Last night at Elysée Wednesday, we were joined by Peter Helm who has been a pivotal character in my life in a number of ways. Back in the day, Peter was my companion in many Ferrari adventures with his SWB California spider and my GTO. We had fun on the Sunset Strip, at Willow Springs Raceway and, most famously, on Mulholland Drive. Many readers of this blog will have seen the two videos Peter shot with me as we sped along that famous stretch of road. Shooting those films turned out to be a seminal moment in both my life and career.

A couple of days ago, I was reminded of the notoriety the videos have attained when I emailed the international editor of Octane Magazine in England to ask if he would like a copy of our documentary Carrera Panamericana (1950-54) for review. In spite of the eight hour time differential, I received an immediate reply asking if I was the Stephen Mitchell in the GTO videos on Mulholland (!!). A very enthusiastic exchange of emails ensued with Robert Coucher who drives his cars as hard as we do!

Like me, Peter is seldom far from a camera and continues to chronicle his adventures. Most recently, he flew to a gathering of B-25 Mitchell bombers from World War II. I don't mean to say that Peter took a commercial flight to the event. He flew back in a B-25 and had some great video footage to show our Wednesday gathering. He shot from various locations in the plane whilst airborne--the bombardier's station in the nose, the top gun turret and the rear gunner's seat. Very exciting footage! Two P-51 Mustangs were flying in close formation with the bomber and Peter had some very good close shots of the fighters. In the photo Peter can be seen wearing his B-25 crew jacket.

Peter is one of those irrepressible characters whose enthusiasm for cars, airplanes and adventure is highly contagious. We all find ourselves enjoying life just a little more in his company and I can't think of a higher compliment to offer anyone.

 

Elysée Wednesday tonight--"Madam, either you will need to cease knitting or I shall need to cease judging."

Look for us Wednesday evenings on the patio from 8 pm (or shortly thereafter) until about 11pm at Caffe Primo, 8590 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069. Underground parking on Alta Loma just east of the Cafe and south of Sunset or on the street.

No need to RSVP; just join us if you can.

 

Love these crew T-shirts!
Carrera Panamericana

 

Can anyone name the car, the driver and the year?

 

1961 Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta, chassis #2735GT by Sir Sterling Moss.


That's my guess but I'm not sure.



EDIT: Was on my phone and didn't see the pic large enough I know that my answer is not correct. Very curious now!


http://www.leadenhalluk.com/files/19...207%20Side.jpg

 

[QUOTE=TTM0TION;1327884]1961 Ferrari 250 SWB Berlinetta, chassis #2735GT by Sir Sterling Moss.


That's my guess but I'm not sure.



EDIT: Was on my phone and didn't see the pic large enough I know that my answer is not correct. Very curious now!


At least you cited a car that is on everyone's mind!

 

"Research" tells me that's a Gordini T24S that was entered in the 1953 Carrera Panamericana and driven by Jean Behra.

 

I love this thread. Its like a fine wine; it gets better with age...

 

I have been listening to live bands for as long as I can remember. When I was little more than 16 years-old, my father began taking me into Los Angeles jazz clubs in the sort of neighborhoods where food stands offered hot link sandwiches and sweet potato pie. In other parts of town, we regularly saw Carmelo Garcia, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente and Poncho Sanchez. At the Chez Club in West Hollywood, we listened to Buddy Rich as he recorded his album Live at the Chez. I was in Las Vegas to watch Frank Sinatra sing backed by Count Basie with arrangements by Quincy Jones.

Later, when Matthew Ettiinger's night club--The Plush Bunny--became my second home, I was privileged to watch some of the best L.A. bands of the time performing live. Most memorable for me was El Chicano playing their current hit Viva Tirado. I was at The Troubadour when John Klemmer debuted his hit album Touch and was there to see Jennifer Warnes launch an album of her own. I attended numerous Chicago concerts including Saturday in the Park when they played with the Doobie Brothers and at Anaheim when they played with the Beach Boys and I thought the stadium was literally going to collapse. For a time, I hung out with people at Buddah-West (the West Coast office of Buddah records) shortly after Neil Bogart left to start Casablanca Records. Buddah's flagship act was Gladys Knight & The Pips and I learned a lot about music in that environment. Bobby Gaiters, who had played for the Giants and the 49ers in the NFL, was the A&R guy and I learned a lot from him about the music business.

Last Wednesday as we were leaving our Elysée Wednesday gathering on the Sunset Strip, a converted school bus pulled to the curb and a gypsy woman beckoned us onto the bus. Instinctively, I climbed aboard and the others in our group followed me. What we found in the back of the bus--known as the Mothership--was a three-member band called Interstellar Transmissions featuring Gavin McGowen (guitars), Nathan Wilson (drums) and William Jerome (keyboards). The 'gypsy woman' was Ishani Ishaya a captivating fire and dance performer. What we experienced on the bus made every other band experience seem like 'old school'.

On their Facebook page, the band states: "We compose this music with an intention to exalt, illuminate, uplift, and empower. It is the sound of us saluting all of the amazing and inspiring beings that we have been blessed and honored to know." I have read similar liner notes on albums where you knew for a certainty that the words were PR spin written by a label flack attempting to resonate a potential following. Such is not the case with Interstellar Transmissions for, upon watching and hearing them perform, one is immediately aware of their intent without ever having read their mission statement. It is what they do. It is what they are. They have managed to rise above all the definitions that could be applied to them.

Although we took photos and videos of the performance Wednesday night with our iPhones as the bus cruised the Sunset Strip, I determined to return with a 'real' camera and record their performance for a segment of Elysée Wednesday: Drive! So it was that the bus came to collect us in Venice where a few of us were having a picnic on the beach and enjoying the full moon. We cruised the streets of Venice as I filmed the performance enjoying every aspect of the experience. An hour and a half later, they returned us to the picnic still in progress at one-thirty in the morning.

Were I asked for my note, it would be: This transcends the experience of a band playing on a bus--it is an alternate universe of sensual, intellectual and spiritual pleasure...

This very special evening with Interstellar Transmissions will be presented as a segment of Elysée Wednesday: Drive! Episode 2. In the meantime, you might want to join them on Facebook.

 

Hello Stephen. I am very excited with your stories and if you can come to Mexico City I will introduce you to the most important people related to La Carrera Panamericana, Ferrari México and Hermanos Rodriguez experts.