Every single site listed here carries the coveted Radio Rumpus Room "Stomp of Approval!"

Record labels

Ace Records
Probably the preeminent British reissue label. Tons of product here, including the Big Beat label (garage) releases.

Arf! Arf! Records
Responsible for that great series of IGL (Iowa Great Lakes) label releases of mid-sixties Midwest pop/folk/garage rock, a bunch of enhanced re-releases of albums by the legendary Litter and lots, lots more.

Blood Red Records
A pugnacious little label with a number of fine comps ("Hot Rods To Hell I and II" and "Mondo Drive-In") and bands (the Surf Trio, Liquor Giants, Original Sins) behind them.

Bloodshot Records
Something like 15 years old and the instigators of "insurgent country" -- the world would not be the same without Bloodshot. Hell, it's a treat to even READ a website as clever as this one. A totally inspired label with an artist roster to match.

Bomp! Records
Home of over 200 releases, encompassing garage punk, beat, surf, psychedelia and more. Also the source of the groundbreaking series of '60s compilations: Pebbles, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, English Freakbeat and Electric Sugarcube Flashback.

Cicadelic Records
Acknowledged '60s psych and garage stalwarts

Del-Fi Records
Longtime surf'n'drag history here, going back to the first surf era. A fair amount of hokey stuff for sure, but a lotta good in here too. Also, Del-Fi has released two double-CD mini-boxes of early Bobby Fuller Four material in the past two years, which are pretty much essential.

Dino Records
Massachusettsgaragesurfrockandwrestlingroll from the Tea Party state!

Dionysus Records
Hey man, what can you say but another heavy hitter in the garage/surf/hot rod genres we love so dearly! Their '60s garage reissue imprint is Bacchus Archives.

Double Crown Records
Formerly Continental Records of Bellingham,Washington and a side venture of the Continental magazine (see listing elsewhere), this label has released numerous offerings by the Penetrators, the Boss Martians and many, largely surf/instro bands as well. Lots of various artists comps as well. Carries a nice selection of contemporary surf'n'drag wares, and is about the only domestic source we know of for the terrific Japanese Sazanami lable releases. Like many of the labels here, this is a one-man shop, and a great one to deal with for mailorder.

Ecco-Fonic
Former Untamed Youth honcho Deke Dickerson has his own label, which is dedicated to quality vinyl and quality picking to drop in those grooves. Reverence is paid here along a line that stretches from West Coast country guitar god Joe Maphis to '60s Missouri frat house rockers. (P.S. Now grudgingly including some CD releases as well.)

Estrus Records
Once essential to RRR ears when dedicated to surf, drag, and garage bands, but that era ran its course. In recent years a little bit more hit and miss to our ears, but we always keep an eye out for their releases.

Get Hip
A terrific label offering a couple hundred 45s, LPs and CDs, from some of the world's finest garage, punk rock, pop, psych and folk bands. Includes contemporary bands as well as a very healthy '60s reissue selection.

Hillsdale Records
In the face of the current alterna/electronica/orthodoxy, Johnny Bartlett (former-Phantom Surfer, now making noise with Saturn V featuring Orbit) subscribes to some odd, timeworn ideas. Like for example, that music should be FUN. His ammunition in this intellectual (ahem!) slugfest is the Hillsdale catalog, chockablock full of vinyl offerings by such notables as the Boss Martians, Fortune and Maltese, Jackie and the Cedrics, and a shitload of likewise raucous characters.

Licorice Tree Records
This fiesty Austin, Texas label provides a sympathetic home for bands like the star-studded South Filthy, the Stepbrothers and Thee Fine Lines. Real rock'n'roll from the garage-side of the house is the order of the day. Nice web site too.

Misty Lane Records
A great label out of Rome, Italy. Misty Lane grew out of the fanzine by the same name (now a full-tilt magazine). The label is devoted primarily to vinyl reissues of U.S. (mostly) and international '60s garage artists, but some CDs have recently been released, and it's promised that more of the back catalog will be showing up in digital format as well. It's quality stuff -- check 'em out!

