Hot Rod Kings

David Perry

David Perry has been burning film since he was 10 years old. Born in Denver, Colorado, and raised in Southern California, he studied photography at Art Center College of Design. A professional photographer since 1986, Mr. Perry has had his work published, collected, and exhibited across the United States and, indeed, worldwide. Current and past examples can be seen at www.davidperrystudio.com. His commercial clients include Corvette, Toyota, Polaris, Apple Computer, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Mr. Perry’s other books include Hot Rod (Chronicle Books, 1997) and Bordertown (Chronicle Books, 1998), both with writer Barry Gifford, as well as Hot Rod Pin-ups (Motorbooks, 2005) and Billy F Gibbons, Rock + Roll Gearhead (MBI, 2005), the latter with Mr. Gibbons and Tom “TV” Vickers. Mr. Perry currently resides in Vallejo, California, and has one son, August. In 1999 he helped resurrect the Swanx car club (est. 1956).

Kevin Thomson

            Born in Binghamton, New York, and raised on eastern Long Island, Kevin Thomson migrated to Austin, Texas, to attend the University of Texas theater program. Punk rock and skateboard culture rendered university irrelevant and Mr. Thomson embarked on a zigzagging musical career. To date he has released seven LPs, two EPs, and several singles under the monikers Nice Strong Arm, Timco, Morning Champ, Touched By A Janitor, and most recently, Enablers.

            Between long rides in smelly tour vans, Mr. Thomson kept alive a small flame for his love of writing and fast cars. In 1994, punk rock gadfly and Gearhead magazine publisher Mike LaVella offered him a regular column entitled “Bobo Tech” and Mr. Thomson began to pick up the pen and paper with regularity. Since then he has also contributed to Garage and Rust magazines, and has written essays for the Motorbooks titles Hot Rod: The Photography of Peter Vincent and Mr. Perry’s Hot Rod Pin-ups. This book is Mr. Thomson’s first for Motorbooks.