MTXa

That's Monster Track Ten not Mr. T Experience. I didn't get to participate in too much MTXing because I had to work so everyone else at Snap could race. I did get to the welcome party and got 2nd in the Gold Sprint qualifier by a hundredth of a second (15.82 to a guy from Boston's 15.83). To my defense I taught two spin classes and did 5 reps, 5 sets of 275# deadlifts and was cramping at my house before heading over there. My esteemed teammate Andrew "Cupcake, the National Champ and Third in the World" LaCorte did an amazing 14.93. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

I was lucky enough to be there at the Affinity Cycles checkpoint and force feed the top five Red Bull before they could go on. Crihs was in the zone and so was Copetown's Jimi "Jumbo" Vargas. First and Second, respectively. Props to Heather Muller for winning too. She regularly attends my Tuesday night "High Intensity Interval Training Tuesday" (H.I.I.T.T. for short) and I can't help but feel a little pride in her excellent performance.

Oh yeah, Hibagon is playing tonight at the Charleston with Haunted Castle, among others.

Awesome Party

The party last night was the perfect venue for Hibagon's debut. Haunted Castle killed and we all got awesome/wasted. Here are some pics I stole from the fixed.gr forums.

And today I forced my self to go to Crossfit and it was like an A. A. meeting with all the hung-over crosfitters. It was 5 sets of 3 reps front squats. I did a pyramid 205#, 215#, 225#, 235#, 225#.

ヒバゴン

HIBAGON is the band's name. Our 1st show is tonight at a loft party. 470 flushing. X Bones Brigade, Atakke, Cuddle Machines, Same-Sex Dictator. We play "late." Get Awesome.

New Edition is way better than Bel Biv Devoe

audition tape from Mario Ferrari on Vimeo

So this is the second audition tape I have made for Quest for G. I pretty much made it yesterday, with a little help from Luke. It's definitely better than the first one. I am glad I made it, because I almost didn't. They have yet to tell me if I get to go to boot camp. Fingers crossed!

Friday Was a Good Day

Taught a spin class in the morning. Felt good. Went to band practice, and our new singer Josh showed up and we got the PA to work and he sang. It was magic. He's got talent and experience, knows what sounds good. He used to sing for Cuddle Machines around here and was in 16, a seminal sludge metal band that did two amazing splits with Grief that I remember loving when I was 19/20. Stoked. I checked my email and Annie from Quest for G casting sent word that I had made it to the second round of casting and I needed to send another audition tape in, this one 10 minutes long, by Monday.

Cue freak out. I rode to Affinity to talk with Jay about this impossible task. I totally had a panic attack. I GChatted w/ Luke and he was slammed with work this weekend and couldn't help. He helped me out so much with the last video I couldn't bitch. He's my life coach. Really.

I gave Danimal a call and he set me straight about how I should approach it. I took the impossible and broke it down into small tasks and got Luke to agree to let me barrow his apartment and computer to edit the footage on Saturday night. I found a camera to barrow. They wanted people in my life to talk in this tape about me as an athlete. I decided to just set up the camera in Affinity on Saturday and shoot who ever would come by, go shoot at Crossfit, talk to the coaches there and just slap it together quick and dirty using leftovers from the first tape. 

I had a plan and it was time to de-stress doing some squats. I left the shop headed home to get ready for the gym and my second spin class of the day. Colin called me to tell me about a new client. I told him that all this management was getting to be too much without enough money coming back in return. He agreed. We decided that it was time for some other people in our collective to start pulling more weight.

I squatted 235# 5 reps, 3 sets. Did 50# weighted pullups 4 reps, 3 sets. Taught a good class too. My attitude was been super positive. I checked my email and the woman casting the show sent me an email saying that the first audition was all they needed from me. I called her up to confirm this and she gave me the dates for the "boot camp." So glad I called. She thought she emailed me the dates but she realized during our conversation she didn't. Questions answered! 

I ate some food with Elizabeth and we drank a bottle of wine. We saw Frost Nixon. It was good. The end bothered me. It left you with the impression that Nixon was a broken man after that. In reality he was consulted by every president following him on foreign policy matters, including Clinton. He was a true statesman.

The New Atakke

Yesterday I did "Elizabeth" the workout at Crossfit NYC Black Box. Both my girlfriend and my mother share that name. Anywho it 21-15-9 reps of squat cleans and ring dips. I did it in 16 min with 115# cleans and unassisted ring dips. Last time I did it with 95# cleans and used a rubber band to help with the dips. Plus I learned how to kip my dips. Progress feels good!

That night Elizabeth and I went to see Atakke last night for the first time since they kicked me out. They played with Amebix and Kylesa. A whole bill of gibberish band names. I got there early and Atakke was sound checking, they sounded good.