Munster Records
This rock and rock'n'roll label out of Spain is always busy with something interesting.

MuSick Records
A high-quality label with a healthy number of Fender-flingers on its roster. Not quite as active as it was in the mid-to-late '90s when it was strictly an all-instro label (since embracing contemporary garage rock and power pop), still its roster includes Satans Pilgrims, the Space Cossacks, the Boss Martians, and the essential "Swingin' Creepers" all-star Ventures tribute disc.

Norton Records
Billy Miller and Miriam Linna's unerring musical sensibilities guides this New York label, which has carved out a huge niche in the areas of honest-to-god, primal rock'n'roll. Esquerita, Hasil Adkins, the Flat Duo Jets and reissues of rude and crude '60s Minneapolis rock make up just a tiny sampling of what you can expect to find here. Talk about a label (and a webpage) with heart...

Pravda Records
A great, long-lived Chicago label that is the home for such artists as the New Duncan Imperials, the Goldstars, the Frantic Flattops and more recently, Andre Williams.

Rhino Records
Once these folks had a lock on the reissue market -- no more. From RRR's perspective they have been largely supplanted by labels like Sundazed (with Rhino seeming to prefer mining the more lucrative areas of '70s and '80s schlock rather than '60s rock). Nonetheless, their work is usually (mechanically anyway) of the highest quality, as born out by the excellent "Cowabunga" (four CDs of surf music), "Beg, Scream and Shout" (six CDs of soul/R&B) and the "Nuggets" and "Nuggets 2" quadruple CD boxes of '60s garage rock.

Ricochet Records To come

Spinout Records
This kickin' label is the project of Melanie and Eddie Angel (Los Straitjackets, Neanderthals, Planet Rockers) so you know this Nashville operation is gonna cater to some twisted twang. Check out their three-volume "Rock, Don't Run" surf/instro series, as well as stuff by the Neanderthals, Planet Rockers, Kaisers, Hi-Risers and many more. Hey, these folks were major co-sponsors of the old Las Vegas Grind shows, so you know they got the right credentials!

Sundazed
We can't say enough about the track record of this East Coast reissue label. Surf, drag, '60s garage and psychedelica -- it's all here. Our show would be much the poorer without being able to draw on these folks' excellent catalog. Where do they GET this stuff?!? Greatest single accomplishment: the universally heralded Trashmen 4-CD box set. Stellar!

Music sites

KFAI Fresh Air Community Radio
This is where Radio Rumpus Room's home is -- located on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fresh Air is proud to have stepped over the fetid corpses of fallen Twin Cities commercial radio stations for nearly 25 years now -- Take a bow, KFAI!

The Garage
Your best single source of garage rock resources on the Net. This UK site is really well put together. If it's garage music you're looking for, we suggest you start your search here.

Rockin' Country Style
A hugely comprehensive database of compilations devoted to vintage artists and their releases in the category of primitive (or at least primal) rock'n'roll. As the site name suggests, the take here is decidedly from a twang perspective; don't expect to find practicioners of the fuzz or surf guitar here. This is one good-looking, extremely functional site. Terrific!

Searchin' For Shakes Database
Menachem Turchin's fiendishly detailed database devoted to compilations of Nuggets-type '60s garage bands. No surf, no rockabilly, no latter-day garage either. The Rickenbacker and fuzz guitar counterpart to the Rockin' Country Style site.

Shindig Magazine "The hip and happening Shindig Magazine is published once or twice a year and covers the finest musical flavors known to humanity ('60s Psych, Pop, Garage and beyond.) This regularly updated corner of cyberspace features extensive reviews, entire features from past issues, generous links and a gateway to the thriving Shindig list (a Yahoo group)."

Cowabunga
The web page of Cowabunga, the internet surf music mailing list. You'll find instructions on how to subscribe, the essential Cowabunga FAQ, and numerous links to instro bands.

