On the surface, this past weekend’s 9th Annual Rumblers Kustom Kills & Hot Rod Thrills show could be defined in three words: Cars, Music and Tattoos. But as a first-time attendee of this almost decade long revival of the 50s and 60s hot-rod scene, I can attest that it was far more.
The Rumblers Car Club, founded in NYC in 1996, is a dedicated group of self-proclaimed Hot Rod Hooligans who take hot rods and the associated lifestyle to new nostalgic heights and work to teach a whole new generation about the scene. The lions-share of what I experienced at the show was certainly an enormous amount of beautifully-restored and well-loved automobiles, but I also saw punk-rock daddies detailing the inter-workings of engines to their children, a community of rockabilly enthusiasts sharing their bond and their wares, and some really awesome swing dancing under the BQE.
To top it all off, Brooklyn’s own Union Pool bar and club hosted several amazing punk, garage punk and rockabilly bands from around the country and Canada, and I got a free drink sent over to me from a beefcake of a man old enough to be my dad.
See you guys next year.
Rochelle Fainstein
