Strats, Shovelheads, and Hawaii..

Hey friends, 

Just got back! I spent the last week in Hawaii with my wife Misi, where we celebrated our long overdue honeymoon, our 1 year anniversary, and my 28th birthday. It was badass!

As part of the much needed break, for the 1st time ever I shut down SKYNET completely. No internet, facebook, emails, computers, phone, texts.. nothing. It was just liking living in the 90's.. and it was glorious!

Now for those of you that follow my very thorough posts via any one of my 7 facebook pages, 4 twitters, 4 youtubes, 3 websites.. etc etc, you know I put forth a plethora of content. Most of that content is centered around day-to-day happenings, business info, music info, photos & videos of playing, recording & touring, and of course all the mayhem of the PERRI INK. Cartel. I very rarely get into the details of my private life. Some things are sacred. All that said, I decided while away I would share some of the photos and details of this trip with all of you. Some of them are too beautiful not to share. So here goes:

We stayed on the North Shore of the island of Oahu. The resort was called Turtle Bay. It was off the hook gorgeous. The hustle and bustle of Waikiki seemed too close the the busy regimen we live at home; working on Melrose Ave, and living in Hollywood. Overall, it was a smart choice because the location provided a really mellow experience that we soaked up like sponges.

Over the 7 days we mostly did nothing. It was fantastic. When we did venture out it was too explore some of the local beaches and find shrimp trucks. Yup.. Hawaii has the best shrimp in the most varieties you could imagine.

"When in Rome" as they say, right? So with that in mind there was a lot of sun bathing (something I NEVER do), a lot of fruity drinks (also something I never do.. I like beer and whisky), and lots of romantic time with my beautiful bride.

Misi is my wife, best friend, muse, and partner-in-crime. She's the BEST person I know and the other half of all my crazy ideas and achievements. We genuinely appreciate each other and respect each other, and because of her my life is better. Period.

While there, I also had a lot of time to think and plan, and get excited about some future projects. Also spent a few hours a day shredding on the new Eagle 84 guitar. It was a blast. Wrote a few new tunes as well! Back to the thoughts.. 

One idea is almost to fruition, and that's for the next guitar I'm about to debut thru PERRI INK. Custom Guitars.. it's basically my take on a Strat® style guitar. Although while I was in Hawaii I had a few brainstorms for the finishing touches, and as of tomorrow I will be implementing those ideas. Should have the guitars (making 2 different versions) done in a few weeks or less. They're gonna screammmm!

Now I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I was the ONLY person in a Hawaiian resort with a copy of Greasy Kulture Magazine by the john! And why not?! I had plenty of time to think about the bike I'm currently building with Taber Nash, and also the next one I want to get goin'.. a frisco style Shovelhead with a twist I can't fully divulge at this time.. but suffice it to say it will be killer!

I've also got some really great ideas / events planned for the shop for this upcoming summer season. Sitting by the pool I had some time to contemplate which of them to go for and which to save for a later time. We're ALL really really stoked on having these monthly parties at the Cartel. If you live anywhere near the SoCal area be sure to make the next one on June 9th. Event details HERE.

Ok.. time for the pictures! 

Take care and see you soon!

Nick

PERRI INK. party #2 announced!

Ok party people, let's do this.

Saturday June 9th, 2012  7-11pm

Free food, Free drinks, Live music, Raffle prizes!

Musical guests: Jameson, Noah Engh - The Kid Fantastic, Nick Perri

Misi Perri's 30th B-Day!!

Free motorcycle parking in front until full.

Save the date and see you soon!


A special thanx to our sponsors for chipping in and making the event possible.. 

Jack Daniel's, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Street Chopper Magazine, Nash Motorcycle Company, Arbor Skateboards, Floyd Upgrades, The Limpnickie Lot, aHbe Racer, GHS Strings, Spectro Oils, DEI, Primos Helmet Design, Bighead Motor Works, K&N Filters, Biltwell, S&S Cycle, The Cupcake Tin, and American Rebel PR.

PERRI INK. Party #1

"Great people, free food & drink, live music, and raffle prizes!"