The Gary Usher Page
Writer, producer, musician, singer -- Gary Usher was the studio mastermind responsible for the better part of the hot rod music craze of '64-'65 (as well as a whole lot of great instro stuff). Anybody who knows shit about this period puts Usher at the top of the Holy Triumvirate that includes him, L.A. DJ/wordsmith Roger Christian and pre-acidhead period Brian Wilson. This site "ain't much on looks, but goes real good in the record books" boasting an excellent discography of Usher's surf'n'drag years, with more info added occasionally.

The Gary Usher MySpace Page
Radio Rumpus Room maintains this site.

The Psychedelicatessen
An elaborate collection of links to over 500 psychedelic music-related websites and pages.

Continental Magazine
From Bellingham, Washington, home of the infamously late and great Garage Shock event, comes this fine online (and printed) periodical. Subject matter runs from garage (natch) to surf'n'drag to lounge/exotica. Definitely worth the time to check out.

Phil Dirt's Reverb Central
He hates vinyl LPs and 45s with a passion, slams RRR faves the Phantom Surfers as "lo-fi," and universally persists in categorizing surf/hot rod vocals as "syrupy." Jeez! On the other hand his surf music page (spun off his popular but defunct California community radio show) has become THE definitive place to find detailed reviews of most any surf-like instrumental. Surfers and hodads alike are gonna want to check this place out.

No Depression
If it's alternative country (No Depression, Americana, et al) you can find out about it here. The website is born of the magazine, which was born of the AOL conference, which was born of the title of the first Uncle Tupelo album, which was born of the Carter Family song. It's that "roots thing" -- you get the picture.

Great Lakes Regional Forum at Garagepunk.com
Here's a place to talk about the various garage, punk, surf, rockabilly, and primitive rock'n'roll scenes in the Upper Midwest: Detroit Rock City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Chicago, Cleveland, Wisconsin and such. It's part of the Garage Punk website, a spinoff of "The Wayback Machine" radio show on KDHX in St. Louis.

Radio shows

Discovering shows like these on today's consultant-paralyzed airwaves is like parting some giant ferns and finding a cache of dinosaurs thriving on an isolated plateau in South America, ala Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lost World"! It's amazin'! Here's to Radio Rumpus Room's blood kin, carrying on the guerrilla struggle of the airwaves...

SUNDAY

Teenage Wasteland (WFMU 91.1 FM in Newark, NJ)
It's Bill Kelly's Black Hole of Rock 'n' Roll! Sundays, 3-5 p.m. (Eastern)

Whole Lotta Shakin' (WITR 89.7 FM in Rochester, NY)
Since 1984 servin' up rockabilly, greasy R&B, surf/instro, British Invasion, garage punk with host Mike Murray. Playlists and live stream onsite. Sundays, 3-7 p.m. (Eastern)

Kicksville 29 B.C. (KDVS 90.3 FM; University of California - Davis, near Sacramento)
Timothy J. Matranga has hosted this mix of '60s garage punk, soul, psych, primitive rockn'roll and the like for 11 years now. (Unfortunately there is no direct URL to get to a show webpage that I could find, so you have to go to the station's main page and click on "Show Descriptions," then muck about till you find it. Clunky.) Sundays, 10 p.m. to midnight. (Western)

Little Stevens Underground Garage
You know the one. Silvio Dante spins his garage faves. Shows are archived. Syndicated nationally; check your local commercial radio listings

MONDAY

This Little Girl's Gone Rockin' (KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul, MN)
Call it late Sunday or very early Monday; in any case you can expect Mick Novak to be spinning her incredible collection of female vocals and girl group sounds. Regarding frequent (and thankfully brief) visits by Little Marcy, a Christian puppet and prolific recording artist, let's just not go there! Playlists are updated weekly; the show streams live online in various formats and is archived for two weeks in RealAudio. Mondays, midnight-2 a.m. (Central)

Sonic Pleasure (KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul, MN)
Join Georgia as she uses her three-hour overnight show to spin '60s garage and psych, and latter-day practioners of the same. Playlists are updated weekly; the show streams live online in various formats and is archived for two weeks in RealAudio. Mondays, 2-5 a.m. (Central)

