Norh Korean Motorcycle Diaries, From Vice

Norh Korean Motorcycle Diaries

"For the past decade, New Zealanders Joanne and Gareth Morgan have been living the semiretired lifestyle of their dreams, traveling around the world on motorcycles alongside a few of their closest friends. They've traversed all seven continents on their bikes, with routes as varied as Venice to Beijing, Florida to northern Alaska, and South Africa to London, just to name a few. Gareth funds his own trips, many of which he uses to pursue philanthropic endeavors, particularly in the social-investment space. He is able to do so with money he's made as an economist and investment manager—one who has earned the reputation for criticizing unethical practices in New Zealand's financial-services industry.

In late August, the Morgans embarked on their most ambitious journey yet, at least physically. The real journey began years ago, when they decided they wanted to ride the Baekdudaegan, a mountain range that stretches the length of North and South Korea's shared peninsula. After countless hours of negotiation and coordination with both governments, they were granted permission. It was, the Morgans believe, the first time anyone's ever traveled through both countries like that since the partitioning of Korea in 1945. By making the trip they hoped to demonstrate how Koreans can come together over what they have in common. To symbolize this, the Morgans took some stones from Paektu, a holy mountain in the North, and brought them to Hallasan, a similarly sacred peak in the South.

Joanne and Gareth shot the entirety of their trip, the footage from which they have graciously allowed us to cut into a short film that will premiere on VICE.com this month. In some ways, the footage makes the Korean coast look alternately like California, China, and Cuba. It's a beautiful view few foreigners have seen, and even if planning the road trip straight through the Demilitarized Zone required working within parameters set by the highly choreographed and restricted confines of North-South Korean diplomacy, this was a journey worth documenting from start to finish."

Check out the Best of VICE here: http://bit.ly/VICE-Best-Of

Life Advice from One of the World's Most Eloquent Pimps, From Vice

True characters can be found in all facets of life. I remember specifically one night when we went to see the premiere opening of the film, American Pimp and some of the actual pimps showed up. They were yelling at the screen and talking trash. Cinema could not have gotten any better especially with Fillmore Slim sitting in the audience with us. Below is quite the interesting article from Vice Magazine about Mickey Royal.

Read the article on Vice Magazine

"When I was 18, I liked to trawl through Facebook to try and find the strangest people I could. I guess it was my slightly creepy way of trying to understand people I'd never have the chance to meet in real life—Tanzanian lawyers, Portuguese surfers, British crack addicts, and Cambridge boxers have all been on my Friends list. Most of them still are.

At some point, I ended up becoming Facebook friends with a pimp called Mickey Royal. He's incredibly eloquent, speaks like a Baptist preacher, lived through the LA crack wars of the late 80s, is a published author, and has a pretty compelling collection of Facebook profile pictures. Of all the people I virtually befriended, Mickey was one of the few I really learned anything from. Looking at his life (and the pimping it seemed to mainly consist of), I realized that the idea that you can apply a rigid moral code to every situation in life is a limiting one, and that morality depends as much on circumstance as what your parents tell you is right and wrong. Even if the basic idea of making money by farming out women for sex is fundamentally abhorrent.

Considering Mickey had already taught me something without us ever actually communicating, I figured I should get in touch and have him teach me about something else: the nuances of pimping.

Mickey Royal. All photos courtesy of Mickey Royal

VICE: Hey, Mickey. So what are the different types of pimp?
 
Mickey Royal:  Gorilla pimp is the universally accepted term for a pimp who is constantly heavy-handed. Chill pimp or boyfriend pimp is a universally accepted term for a pimp with one ho, who he’s romantically involved with. Most of the terms depend on the region that particular pimp is from. The confusion comes when the word pimp goes from noun to verb. You have pimps, macks, and hustlers (nouns), and all three can pimp (verb) or be pimps (noun again).

What type of pimp were you?


As a martial artist in my youth, I learned positioning from a mathematical standpoint.

OK. What does that mean?


When I was just a white belt in Kenpo, I would have to attack from a certain stance. Once I reached a certain level, I could fight from any position using proper weight distribution. When you reach a certain level as a pimp, you can morph into any particular style in order to achieve your intended goal.

What does this morphing entail?


Almost changing physically in appearance, comparable to a vampire. Once a vampire becomes a vampire master, then he or she can morph temporarily into a wolf or bat. In the same way, a master pimp—a true, experienced, skilled pimp—can morph into mack or hustler to achieve the desired objective.

I see. So what type of pimp were you? A gorilla?

I wasn't a gorilla pimp, no. I had very little respect for them because of the absence of psychology involved in their methods. I’m a psychological scientist who was known for using the mind to control individuals.

Mickey (on the right) in his youth.

So you were a kind of hypno-pimp, then?

My violence wasn’t ever unleashed on the women I regarded as my family, sisters, co-workers, etc. I exercised extreme violence against those who threatened them. Sadistic tricks [customers], rapists, gang-bangers, and drug dealers were my main enemies. These were the abusive ones in the game, so we were often at odds. I was fair, honest, and no-nonsense.

