played bongo drums. Had a jug of Red Mountain wine. Years later I saw a pic of him with sword brushes in his ears and the eye on his forehead. That guy was Von Dutch. The place was wall to wall kids. KHJ had a booth there broadcasting live. And KRLA too. I think Paul Revere & the Raiders were there also. But we were hick kids and EVERYTHING had us goggled eyed. The girl I was with is still my wife. To be a teenager then was to be on top of the world. It might even have been '65, but it was cool. I think Roth was airbrushing sweatshirts there too, but we didn't see him. This was way before long hair was in style. I remember pushing my friend's '53 Ford convertable into the parking lot of a big fancy hotel on Ventura Blvd, with the radiator spewing rusty water all over the circular drive way and a doorman with white gloves cussing us out after he pushed us back onto the streey and soiled his gloves. But shit, that was 40 some odd years ago. Those memories are pretty dim. I just recently reconnected with my friend who's dad's Ford we drove down there. I'll have to ask him what he remembers. I haven't thought about the Teen Fair in a long time. If I recall right there was a Bubble Up booth there that handed out posters that you put on the floor with footprints on it, so you could learn to do the Madison Shuffle. I was in a club called the Barons of So AV. There were a lot of car club shirts and jackets there and we'd all give each other the hard looks. The girls had tall beehive hairdos and the guys wore Levis with frenched cuffs and the V emblem picked off the back pockets. Thanks for stirring the memories. I wish I could remember more. Chili Phil
I KNEW I could count on you to hit a home run on this one,Phil! That's exactly the vibe I was looking for.... Perfect.... Ace
The Jalopy Journal