Plastic Tales from the Marshmallow Dimention (WNYU-89.1 FM in NYC and the surrounding tri-state)
Tune in for a weekly dose of psychedelic, garage, mod, psych, freakbeat, surf-a-delic, progressive and krautrock. Mondays at 9 p.m. (Eastern)

TUESDAY

Three Chord Monte (WFMU 91.1 FM in Newark, NJ)
Host Joe Belock spins the good stuff. If you dig Radio Rumpus Room you'll dig this. Updated playlists, live stream, and archived shows in RealAudio and mp3. Tuesdays, noon-3 p.m. (Eastern)

Tuesday Night Rock'n'Roll Dance Party (WUSB 90.1 FM; Stony Brook, NY -- that's Long Island to you.)
Pure pop, punk, and garage trash -- mighty fine stuff. Playlists, mp3s, podcasts, and streaming and donwloadable RealAudio. Tuesdays, 10 p.m. to midnight. (Eastern)

Progressive Torch and Twang (WDBM-FM 88.9 FM, MSU, East Lansing, MI)
"The home of roots rockin', hip-shakin', soul-swayin' music!" Playlists and lots more on site. Web cast in RealAudio. Tuesdays, 8 p.m. to midnight.

WEDNESDAY

To come

THURSDAY

Music To Spazz By (WFMU 91.1 FM in Newark, NJ)
Crazy punk, hillbilly, rock'n'roll, R&B, garage, soul, surf and yeah, plenty of chimp sounds -- all brought to you by Dave The Spazz! Weekly playlists, streaming online and archived in RealAudio and MP3. Thursdays, 8-11 p.m. (Eastern)

The Boudin Barndance (WRIU 90.3 FM; Kingston, RI)
Honkabillyswampgrass music to pop-a-top to. Hosted by Dan Ferguson, the Boudin Barndance (pronounced "Boo-dan" as in the Louisiana sausage) features rockabilly, hillbilly bop, western swing, classic country, surf, swamp pop, cajun, zydeco, bluegrass, greasy R&B, roots rock, alt.country, and the occasional live guest. Thursdays, 6 - 9 p.m. (Eastern)

FRIDAY

Jet Set Planet (KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul, MN)
Good god -- they've kidnapped your favorite DJ and replaced him with somebody living in your grandparents' basement! Host Glen Leslie somehow manages to bring it all together each week with his (mostly vinyl) accumulation of bongo, exotica, '60s and '70s soundtracks, latin tunes, jet set, crime jazz, and beyond-the-grave vocal stylings. They litmhat you just can't hear Playlists are updated weekly; the show streams live online in various formats and is archived for two weeks in RealAudio. Fridays, 2-5 a.m. (Central)

The Primitive Show (WVKR-FM 91.3 FM, Poughkeepsie, NY)
Rock'n'roll, real and raw! Weekly playlists and more on site. Streamin' live on the Web. Fridays, noon to 3 p.m. (Eastern).

Consolidated Fuzz (89.5 Valley FM, Canberra, Australia)
Each week Alex Plegt unloads a steamin' heap of garage rock, surf instros, rockabilly, psychedelia, punk and R&B on his listeners in the Tuggeranong (a suburb of Canberra, the nation's capitol) broadcast area. Valley FM is a volunteer-run, non-profit community radio station. It is not yet streaming online, but you can catch frequently updated excerpts of Consolidated Fuzz shows right here at live365.com. Fridays, 8-9:30 p.m. (Canberra, AUS time)

Radio Rumpus Room (KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul, MN)
Well, yeah, I should THINK so! You're HERE, aren't you? (Playlists are updated weekly; this show streams live online in various formats and is archived for two weeks in RealAudio.) Fridays, 9-10:30 p.m. (Central)