What was your inspiration for becoming this benevolent master pimp?


An egg is delicate. Hold it too loosely and it falls and breaks. Hold it too tight and it cracks and breaks. It’s a delicate balance when dealing with the fragile human psyche.



I see.


I noticed that the majority of pimps were gorilla pimps. The rest were just macks who were pimping, or trying to. Coming off of the streets of Los Angeles, you won't find too many pimps in pink or yellow flamboyant suits. I grew up in LA during the crack wars of the 1980s. Those [flamboyant] pimps would have been robbed and raped in my neighborhood. Coming out of the gang/OC [organized crime] world, when making the transition to pimp, I took my reputation with me.

What was your business like?


I chose to run my "royal family" the same way I lived in the family I was raised in. Just because I was a pimp, didn't mean I was going to sacrifice my principles or lower my standards and methods because of the occupation I was in. Me and the girls are human beings first. I treated my ladies with the utmost respect. We ate, operated, and lived as a family—like firemen at a firehouse who are always on call.



If you're so concerned with people's wellbeing, why get into pimping in the first place?
 
Why did I choose to be a pimp? It wasn't like Monday I was in a choir and Tuesday I was on the block. It's a gradual descent—or ascent, depending on your particular perspective—into the game. By the time I was 14, I had been shot and stabbed. It's the same as working in a grocery store in the stockroom. One day you decide to work at the checkout counter—it’s not much of a switch. I was 19 or 20 when I became a fully-fledged pimp and stopped being a gangster, but I'd had one foot in the game since 16.

Was the money good?


Drug dealers I knew and worked for since I was 13 lived with more money than any pimp could ever dream of, so it wasn’t the money at all.

So what was it that you liked about pimping?


I was attracted to the fact that, on Sunday night on Crenshaw Boulevard, the pimps always seemed happy. They had no bullet holes, no police brutality. No one was trying to kill them. Everyone loved them and they were classy gentlemen. Their mannerisms and overall presence made the drug dealers seem like rich savages. Pimps seemed like well-read aristocrats compared to the knuckle dragging loan sharks, bookies, and drug dealers I knew. I was taken under a master pimp’s wing because he saw qualities in me being wasted on the streets. I knew the biggest muscle in my body was between my ears and I wanted to develop it.

Can you share some of that wisdom with me?


I was once asked, "Which one is more powerful, love or hate?" I answered the question this way: I would run into a burning building, risking my life to save someone I loved. But I would not run into a burning building and risk my life to kill someone I hated. My leadership abilities, style, and technique stem from a point of love. I referred to my ladies in private, as well as in public, as my “wives.” A man or woman will do ten times to please and protect someone they love as opposed to someone they feared. So fear was a weapon used only against outside agitators. My homes ran as finely tuned sorority houses.

Cool. And do you have any advice for future pimps?


Some get caught up in the intoxicating allure and essence of the pimp game. It’s the indescribable feeling of fantasy and reality having a baby—a love child named "ecstasy." In that moment you become stuck—trapped, willingly. I live my entire life in that moment, but without losing sight of the destination. Most pimps upon reaching this level abandon the destination and the journey becomes an endless one. They begin to get cycled into and get stuck in a downward, upward spiral. I kept my eyes on the destination at all times, not the journey. That way my navigational decision making won't be affected.

Thanks, Mickey.

Read more from Mickey Royal on his website.
Follow Olly on Twitter: @olongworth1
More pimping:

Dan Auerbach of Black Keys Showing His Guitar Moves

"In the fourth episode of Guitar Moves, we sit down with blues rock god Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and learn the secrets of slide guitar.

Guitar Moves, hosted by Matt Sweeney, is a show where the viewer gets an opportunity to sit in on a private, interesting, and hilarious conversation about guitars, music, life, and craft. During the season, Sweeney and his guests play through licks, riffs, and solos that inform their style, influence their playing, and define their sound."

Check out more Guitar Moves on Noisey

Insane Championship Wrestling And The Braveheart Known As Grado

"It's all for nothing if you don't have Grado!"

The allure of professional wrestling has captured audiences far and wide. Whether it be the stage shows, athleticism or the gimmicks, wrestling is live theater akin to a Shakespearean play. The drama unfolds in a similar fashion. Just as a heel applies the tourniquet pressure of a four figure leg lock to a babyface, a hero will rise from the crushing pain, to craft a finishing maneuver and keep the audience begging for more.

Underground wrestling is full of upstarts, who in the words of the almighty Ric Flair, "Write checks that their bodies can't cash". Their pursuit of making it to the upper echelon of leagues such as the WWE is a path only traversed by a select few.

VBS has a great four part documentary series on Insane Championship Wrestling and a few of their standout characters, with one in particular, Grado. What he lacks in a sculpted stature, he makes up for in sheer determination and willingness to seek out his dream. This is what we think life is all about. You need to think big, act big and never give up, while also crafting your ideals to create something unique. Thanks Grado, looking forward to hearing more of the shit talking in that thick brogue as you fly off the top turn buckle.