The 1st in a series of monthly PERRI INK. Cartel parties (also dubbing as a Cinco De Mayo bash) went down Saturday night, and it was badass. Period.

We wanted to bring together friends, family, and customers for a night of celebration and music. Mission accomplished. We had a freakin' blast and I know from the enormous amounts of food and drink consumed, I am not alone. We threw down!

Our shop is located on Melrose Ave in the heart of Hollywood, and the event kicked off at 7pm. Shortly thereafter bikes starting lining up and people started pouring in. We just about hit full capacity which means it was PACKED by the end. The evening's music was kicked off with a bluegrass band from Longbeach, Empty No7. They're awesome.. upright bass, banjo, cigar box, acoustic guitar, and 3-part harmonies. We then had a dear friend and Cartel member Gene Louis come up for a set of his tunes, and like always, he sang and played his heart out. Honest, authentic, rock / country / pop tunes gave people something to sing along to.

And to close the evening out I performed for the 1st time in almost a year. It was a BLAST! For the past nine months I've been putting in 16 hour days at the shop, and it felt great to finally get on a stage again and do what I do. With Brian Weaver on bass, Jason Ganberg on drums, and a couple 'ol friends hopping up to sing (Scott Stevens, Gene Louis, and Lee Anna James) it was a high energy set of original jams and a few classics. It was an honor to play with such talented people, and I'm grateful for their participation. Thanx guys.

We then raffled off a bunch of cool prizes - and thanx to our sponsors - 10 people left with pretty incredible items.. including t-shirts & store merchandise, motorcycle parts, guitar accessories, a $100 tattoo gift certificate, and a 4 foot tall piñata. Hell yes!

All in all it was a great time and we'd like to thank EVERYONE who came out. A special thanx to our sponsors for helping make the night possible.. Jack Daniel's, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Nash Motorcycle Company, Ahbe Racer, Biltwell, GHS Strings, Cycle Source Magazine, No School Choppers, Spectro Oils, Street Chopper Magazine, DEI, Primos Helmet Design, Floyd Upgrades, K&N Filters, S&S Cycle, Hippy Killer, Bighead Motor Works, American Rebel PR, and the Limpnickie Lot. THANK YOU!!

Below you will find a video re-cap shot by the PERRI INK. Cartel's own Austin Bauman. AND photos by Austin and a few others as well.

This was not a one time only event. We're having parties at the Cartel EVERY SINGLE MONTH. Tell your friends and help us spread the word. Great people, free food & drink, live music, and a chance to win cool shit.

See you all on June 9th for the next one..

Nick

*****

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TWO HUGE WEEKENDS

Hey friends,

Today kicked off not 1, but 2 HUGE WEEKENDS in a row for my family, friends, and business; the PERRI INK. Cartel. I can't help but share the happenings and excitement..

Today one of my closest buddies, Taber Nash (of NASH Motorcycle Co.) landed with his beautiful family in California.. for good! He's been visiting back and forth for a while.. for various events, projects, and work. His contribution to the Cartel cannot be overstated. He and the NASH family have been behind us since the very beginning, and we've partnered up on more than a few events, shows, and business ventures. He joined as an official member of the Cartel this winter and also built a full service motorcycle garage called the NASH Sickle Garage that is attached to the Cartel. The garage will be open full time very very soon.

While he's keeping his company's headquarters and parts manufacturing in Vancouver, WA, he will be at our store building custom bikes, performing any kind of fabrication one could need, and also offering routine service, repair, and maintenance. Hells yeah.

So today I helped him unload an entire house worth of belongings into the family's new home in California. A momentous day for sure!

But this is only the beginning..

Tomorrow kicks off a string of KICK ASS shows spanning across the states and we're proud to be sponsoring them, and attending those close enough to travel to.

Tomorrow, Saturday the 28th of April, the Dixie Roundup 2 will be happening all day in Vandiver, AL. Larry from Garage Company Customs is a great dude, and he's putting on this event for the 2nd year in a row. If you are local, or can be tomorrow.. be there!!

Sunday the 29th of April, the entire Cartel is headed to Simi Valley, CA for the 1st Bobber ZunZun show! This is a MOTORCYCLE FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER FOR VETERANS. How badass is that!? If you are local, or can be on Sat.. be there!!