SATURDAY

Fool's Paradise (WFMU 91.1 FM; East Orange, NJ)
"Examines recorded music located somewhere between low brow and no brow. Vintage rockabilly, R & B, blues, vocal groups, garage, instrumentals, hillbilly, soul and surf set the stage for a three hour sonic excursion to nowhere." Rex Doane has hosted this vinyl-only show since 1999, and shows from 2001 to present are archived in RealAudio. Unfortunately only a fraction are accompanied by a playlist, so you'll get little help there. Nonetheless, a very cool show for the primitive rock'n'roller. Saturdays noon - 3 p.m. (Eastern)

Good & Country (KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis/106.7 FM St. Paul, MN)
Host Ken Hippler has been spinning the country's best traditional, classic and vintage American country music show on KFAI since 1997, carrying on the tradition of originator Johnny Fields. Featuring rare live recordings, radio transcriptions and tons of vinyl tracks that have never been rereleased on CD. Playlists are updated weekly; the show streams online in various formats and is archived for two weeks in RealAudio. Saturdays, 1-3 p.m. (Central)

Life In The Foodchain (WDOA.com Internet Radio; Worcester, MA)
Each week DJ Mike Malone broadcasts a great mishmash of garage rock, rock'n'roll, surf/instros, frat and twang in the Radio Rumpus Room vein. Tending to more latter day artists than '60s bands, but all movin' items. As an Internet-only station there is no real broadcast "time" in the over-the-airwaves sense -- at least not as far as I can figure from the WDOA.com website. Weekly playlists and a smattering of archived shows (always including the current one) streaming in MP3 and RealAudio.

Surf's Up (R.I.P.) (KFJC 89.7 FM; near San Francisco, CA)
Surf-meister Phil Dirt hosted this weekly show on Saturday nights for decades on KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos Hills (South Bay region - San Francisco Bay Area). Unfortunately he folded up the show in the Fall of 2005. A revival as periodic podcasts has been rumored. For playlists and comprehensive reviews of music played see Phil Dirt's Reverb Central surf instro site.

Band websites (a very select list)

We like a whole lot more bands than these, and a lot of bands we like have web pages. We're just not gonna make like an anal-retentive and list every one of 'em, that's all. The folks listed here have impressed us with their heart, and the Radio Rumpus Room spirit that rubs off of what they do. Check 'em out to see where we're coming from.

Untamed Youth
With bandmembers stretching from the semen-streaked streets of Hollywood to the red clay backroads of Missouri, Untamed Youth promoted those all-American values: cars, girls, fun and beer (Pabst, that is). The Youth are occasionally resurrected for one event or another, but Deke Dickerson long ago shifted his primary emphasis from frat/garage/surf/hot rod to rockabilly, "where the girls are." The Untamed Youth remain mainstays of the Radio Rumpus Room sound. Also, Youth keyboard player Steve " Sammy" Rager maintains a great Untamed Youth MySpace page with lots of YouTube videos, pictures and comments here.

The Surfin' Lungs
These upstanding British citizens worship at the temple of Jan & Dean and the early BBs, but are a far cry from some hoary old Golden Oldies retread band. Since the late '80s they have been cranking out top-notch examples of surf and hot rod tunes. Celebrating cars, girls, sun and sand, these guys are the real deal. Their last two albums "Goin' To Rockingham" and "Surf, Drags & Rock'n'Roll" are pretty much singlehandedly carrying the weight of other would-be contemporary practicioners in the genre. We could use more like 'em. The Surfin' Lungs MySpace page is right here.

Saturn V Featuring Orbit
Frat-rock monsters from San Francisco (you know it as the place where Ray Harryhausen's bridge-buckling octopus faced off an American nuke in "It Came From Beneath the Sea). These bad boys pack the throw weight of their namesake -- the solid-fueled candle that put our boys on the moon. And if that isn't all... they twist too!

The Barbary Coasters
A necessary spinoff of the Saturn V featuring Orbit (when Orbit disappeared due to national security reasons), the guitar-driven Coasters are fond of vertically striped red-and-white shirts, and feature a gal on lead vocals. Definitely THE swingin' combo of today's Twist community! The Barbary Coasters MySpace page is right here.