My old train hopping friend Toby was there. Blast from the past, yo! I spent the bulk of 2001 riding freight trains across the country with her. I was awesome to see her. We chatted a bunch. My old boss, Ian, from Dragonfly Courier was there too. He'd been laid off from the architectural fabrication job he took after selling Dragonfly and was looking for work. He asked me for a job. It was depressing.

Seeing Atakke suck, sucked. They were sloppy sounding and Nick (the guy who replaced me) was stiff, barely moving. By the end of the set they were out of tune. My lady friend gave me a Twinkie for some reason and sheer willpower kept me from throwing at them. They ruined my band. I think would have been happier (jealous but happier) if they were better without me, but they weren't. It was just sad.

Kylesa just killed it. I was rocking out hard until this one drunk kid ruined it. He kept getting on stage and putting his arm around Laura while she was playing. My girlfriend pulled him off stage twice and he hurt himself pretty bad. I was in a shit mood, so once he this happened I went from rocking out to watching this kid to see if he would fuck with Elizabeth so I could justify beating him up. When their set was over I turned to the guy next to me and said "If that kid stage dived one more time I was gonna steal his shoes." He replied with "I tried but they were double knotted."

I left two songs into Amebix. I have to admit I like their artwork way better than their music. Kinda like the Velvet Underground. Out front I watched the bouncers fuck with a drunk punk kid trying to get in to see Amebix while Elizabeth talked to her friend Scott from when she worked at NY Mag. Ian came around the corner, stumbling drunk and tried to get back in and the bouncers wouldn't let him back in either. He shared a cigarette with the young mohican as we hailed a taxi back to Brooklyn.

Big Day/Blog Love

So check this out. Friday morning I taught my usual spin class, hopped on a train to Northport Long Island to buy a Greco Flying V Bass. Two hour round trip. Came back went to band practice. Went home took a nap.

I spent the week chasing down footage for this audition tape, and now I had to actually get it in my hands. I had to meet Jon Van Tuliken at Columbia at 4:00 p.m. to pick up what we shot of a unfinished short film and then downtown to 115 Broadway by 5:00 p.m. to meet Mike from Kissena Track Racing Blog. I woke up late and I didn't leave my house until 4 o'clock. I got to Columbia at 4:40 met JVT and then had to book it 7 miles across Manhattan to catch Mike as he got out of work. I met him at 5:15. I had another spin class to teach at 6:30, so I couldn't really mince words. He snapped a couple of pics, which he posted on his blog. Thanks Mike.

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Fame and Fortune Await Me Across the Sea

So what follows is my response to the email that Victor sent to me yesterday for this documentary/reality show that is casting a NYC messenger to race for reals. I think I am a perfect fit, but I have to convince them.

Hello Marc. I was referred to you by Victor Ouma regarding your documentary for XXXXXXXXX. My name is Alex Farioletti, and I have been a New York City bike messenger for the last six years. I am also cat 3 track racer and the current New York State Champion in Keirin racing. I will be a good subject for your documentary, as I am both a bike messenger and a track racer who has the potential and discipline to be competitive on a national level, possibly beyond. I also have a very unique back story and lifestyle (there aren't very many tattooed metalheads in the track racing world) that would be good fodder for a documentary.

I grew up in Weed, California and was raised by my mother. I left home for the Bay Area and junior college before finishing high school, and it wasn't long before I felt stifled by school, so I left to ride freight trains for a year. I lived in Portland for a year, working in the tech industry; it was there that I stopped driving completely and started riding my bike everywhere.

I quickly grew sick of cubicle life. An old friend of my mother's needed a roommate and offered me a cheap place to live in New York City. So I moved here in 2003 intent on working as a messenger, the only job I have ever really wanted. I started racing in alleycats and it wasn't long before I started winning. I won Stupor Bowl 8 in 2005, the biggest alleycat in the world. I won the skid event at the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Sydney Australia the next year and the sprint event at the 2007 North American Cycle Courier Championships. The messenger racing scene was my life, it was during this time that I opened Trackstar, a track bike boutique in the East Village.

My success in the underground prompted me to pursue competitive cycling more seriously. I quit the bike shop and I started racing on the track two years ago with the goal of a national title in the match sprint. In 2008, I won the Keirin and took silver in the match sprint at the New York State Track Championships. I couldn't afford a coach and I wasn't racing for any organized team. I did it all by myself, all while founding my own messenger collective and rehearsing, gigging and touring with my metal band Atakke. I am no longer in the band, and I am completely focused on the 2009 racing season. I training to compete at the Elite Track National Championships.