Link to original videos on VBS.TV

Watch Episode 1 of 4

Watch Episode 2 of 4

Grado, a Scottish wrestler in need of the strength of William Wallace

So Ya Wanna Be A Roadie Part 5 by Vice.com

View the original content posted by Vice.com

Episode 5 of Marshall Headphones: On The Road is the first of two episodes where Jesse ventures to the Palm Desert region, a place very close to his heart. After a tour of the Coachella Valley and a quick visit to see him mum, Jesse heads to Palm Springs to catch a bizarre impromptu show by punk warriors Fucked Up in a hotel diner.

My Dad Is Selling Willie Nelson's Tour Bus - From Vice.com

Need a piece of history, why not buy Willie Nelson's tour bus, read on.

Link to original article over at Vice Blog

By Kara-Lis Coverdale

My dad is a wheeler n' dealer so I'm used to seeing cool stuff come and go. As the offspring of a compulsive bargain hunter you learn to enjoy the stuff you've got because you never know when it's going to get sold so your dad can buy other cool shit. Still, that doesn't make it any less of a massive bummer when the time comes to say goodbye to something especially awesome, like Willie Nelson's tour bus. 

When Dad and his buddy Kenny first brought home Honeysuckle Rose (as Willie calls all of his tour buses) from God knows where, their first priority was to fix it up. As you'd imagine, THC residue and weed stems were all over the place, Willie's poo particles were still on the toilet, and there was an annoying clank that came from the upper flourescent light cover above the front sofa. Dad and Kenny vacuumed the stems and crystals and changed the toilet, but left the clank alone.

One day when they were driving down the road, the clanking got to be too much for Dad to handle. He ripped off the light cover, stuck his hand in, and pulled out a tin roach box full of dank pot, a few guitar picks, and shitty filters. Cha-ching! Sadly it's gone now, and I'm still pissed they just threw it out with the rest of the clean up.

Anybody's celebrity lips could have been on those roach relics, like Dolly Parton or even that douchey Toby Keith character. I like to think it was Snoop D-O Double-Gee.

This thing should probably be in the fucking Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or something, but instead it sleeps in the far bay of Dad's workshop, only to come out for family day trips and stuff. Sometimes we'd drive it down to Port Dover when we craved orange pop and fish and chips, and other times we'd just drive it to local community shebangs like the Freelton Turkey Draw or the Valens Pancake Breakfast. Dad and his buddies also took it to NASCAR races. When a Southern gate-keeper dude sees a driver in an XL cowboy hat driving this chromed out, teepee-muraled ride they think, "Gosh darn there are rock stars in that thang!!" so they were almost always let in free and often got escorted to the best parking spots on the raceway (trackside real estate is hella redneck rich). Whenever the Dodge tailgaters down below would get jealous and start booing, Kenny would just stand off the side of the bus and throw cans of Coors Light and Old Milwaukee like wedding confetti.

A shot of the masterfully airbrushed rear.

Google won't tell me who this mural artist "Rainmaker" is, but he paints nice belts and decently accurate appaloosa horses.

This is pretty badass chrome placement. To get to the rumbling junk in the trunk you have to pass the menacing talons of the great bald eagle. In so doing you are reminded of the great American liberty to drive an old and hugely inefficient carbon emission vehicle that literally spews out black shit across the country.

A shot of the bathroom.  This is the mirror where Willie would guage the caliber of knot on his bandana.

And this is where he pooped (presumably he shit pure freedom).

Sleeping on the top bunk of a tour bus seems like a good idea until you remember that hot air rises.

I like to imagine Willie and friends kicking back in this back-bus entertainment suite to watch the episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman he was in while blasting Ray Charles and rippin' it down the 401.

Recently we let Grammy-winning producer Daniel Lanois stay on the Willie Bus (he was playing a festival nearby and knew my dad's friend Kenny somehow) and he told us "Goddamn it's good to be on an Eagle again." When we picked it up the next day there were feather boas and glitter all over the place (P.I.M.P).

Alas, my dad has decided to get rid of old Honeysuckle Rose. So I guess what I'm saying is that if you have around $65,000 to drop on the Willie Bus, you should hit up the Collectors Car Auction in Toronto this weekend. To whoever buys it: You have torn from my grip one of the most epic pieces of American music history ever. I hate you. Treat her well. 

So Ya Wanna Be A Roadie Part 3

Episode 3 of Marshall Headphones: On The Road and after a tour of the legendary Sunset Strip, Jesse heads for the House of Blues to meet Nick Rucker, the one man road crew for Steel Panther, the band that has been paying homage to the music, questionable style and hedonism of 80s style hair metal for the last ten years and are showing no signs of slowing down. 

Link to Original post on Vice.com

So Ya Wanna Be A Roadie, Part 2

For original post and episodes head over to VBS.TV

In Episode 2 of Marshall Headphones: On The Road Jesse swings by the Golden Gods Awards as anyone who’s anyone in metal arrives on the black carpet and asks them why there isn’t an award for roadies. He then pays a visit to probably the most notorious metal roadie of all time, Jef Hickey who has worked with the likes of Motorhead and Megadeth.