Fortune & Maltese and the Fabulous Pallbearers
How shall I put this? Picture a remake of the Vincent Price version of "The Fly." Bobby Fuller, the Everly Brothers and all of Paul Revere and the Raiders tour a rogue laboratory and wander into a Matter Transfer machine. The late, great Gary Usher (starring as the Mad Doctor) is at the switch. Everything's going well... uh almost. A switch is thrown... Oops! Power surge! After a break-up of some years due to geographic reasons, there were sounds in 2006 that Fortune and Maltese might perform together again. Let's hope! The F&M MySpace page, chock fulla YouTube videos, is right here.

Litter/White Lightning
Lead guitarist Tom "Zippy" Caplan monitors these pages, chockablock full of fascinating minutae on the mid-Sixties Minneapolis band that shook out the cobwebs with "Action Woman" and hard-rockin' others.

Boss Martians
From Seattle/Tacoma -- throughout the '90s these boys consistently brought home the "Battle of the Bands" bacon in the category of contemporary surf'n'drag sounds. Come the millenium they largely abandoned the reverbed street'n'strip sound for Elvis Costello/Cheap Trick-era power pop, but they were the best while they lasted.

The Neanderthals
Honest-to-god garage-rockin' cavemen totin' Danelectro Longhorns! Los Straitjackets' Eddie Angel leads this bunch of primitives. Home label at Spinout Records.

Los Straitjackets
These Mexican-wrestling-masked-wonders are the touring-est rock'n'roll instrumental band -- period!

And some hometown (Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota) folks we single out (alphabetically) for special attention:

The Autumn Leaves Carrying the flag for RRR- pop in the Twin Cities.

The Awkwards "Surf-influenced instrumental rock" is how they put it. One very high-energy trio, and the most self-effacing surf/instro band in the Twin Cities. Also here on MySpace.

Big Surf This Minneapolis rock instro band "takes surf genre signatures -- the pounding drums, rapid fire guitar licks, and oceans of reverb -- and spikes the punch with progressive song structures and world music flare." Also here on MySpace.

The Conquerors "The Conquerors, aka "Minneapolis' Sexiest Foursome" have been confounding critics, audiences and themselves for the better part of six years. An evil experiment gone awry, or a joke perpetrated on a public too dumb to care? You be the judge." Born out of the flotsam and jetsam of (now if not then) heralded bands the Spectors and the Funseekers, bassist Keith Patterson and guitarist Adam Fesenmaier formed the core of this beat/mod/whatever-they-are-calling-it-today. This stompin' experiment in terror is always a good bet.

The Copperheads Minneapolis country rock with a touch of swamp pop.

Di Dollari Di Dollari's unique instrumentals fuse dust-blown Ennio Morricone-inspired spaghetti western melodies with the jazzy, space-rocky, ambient-music influences of its (5-6) members previous bands.

The Dieselfitters A great rockin' Twin Cities twang band. Also here on MySpace.

Lazy Ike & The Daredevils Still more hardcore twang from the Twin Cities.

Ronnie Lake A terrific female-led Minneapolis surf trio. Ronnie came out of the blues to embrace the reverb sound.

The Mighty Mofos Where in the flyin' patoot is a website for these Minneapolis dieties? Featuring Ernie and Billy Batson, of the legendary Hypstrz... but that's like saying a 480-cube Top Fuel dragster motor "features" a block-bustin' amount of nitromethane. Need we say more?

The Mojo Spleens Two brothers from Minneapolis -- cobbled-up guitar and drums. The fastest surf band in Minnesota? Could be. Nothing like the Louvin Brothers. Nothing like the Everly Brothers either. Really. Trust me on that.

The 99ers Think "the Ramones meet Jan & Dean in Liverpool" and you'll get the picture. Calling St. Paul home. Also here on MySpace.

