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87-773: Notable members of the group include Kesey's best friend Ken Babbs , Carolyn "Mountain Girl" Garcia , Lee Quarnstrom , and Neal Cassady . Stewart Brand , Dorothy Fadiman , Paul Foster , George Walker, the Warlocks (later known as the Grateful Dead ), Del Close (then a lighting designer for the Grateful Dead), Wavy Gravy , Paul Krassner , and Kentucky Fab Five writers Ed McClanahan and Gurney Norman (who overlapped with Kesey and Babbs as creative writing graduate students at Stanford University ) were associated with

174-410: A Happening or series of theatrical performances eventually emerged into a movement. According to Babbs, a Happening is something that "can’t be planned ..It just happens! It takes place in public or private and involves everyone present. In Phoenix in 1964, we painted "A Vote for Barry is a Vote for Fun" on the side of the bus and waved flags and played stars and stripes forever..this qualified as both

261-601: A Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship from 1958–59; having entered the NROTC program to fund his undergraduate studies, Babbs was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps following the end of his fellowship. He trained as a helicopter pilot and served in one of the first American advisory units in Vietnam from 1962-1963 prior to his discharge. Babbs had no understanding of

348-639: A hoax , intended to make fools of those outside the outlaw biker world, and also to serve the purpose of provoking outrage among conservative public and authorities. Frequently, additional patches may involve symbols, such as the use of the Iron Cross , Nazi swastikas , the Sig Rune insignia of the Schutzstaffel or the Totenkopf . These may not indicate Nazi sympathies , but serve to express

435-415: A 50th anniversary Furthur Bus Trip, offering donors a chance to ride Furthur . The fundraiser was successful, and the trip took place between June and September 2014. Over 100 participants were invited to ride on legs of the trip as a new batch of Merry Pranksters. The 2014 journey was over 15,000 miles, 53 different events, took place in 29 different states and was 75 days of Merry Prankster mayhem and fun on

522-606: A Hells Angels-affiliated club called the Death Riders) at a motorcycle shop in Montreal. This ongoing feud largely stemmed over territory and the narcotics trade in Quebec, while also being fueled further by long-standing rivalries, deep-seated hatred and animosities between major players in the Quebec criminal underworld at that time. To provide a general idea of the criminal underworld involvement, it's essential to recall that

609-438: A club or chapter. In order to meet the expenditures of running an outlaw motorcycle club, namely the renting, purchase or furnishing of a clubhouse, groups raise funds primarily through membership dues and club fines, the sale of various items to members, the brokerage of club shares, sponsoring parties and organizing motorcycle trips. Some clubs also maintain a fund for the legal defense of its members. Some "biker" clubs employ

696-596: A club studied was 34. There are black clubs, white clubs, and Mexican and other Spanish-speaking clubs. Bikers in American prisons, as prisoners generally do, band together along racial lines. It is claimed that racial discrimination within clubs has led to creation of rival clubs in the past, such as the Mongols Motorcycle Club after members were rejected by the local Hells Angels chapter. Some clubs or individual chapters are now multi-racial, but

783-425: A dominance myth of women by men and amplifying the deviance of the male club members. These myths about the women are: that they are subservient working-class women, used as objects for club sexual rites ; are hard-bitten, unattractive, and politically conservative; and that they are 'money makers' for the biker men and clubs, i.e., prostitutes, topless barmaids or strippers who are forced to hand over their money to

870-536: A large enough national impact to be prosecuted under the U.S. Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. The California Attorney General also lists the Mongols and the Vagos as outlaw motorcycle gangs. The FBI asserts that outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs) support themselves primarily through drug dealing, trafficking in stolen goods, and extortion , and that they fight over territory and

957-573: A larger one-percent club and are sometimes required to wear a "support patch" on their vests that shows their affiliation with the dominant regional club. Smaller clubs are often allowed to form with the permission of the dominant regional club. Clubs that resist have been forcibly disbanded by being told to hand over their colors on threat of aggression. In Australia and the United States, many MCs have established statewide MC coalitions. These coalitions are composed of MCs who have chapters in

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1044-602: A meeting of the leaders of various Hells Angels chapters and other California clubs in 1960 in which the various clubs parleyed over the mutual problem of police harassment. The clubs voted to ally under the patch. In 1963, the Outlaws became the first club east of the Mississippi River to begin wearing the "1%" emblem. Other patches may be worn by members, including phrases and symbols. The style or meaning of these other patches can vary between clubs. Some, such as

1131-404: A motorcycle club consists of a president , vice president , treasurer , secretary , road captain, and sergeant-at-arms (sometimes known as enforcer ). In some clubs, localized groups of a single, large MC are called charters or chapters , and the first chapter established for an MC is referred to as the mother chapter . The mother chapter serves as the ruling body of the club. Sometimes,

1218-410: A one-piece patch for nonconformist social clubs, two-piece patch for clubs paying dues , a three-piece patch for outlaw clubs or side patches. The three-piece patch consists of the club logo and the top and bottom patches, usually crescent shaped, which are referred to as rockers. The number and arrangement of patches is somewhat indicative of the nature of the club. Since many motorcycle clubs wear