And if that wasn't enough awesomeness for ya's, next weekend is gonna kick serious ass too. The PERRI INK. Cartel is hosting a big 'Cinco De Mayo' party on Saturday the 5th of May. Gonna be the 1st of a series of monthly parties put on by us at the Cartel. We have a ton of incredible sponsors lined up as you can see by the flyer, and we'd like to thank ALL of them. (for more details on the party see my previous blog post HERE)

This event is also extra special for me as I will be performing with a new group for the 1st time all year. Stoked! So, if you are local, or can be on May 5th.. be there!!

So that's that. Hope you all have a killer couple of weekends. If you're in doubt that will be the case.. JOIN US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you on the other side of the madness,

~Nick

Cinco De Mayo & Beyond

It's been 9 non-stop months of work here on the store. For those that have followed the progress of the PERRI INK. Cartel you know how much we've put into it. Not for money or fame or attention.. but because we genuinely love what we do and always wanted to create a haven for people like us. Mission accomplished. And for THAT we're all proud as can be.

That said, as you all know I've been a professional musician since the age of 16 and until last year have not gone more than a few days without playing or performing somewhere. Over the last 9 months I've stepped back from the music scene, taken a deep breath, and focused long and hard on making the Cartel a success. While it still is, and always will be a work in progress, I do feel as though it's time to bring music back into the fold in a big way.

So.. I've cooked up a few new outlets and begun work on a variety of projects. We have this incredible venue here with the Cartel, and it happens to be on Melrose Ave in the fucking heart of Hollywood! The writing is on the wall, so to speak.

Starting next month we will begin a string of monthly parties that will serve 2 awesome purposes:

1) They will bring together all our friends, family, and customers for a night of celebration "after hours" in the store and in our back parking lot. We'll have food, booze, and all the vibe and shenanigans a motorcycle / guitar / tattoo / piercing / barber / clothing shop could offer. Sweeeeeet.

2) They will be a place to discover new music. Need I say more?

This is an incredible thing for me to even imagine. I literally grew up playing in clubs and bars across the country and later across the world. I would have KILLED to play in a place that actually cares about the artists it hosts. This will be a tremendous honor for me.

In addition to all of that I am proud to say I've also begun to put together a new group. It's too early in the game to say much more, but I will say in some shape or form this group WILL perform at the 1st party and probably every one that follows. I wish you could see the excitement on my face as I write this. I'm stoked!

I'd also like to take a moment and thank all the wonderful people and companies that have come together to sponsor this event on Cinco De Mayo. A big shout out to Jack Daniel's, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Nash Motorcycle Company, Ahbe Racer, Chop Cult, Biltwell, GHS Strings, Cycle Source Magazine, No School Choppers, Spectro Oils, Street Chopper Magazine, DEI, Primos Helmet Design, Floyd Upgrades, K&N Filters, S&S Cycle, Hippy Killer, Bighead Motor Works, American Rebel PR, and the Limpnickie Lot. THANK YOU!

So that's that. Don't think I could be any busier at the moment.. but for a person like me I think that's a good thing. This past week I spent 2 days in a rehearsal studio and guest appeared with a buddy for 2 gigs in LA.. and it was a stark reminder that indeed my place in this world is on a stage. Stay tuned to this blog and all the social outlets. You know where to find me. Info and details will be pouring in shortly..

Let's do this.

Nick

Hippy Killer Hoedown

The 4th annual Hippy Killer Hoedown is a wrap, and it was another great time!

Misi and I headed down from Los Angeles on Friday. The insane downpour ruined the plans to ride, but we had a blast kickin' it in the sub. Friday night we got to hang and catch up with a few friends at the DicE party, and before you knew it was 7am Saturday and we were setting up and preparing for the show.

The crowds didn't seem to mind the overcast skies and chilly air.. people came in droves! As always it's a real good time getting to meet people we only know via the internet and phone. Everyone had a blast and it was a total success. I wish I had more time to take pictures of some of the KILLER bikes, but we were workin'! Thanx to Kutty and Lisa and those who worked hard to put it on.

See you all in 2 weeks for Bobber ZunZun!

~Nick