Easy rider or Rocket rampage

Hunter's new 1981 Honda CB 750

Last weekend my friend and neighbor made a decision that opened him up to a new world, new places, and experiences; he bought a motorcycle.

 Ok a new world really? Yes, really. On a motorcycle the roads we four-wheel drivers are used to are transformed to an obstacle course of traffic enemies and a new kind of nature walk. When you're driving a motorcycle you have to make your vehicle become part of your body and you suddenly realize how exposed you are.

It's no wonder why bikers create clubs, band together and find a good time. Just driving it around the block was a new experience that I wanted to share with people!

If it's so fun why is it considered counterculture? Two reasons explain it's counterculture origins. First, it's very very dangerous. Second, the 1953 film "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando.

Movie poster from Amazon.com

The movie is based on a short story that was inspired by the rebellious actions of a motorcycle club in 1947. Some outlaw bikers coined the counterculture by literally raiding a small town leaving it's citizens horrified and angry. The Marlon Brando film dramatized it and allowed viewers around the world to experience it.

So how does it break down? Well today we can see that not every motorcyclists is an outlaw and a rebel, but the motorcycle is still a statement of independence and freedom and there are biker gangs out there.

Today we see the classic motorcycle club style with cruisers, choppers and bobbers, like Hunter's bike. Groups get matching vests or paint something on their bike to show their membership.

It's exclusive and it's novel. Motorcycle clubs are not for anybody. Many are for enthusiasts of the bikes and what they have to offer others are literally gangs.

Motorcycle gangs have been known to be part of drug circles and violence. One famous group that comes to mind are the Hell's Angels, now with international charters. The Hell's Angels were so well known that they were hired as security at the Altamont Speedway Free Festival in 1969 because of their reputation.

Today these kind of bikers love to have rally's with bike shows and rock concerts, but in reality you'll find a culture for every type of bike.

Sport bikes have their own underground racing world and bike shows as well. You'll find this culture is much more about the new technology in the bikes and the speed from them than the romanticism of the ride.

You also see a very special culture with touring bikes, which are just as they sound for touring the country. You may recognize the Honda GoldWing as a car with two wheels or the BMW RS series packed down with bags and tents. This culture will load up the bike view the countryside stay at hotels or camp and just come home.

Regardless of what bike is being driven, it's all about the open road.

Counterculture Christians?

Yeah Christians. I know you may have heard 85 percent of America claims Christianity and here we are in the Bible Belt of the South so certainly it seems hard to define Christianity as a counterculture. Social Explorer, a research database offered by the University of Texas at Austin, shows that Travis county has only about 30 percent practicing Christians.

So the number dwindles. Now think about at a liberal arts university. I've heard statistics between 6 percent and 11 percent. So truly when you think about it practicing Christians, at the University of Texas, are counterculture.

Now I am certain there are religious groups on campus that are an even smaller proportion than those of Christians, but I'm blogging on what I am most familiar with. For me to write about Islam or Hinduism on campus for example wouldn't do either justice. If you'd like to share, please comment I would love to learn.

In comparison to common themes of Americanism, Christianity is really radical if you go totally by the book. In America it is common to hear, "take care of yourself and family, and if you've got extra then you can give." A Christian is asked to give away his life in order to find it (Matthew 10:39).

Early Christians in the Bible even gave away all their possessions and considered nothing their own (Acts 4:32). Really when you look at that it's more Socialist or Communist than American! How many Christians do you know that live like that?

The truth is some do and while they are few you can certainly tell there are sub cultures within the counter culture. One simple way to look at it is simply observe the denominations. There are literally thousands, they fall under about eight meta-groups which all clearly fall under the "Christian" umbrella.

If Christianity doesn't  seem like a place to observe sub-counterculture I don't know where else to look!

Some baptise, some take communion, and some practice ritualistic prayers. Some believe in predestination and others divine intervention. Some believe it will bring them prosperity and others believe they need to sacrifice everything.

Some Christians are Jewish. If Christianity comes from Judaism and continues to fulfill it's prophecies, it really does not seem strange to be a practicing, Christian-Jew.

When you look at it that way it doesn't seem so far fetched to call Christianity a counter culture.

Not just a punk

Top 40 music listeners are exposed to popular genres of music from folk to hip-hop depending on any given week. On occasion they may even get to hear some punk rock in its more mainstream form.

The punk-counterculture that evolved through bands like the Ramones doesn't have a single face, but in fact many many forms and subcultures.