I love the unique people, opportunities for travel, and freedom cycling has given me. I have ridden my bike around the world; competing in races all over the US and in Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Ireland. I am very competitive and a natural athlete. I love how pressure brings out the best in me and my opponents. The lessons that I have learned through racing have helped me overcome some large obstacles in my life. This documentary would be an ideal opportunity for me, and I am excited at the thought of what I can accomplish with the right training and resources.

I look forward to talking to you more.

A roller-skating jam named Saturday

Saturday was fun. I stayed up late on Friday watching the Olympic Road Race on the Internet. It was a bit hazy, but gorgeous. The long helicopter shots of Beijing were gorgeous. The only adio was the helicopter blades and the various revs and beeps of the support cars. Without Paul Sherwin and Phil Ligget it was almost a meditation on the act of cycling. That might have been the weed talking (thinking).

So I awoke a bit late. The morning was gone and my room was beginning to heat 

up. It was time to go to the track! I got my coffee and my shit together, payed a quick visit to Kate's to smoke the wizard with her friends, Mouth of the Architect.

Khaari was at the track and he is fast, I am kinda scared of when he gets out of the juniors.  I knew I was gonna get some good work outs today. Dan was there and he was kind enough to motorpace me around for few goo efforts. I ledout Khaari a couple of times. His power is breathtaking. Hope he stays with it. I did a few flying 200's with the new wheels. My goal is sub 12, and I am getting just under 13 sec. The new Zipp wheels didn't help either. They are signifigantly stiffer than my Mavic Ellipses. I had too much air pressure in the tires, 170 psi is just too much for Ol' Lumpy. My first run had me bouncing around the corners too much and I had to correct my line. 13.9, bad. Tried again from the saddle with and got 13.6. still bad. Let out a little air and focused on keeping my upper loose to absorb the bumps. 12.96. Better but not the goal. I wanted to wait and recover completely but I was already late. Next week I gonna do them fresh, not at the end of my workout. I had to leave and book it back home in time for work. 

Work was where this Saturday really started to come together as my magnum opus. I switched sides so that I could be done at ten, when the show started. Only problem, Mighty Diamond and Teddy's both close at 11 pm, and we play at 10:30. I got a call at 10 from Teddy's. I was supposed to be at the show already. Worse yet, I had to ride right by the show on my way to the delivery. Nick from Absurd System recognized me, yelling "What the Fuck, Man?!" as I rode by.  I did my delivery and made it back to the show in ten minutes. Bill rushed me in  to set up. My tooth was hurting me and I paused by the bar to get a shot and a beer. No way, Jose. I get my drink from the back bar after I set up, because as usual, it is Bills way or the highway. I didn't load in so I didn't grab all the cables I needed. Or a guitar strap. So I had to borrow all that from After ze Bombs. They were nice about it. Good to go!

The show fucking sucked. The drums were miked and that was it.  All we could hear in the monitors was Hugo's rhythmic racket. We opened with Vitreolouse and I wasn't rocking as hard as I could, but the tooth and training earlier on top of working had me a little down. Hugs fucked up the changes on our second song, Ruinous Future. We made things better through the breakdown but the damage had been done. We were supposed to head right into our third song,  Gag Order, but Bill broke a string and had a hissy fit on stage when no one noticed and we bounced right along with the song. We stopped and made some awkward stage banter. I checked my phone. No calls. If one came in now all I could do is deliver it after the show.

We finished playing at 10:55. I had succeeded  in playing a show on the clock. Punk! I left the Supreme Trading and cashed out at the last of the restaurants. I returned to show and Hugs was schmoozing some pr guy. We decided to go to my apt for big Bob Marley joints. I hoped to catch Unearthly Trance but it wasn't in the stars. I got back for After ze Bombs. They rocked hard and there were a lot of people dancing around. A girl aproached me and tried to tell me something, but I couldn't hear her. We ended up buying each other drinks after the show. We were loading out our gear and she came out to talk to me some more. A bit of making out ensued and an Irish Good Bye to the band got us to my apt. The final Maestro's stroke.

Atakke Sat at Supreme Trading

We are playing at Supreme Trading on Saturday. Unearthly Trance isn't just a clever name and After ze Bombs is from Montreal. TOO MUCH CRUST!

I love playing at Supreme Trading. Good sound, nice room, weird wookie painting, it is two doors down from my house. Makes smoking blunts between bands a little bit easier. 

We are playing with childhood friend's band Wendol in September. It is awesome how we both ended up in punk/crust/metal bands and now that we are all old and shit we can play shows together. We used to play Nirvana and Sex Pistol covers together. 

boston tour

We are playing a show tonight at the Wheelchair in Worcester (Woostah?) Mass. This little tour test ride is keeping me from both the CMWC in Toronto and the Harlem Crit. We'd better rock.