Music
Press
(July 17, 2007. Dante’s,) When The Spokes roll into a joint, they don’t mess around. They bring all the menace and unadulterated machismo that you’d expect from a biker (bicycle) gang, complete with cissy (sissy?) bars and banana seats.
The band is comprised of members of the fearsome Belligerantes, a bicycle gang that first gained notoriety in the 1940s for their bloody clash with high school socialites which turned into a brutal dance-off that spilled into the streets of downtown Portland. I just made some of that up.
The fact is, these guys are winners on and off the stage: Their bike gang won the gold medal at a bike rodeo last year. They fuse together the sound, fury and fun of pop-rocks and surf guitar, with well-oiled gears that make the band pretty tight. They incorporate some of the best elements of spoken word poetry, and dazzle with chrome-plated and sleek guitar licks, and rumbling bass and drums that echo a Harley exhaust more than a Schwinn bell. - The Stonewailer
Discography
The Spokes have released one LP titled simply "The Spokes". Plans to enter the studio in Summer of 2008 are being finalized.
Photos
Bio
Members of Portland Oregon's bicycle rock group, THE SPOKES, are also founding members of the "THE BELLIGERANTES", a Schwinn only bicycle gang in Portland, Oregon that roll out for glory on modified Schwinns (banana seats, ape hangers, sissy bars, bells, whistles, etc.). Their music is a eclectic blend of rock, pop, blues, jazz fusion, punk, surf, metal, reggae, and ska. Their leader, Mike "The Commander" Nolan, started The Belligerantes bicycle gang back in 1996 and co-invented the Schwinn Megaray (the Belligerante's bicycle of choice). Mike is also The Spokes spoken word frontman-shaman-buffoon who entertains with his drunken gyrating as much as his sometimes political, often sarcastic, and always amusing ramblings. See Mike and The Belligerantes/Spokes in Episode 28 and 29 of The Bicyclist - an online comedy/drama about Portland Oregon's bicycle sub culture at http://www.thebicyclist.tv/index.htm)
One can't describe The Spokes in 50 words or less; however, once you see a Spokes show, whether it's at a local club, at the famous Recyclery bike shop party, or at the Multnomah County Bike Festival, you will not soon forget them. You may even catch yourself singing Spokes songs out loud on your bicycle ride home from the gig.
Roll Out!
Links