Surf Nation This Winona, Minnesota band had deep surf and pop music roots. And coming from a Mississippi River town, they bring a unique perspective to a largely West Coast-driven genre. Unfortunately by late 2006 they'd pretty much called it quits.

The Trashmen This fairly recent site is maintained by T-men bassist Bob Reed's son, Bob Jr. Out-of-staters: Look for the Trashmen to be traveling some in 2007 and 2008!

For gearheads only

Hop Up magazine
Short, sweet and no B.S. The folks who put out this monthly online e-zine just exude a love of oldtime, traditionally styled rods. If real-world tin with I-beam axles, primer and Indian blanket interiors turn your crank (and you're as sick as we are of the lame reporting of most of the advertiser-driven hot rod press) you've gotta enjoy this read. And they've published a continuing series of ink'n'paper annuals for trad hot rods as well.

Lake Street Surf & Drag Association
Are they hooligans in hopped up V-8 jalopies terrorizing the Hondas and minivans of this historic, pot-holed Minneapolis traffic artery? Is it a site devoted to the bossest collection of '60s Hot Rod cultural icons ever to sear your friggin' retinas? Who's to say?

Hunnert Car Pileup Billed quite rightly as "The Midwest's Greasiest Hot Rod Show," as Radio Rumpus Room can vouch firsthand. This terrific show, held early October each year in Grundy, Illinois, is a must-attend for Midwest fans of traditionally styled rods and customs. It's sponsored by the Chrome Czars of Chicago.

Gopher State Timing Association
Established in 1954, the GSTA is the umbrella organization for all hot rod car clubs in the Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN) area. Sponsors of the 50th Annual GSTA Rod & Custom Spectacular on April 1-2, 2006, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Minneapolis Messaround
August 12, 2006 marked the first local show for these guys, targeting '64 and older hot rods and customs built in a traditional style. Call them real hot rods, rat rods, or traditional rods, you will find them here. It took place in the parking lot of Memory Lanes, the bowling alley formerly knows as Stardust Lanes. Half a dozen bands ed inside, on the maple lanes. Messaro p Labor Day weekend, 2007.

The Chrome Czars Sharp Chicago-area car club devoted to real hot rods. They sponsor the annual Hunnert Car Pileup in Morris, Illinois the second Saturday in October.

The Jalopy Journal
When the opening contents page features a pic of a big ol' polished American five-spoke wrapped in a vintage '63 pie-crust slick, you know where these folks heads are at. Definitely cool with us.

Midwest Vintage Auto Racing
Full-sized, steel-bodied pre-'48 coupes and sedans racing head-to-head in the Nineties? We're not talking fiberglass "dwarf" cars with Yamaha engines here -- this is the real deal. Flatheads, inline sixes with overheads limited to 351 cubes and a stock 2-barrel manifold. No, you're not in heaven... just Iowa. (Don't know what's up currently with these boys, since the page hasn't seen a dated update since last summer.)

Microcar & Minicar Club
For owners and fans of tiny, mostly '50s vintage cars less than 11 feet long and/or less than 1,000cc engine displacement. If you're curious about bubblecars like the BMW Isetta 300, Heinkel, Messerschmitt Kabienroller, Zundapp and Goggomobil, not to mention the Crosley and Subaru 360, this is the place for you. The club also publishes "Minutae," a terrific quarterly magazine.

Lake Street Speed Shop
Your only source for hot rod Isetta and Messerschmitt t-shirts done up in the classic "wheels up" Ed "Big Daddy" Roth style. Totally wacked designs for the discerning micronut!

More great sites

gmtPlus9 (-15), a daily weblog
An excellent one-man daily culture blog, formerly of Osaka, Japan and now from central Wisconsin. Subject matter includes Art, Graphic Design, Photography, Music (favoring vintage rockabilly), MP3 links, Movies/Film, Pop Culture, and stray odd/weird stuff. Definitely worth a frequent visit; we stop by all the time.

Conelrad
A terrific site devoted to "Duck And Cover" nuclear themes of the immediate postwar through early Cold War period. From films and music to fallout shelter culture, this site has it all.

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