 I want to tell you about what some of those faces look like, where they come from and what they sound like. I can't give you a complete history because, a) I don't know it all and b) there are tons of books on it so I couldn't even begin to get there.

I'll touch on some of my first hand experience with some of the less recognized punk genres and subcultures.

Borrowed from fellow blogger PUNK1977

First lets look at crust punks.

They epitomize the image of counter culture and the rebelling of social norms. They listen to fast raging, distorted rock with anarchist and antisocial themes.

To be a crust punk you have to look like a crust punk. It's about accessories and representing your bands and ideals with patches and buttons on your self studded vest or leather jacket.


While crust punks may be the most easily spotted out in a crowd they are not the only radical ones. Next I want to talk about the punks that don't really have a label, they're rowdy, sometimes anarchists and love blending musical influences.

image from baeblemusic.com

Gypsy and Cabaret punk is the best way I can put it. A couple of bands that come to mind when building this scene are The World Inferno Friendship Society, Guignol, and GoGol Bordello.

These punks may be dressed in three piece suits, they may play instruments you've never heard, but you'll certainly find in them a passion to destroy their surroundings.

Fans of the World Inferno are famous for tearing clubs apart, worshiping the Great Pumpkin, starting fires, and of course waltzing.

Guignol fans appreciate the instrumental group and dance like maniacs, particularly when they banded together with folk-punk band Mischief Brew.

GoGol Bordello coined the gypsy punk term and certainly have let it run wild. Though they were formed in New York, the band is known for their diverse membership and the lead singers distinguished Ukrainian accent.

Finally, one of my personal favorites folk punks.

It's not always distorted and it's not really about style. Folk punks can play amped up plugged in or acoustic. It can be one singer song writer  or a whole band of folk punks like Defiance Ohio, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and Mischief Brew. Popular punk band Against Me! and singer Tom Gabel even find roots in folk punk.

Their songs tell stories of characters, history and the usual punks fighting the power. Folk punks have passion and don't need distortion to show it.

There are certainly more punks to be explored, so please comment with thoughts and other punks that deserve credit.

Under my Wing

People of all ages have a natural tendency to find elders for guidance, development and community. Whether these people are sought after as mentors or not, kids and young adults often see an admirable older figure and aspire to him or her.

I want to talk to you about what that looks like in cultures of extreme sports, particularly skateboarding. Yes, Skateboarding mentors, but before that let me put things into context.

Aside from the post-Tony Hawk video game phase of the early 2000s skate boarding had always been a counter culture, fighting for legitimacy and recognition (pro-skater Mike Vallely has more to say about that). Although it's now recognized as a professional sport, we continue to see a stereotypical character define "the skater."

The typical punk-skater fighting the law and other oppressing forces isn't entirely imaginary. Many of these kids and young adults pour their lives into the sport as an outlet from bad home or school lives and find themselves in control of something and with some freedom.

I know of kids that will spend all day and night skating wherever and get continually kicked out just to avoid going home. It's a sport that has no clear rules, a field with no boundaries and infinite was to be personally mastered; Nobody can tell them what to do.

But with so many skaters, why do they seem to fit a similar mold?

The same reason why jocks look like jocks and ballerinas look like ballerinas, they are surrounded by like minded people and are coached.

The skateboarder coach is not a role that is clearly defined but certainly exists. Kids watch videos and learn technique but where it really happens is the skatepark and street.

Exposure to peer skaters and better skaters creates admiration and relationships. Whether the older experienced skaters realize it or not they are looked up to and have become coaches on the board and for life.

Usually these relationships will start with, "that was a sick 360-flip!" and develop as these people are more regularly exposed to each other. While it can start as tough love the older will enjoy watching the younger develop and naturally take the younger under his wing.

As these relationships develop beyond the skatepark, the "skater" mold is placed.

The problem is falling into the mold leads to usual counter culture tendencies like drugs and alcohol, and can often be self-destructive.

 Many skaters however are working to change this mold and become the right mentors for these kids. Some buddies of mine approach these kids as part of their ministry in Young Life. Meeting them where they are and building those relationships. Programs like Stoked, a skate mentoring program in LA, are starting to pop-up. Skaters like Mike Steinkamp and the Untitled skate team are showing kids what it looks like to be a Christian skater. Even legend Tony Hawk takes a part with the Tony Hawk Foundation to give the counter-culture youth a place to skate without damaging property.