The two life-size Elvis bronzes will be a spin-off of sorts from his recent commissioning by Graceland/Elvis Presley Enterprises in cooperation with Bruce Rossmeyer and Harley-Davidson. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of Elvis's passing, 30 "Softail" reproductions of Elvis's '57 Panhead were made. Twenty-nine of them were sold through a lottery-type drawing and were accompanied by a Decker bronze and David Uhl print. These bikes were delivered at Graceland on the 15th of August, and the final bike, No. 30, is currently planned to be auctioned on Elvis's birthday, January 8.
After eating, we headed back to the studio, then took off to pick up the Decker kids from school and had an evening with the family. The next day I got the Springville tour. Kelly (Jeff's unbelievably wonderful wife) hooked us up with massages, and we finished off the day taking care of some running around that needed doing. We also found out that we were leaving for Brooklyn for the Grease Monkey Mayhem Block Party followed by the Hard ck/Legacy/Buckcherry event in Manhattan (yes, Kelly arranged that also). The flight left the next morning, so by the time we got back from an unplanned and great week with our friends at Indian Larry Legacy, I needed to get on the road and head south and east. We took part in a filming of the hillclimber piece at the house, and then it was time to head back to the studio to get my bike loaded for the ride home. Before leaving the studio, we took a walkthrough, and Jeff filled me in on some of the goodies that lie within.
HBB: Where are we right now, the shipping area?
Jeff Decker: Yeah, we're at the shipping area, when you get to the photographs you've taken of the Elvis Presleys; they're the 1:10 scale Elvis Presley. We did 30 of them; they accompany a motorcycle [a Harley-Davidson limited-edition reproduction of his 1957 FLH model] with a print, and they were licensed through Elvis Presley Enterprises, through Graceland. So all these Harley sculptures went out. That was a mass deal; they promoted it ... I've just got to keep up with the shipping.
HBB: This is a big area ... what else is going on down here?
JD: Downstairs you're gonna see the shitty area ... that's where I do my wax shaping and stuff like that. Noteworthy of this room would be an original Dave Mann painting. I'm sure you've got a picture of it. It's signed to Ed Roth, which makes it even more important to me. Ed Roth is a bigger hero than Dave Mann, you know. Because Dave Mann was primarily a motorcycle guy and Ed Roth a car guy, I picked this thing up at a car auction, so it was kind of like the wrong crowd to be selling it to.
HBB: The panoramic shots are pretty bitchin' too ...
JD: Yeah, early panoramas; they were great because the clubs-the early, early clubs, which were riding clubs, you know-it wasn't about a "gangster" thing or, you know, a "tough guy" thing. It was really more about men who enjoyed riding motorcycles together.
HBB: This one looks like it's from the early '20s ...
JD: 1919-a lot of them are real early ... that's a particularly nice one [pointing to the shot next to the one I was looking at], because it's not a panoramic as much as it is a race photo of 1925. You can see the Excelsior racers, Indian eight-valves ... that's a killer. Also, another Ed Roth, posters, this and that.
A little soapbox racer. The bike was Dan Haybe's KRTT [750]. That's an original factory Harley racer, 1968 KRTT. It won the Daytona 200 ... both '68 and '69 on a bike like that, and this is a poster that commemorates that event. Of course, it was Cal Rayborn who won that on the No. 25 bike; this is the No. 22 bike.
HBB: This room looks like the "pieces and parts" room ...
JD: Yeah, you can see some metal and junk in here. This is basically stuff from raw casting that's been halfway welded together.
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