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Being a working musician can tend to lead one down a path of being a "workaholic," which I have been labeled as more than once - especially by those close to me! No matter what you do for a living, getting away from it and finding inspiration elsewhere can be very healthy - especially for the creative aspect of what you do.

Well, I have been pretty busy lately, but I finally took a little of my own advice and found some inspiration - behind the wheel.

As some of you may know, I have a passion for automobiles, especially ones that go fast! I can easily compare the instantaneous response of drumming and making music to a fast, responsive car.

Over the years, I've had a Porsche 911 SC, a C4 Vette, a 1969 Vette and a 1969 GTO clone. My present day car is certainly no slouch - an ‘01 Audi S4 Avant (that’s a fancy German word for ‘station wagon’). Anyway, it’s a great car, functioning in both utility and sports car-like abilities, propelled by a twin turbo, 300+ horsepower engine with a six-speed. It’s a total sleeper, and rare to boot. There were only around 1,600 brought into the U.S. that year. No real modifications - just a chip.

In an effort to be "practical," I have decided that I want the Audi to last a few more years. I want it to continue to be the everyday car.

So, it was time to look for the impractical car! This brings me to my latest ‘fun’ project.

A little history...

My fastest and most loved muscle car was a four-speed ’69 Vette, mechanically built by my friend and very-able mechanic John Stevenson in Chatsworth, CA (he’s a pretty good drummer too!). When John was finished with it, the small block 350 engine produced over 400 HP at the crank with the A/C on, and sounded like a NASCAR going down the street!

It was a blast, but became very impractical when my daughter, Claire, came along (no back seat!), so the Vette was sold. I had vowed to never buy a real 'project’ again (which the Vette was!) meaning something that had to be restored or that needed a lot of work. I really wanted to get, say, a real ’69 GTO, Firebird, Camaro, Mustang or something like that, but investors have pushed the prices of the nicer cars out-of-site.

Besides that, cars with original high- performance motors of that day are not really drivable on 91 octane gas (best we can get in CA - unless you search out racing gas). So, that brought me to rethinking the situation and considering something relatively late-model.

I wanted something that would go fast and handle well while being relatively comfortable and drivable for everyday use. It would have to offer A/C (gotta have it in the SoCal heat!) and also have the classic rumble of a V8. I started looking at the possibilities of early to mid -'90s cars, but didn’t want another Vette, (still no back seat!) which only left two viable American V8 muscle options: a Mustang or a Camaro (I don’t like the look of the Firebirds).

I went down the Mustang lane first, looking at the fox bodies (mid 80’s through '93). Stock cars, even Cobras were nothing special. They just weren’t quick enough (!) I started seeing a lot of 347 stroked motor cars out there, some with blowers (super chargers). I drove one with over 500 horsepower at the rear wheels - definitely the fastest car I’ve ever driven - but a bit much for the street, (at least for me). The biggest problem was that I didn’t fit in the car, nor did I fit in any later-model Mustangs, except the brand new one, which is nice, but I didn’t want to spend new car dollars + modifications to make it faster. I think Ford must have had really tall people with long arms and legs designing the interiors of the Mustang’s before ‘05! The steering wheel was too close for me, pedals and stick-shift too far away.

That brought me to the Camaro. I guess I’ll always be a GM guy. I saw some specially modified cars, but one on eBay in particular struck my fancy. It was modified right out of the factory in ‘96 by John Lingenfelter, who sadly passed in recent years in a racing accident. His company however, still modifies Vettes and Firebirds, and any lingering Camaros (they unfortunately went out of production in 2003). This particular car was a 1996 Z28, dark green (another sleeper looking car) with the 383 Lingenfelter package. The totally modified engine produces 440 HP, 430 lbs of torque, and includes a six-speed Hirst, Borla exhaust and numerous suspension modifications. With only 66k miles, the car looked great and, in my gut, I knew this was the one!

It also seemed to be fairly rare, as there was only one other Lingenfelter car for sale I could find, and I looked everywhere! Anyway, I tracked down the owner of this green one and we made a deal.

Only one problem: the car was in Kentucky on consignment at a dealer!

The fun part...

So, my wife (she likes cars too!) and I decided to be totally spontaneous and booked a flight out there the next day, over the Labor Day weekend, to look at the car. It all worked out and we drove the car back to L.A. over the next couple of days, having a great time together along the way. It's pretty cool having a loving and supportive wife who puts up with this kind of indulgence - I mean "therapy"...:>)

The car performed spectacularly, and got us there in one piece - with no tickets - and with a very big smile on our faces.

And that's really what it's all about - working hard AND playing hard. Every time I start it, it reminds me that this is something I love to do. It sounds amazing!

After a hard day's work, I may be out there prowling the streets of L.A. If you HEAR me coming up up behind you in the left lane...well...you'll want to kindly move over.

Click images to enlarge.

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