1305-604: A piece of shrapnel penetrated his head. Throughout the 1990s, the province of Quebec witnessed violent confrontations between rivaling outlaw biker gangs with activities that ranged from homicides to bombings. Such violence and brutality was a decade-long conflict between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine, better known as the "1994 Biker Wars." The Quebec Biker Wars officially began on 13 July 1994, when three (3) masked-men shot and killed Pierre D'aoust (member of

1392-520: A prank and a Happening." The most famous happening of the Pranksters was the nationwide trip on the 1939 International Harvester school bus named Furthur . While on a trip to New York City , the Pranksters needed an automobile that could hold fourteen people and all of their filming and taping equipment. One of the members saw a "revamped school bus" in San Francisco that was for sale,

1479-408: A process whereby members must pass several stages such as "friend of the club", "hang-around", and "prospect", on their way to becoming full-patch (see explanation of 'patching' below) members. The actual stages and membership process can and often do vary widely from club to club. Often, an individual must pass a vote of the membership and swear some level of allegiance to the club. Some clubs have

1566-535: A prosecutor's request to seize ownership of the Mongols Motorcycle Club logo and name, saying the government had no right to the trademarks. Federal prosecutors had requested, as part of a larger criminal indictment, a court order giving the government ownership of the logo in order to prevent members from wearing the club's colors. Certain large one-percent MCs have rivalries between each other and will fight over territory and other issues. Sometimes smaller clubs are forced into or willingly accept supportive roles for

1653-497: A skull and crossbones patch, or the motto "Respect Few, Fear None", are worn in some clubs by members who commit murder or other acts of violence on behalf of the club. There are also wings or biker's wings , which are earned similarly to jump wings or pilot's wings , but with various color-coded meanings, e.g. in some clubs, it is said that a member who has had sex with a woman with venereal disease can wear green wings . It has also been suggested that these definitions are

1740-426: A unique club patch (cut or top rocker) adorned with the term MC that are worn on the rider's vest, known as a kutte . In these clubs, some amount of hazing may occur during the early stages (i.e., hang-around, prospecting) ranging from the mandatory performance of menial labor tasks for full patch members to sophomoric pranks, and, in rare cases with some outlaw motorcycle clubs, acts of violence. During this time,

1827-439: Is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers , and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom , nonconformity to mainstream culture, and loyalty to the biker group. In the United States, such motorcycle clubs (MCs) are considered "outlaw" not necessarily because they engage in criminal activity, but because they are not sanctioned by

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1914-409: Is frequently cited as evidence that these clubs do not deserve their negative media image. Outlaw clubs have been accused of using charity rides to mask their criminal nature . The American Motorcyclist Association has frequently complained of the bad publicity for motorcycling in general caused by outlaw clubs, and they have said that the presence of outlaw clubs at charity events has actually harmed

2001-554: The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and do not adhere to the AMA's rules. Instead, the clubs have their own set of bylaws reflecting the outlaw biker culture. The U.S. Department of Justice defines "outlaw motorcycle gangs" (OMG) as "organizations whose members use their motorcycle clubs as conduits for criminal enterprises". While organizations may vary, the typical internal organization of

2088-783: The Bandidos , the Blue Angels, the Hells Angels and the Outlaws as criminal motorcycle gangs. Outlaw motorcycle clubs first began to appear in Ontario and Quebec in the early 1950s. In 1978, the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada launched Project Focus, an investigation into motorcycle gangs. By 2002, there were 26 motorcycle gangs operating in Canada, the largest and most powerful of which being

2175-544: The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on November 22, 1997, with Jane's Addiction , Funky Tekno Tribe , Goldie , and Res Fest rounding out the bill. The original Prankster bus is at Kesey's farm in Oregon. In November 2005, it was pulled out of the swamp by Zane Kesey and family and a group of the original Merry Pranksters with the intent of restoring it. The Smithsonian Institution sought to acquire

2262-497: The Hells Angels . Canadian biker gangs are involved in money laundering, intimidation, assault, attempted murder, murder, fraud, theft, counterfeiting, loan-sharking, extortion, prostitution, escort agencies, strip clubs, and the trafficking of illegal weapons, stolen goods, contraband, and illicit alcohol and cigarettes. Some of the other major biker organizations (aside from Hells Angels) that have operated in Canada, include

2349-579: The Ken Kesey Memorial sculpture designed by Peter Helzer. The bronze sculpture depicted a life-size Kesey reading to three children while seated on a curved granite bench covered with quotations from Kesey's novels One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) and Sometimes a Great Notion (1964). (Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker supplied the image.) Other benefactors for the project include Bob Weir , Paul Newman (who starred in

2436-672: The Port of Montreal , but also as the Hells Angels have sought to obtain control of the street level trade from other rival or independent gangs in various regions of Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Gazette, quoting from the Provincial Court of Manitoba , defines these groups as: "Any group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have voluntarily made a commitment to band together and abide by their organizations' rigorous rules enforced by violence, who engage in activities that bring them and their club into serious conflict with society and

2523-721: The Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco , the core group of 14 people who became the 'Merry Band of Pranksters' that drove across the country in 1964 were: Other on-again, off-again Pranksters (all of whom did not participate in the first cross-country journey, but may have the later trips) include, but are not limited to, the following: On June 17, 1964, Kesey and 13 Merry Pranksters boarded Furthur at Kesey's ranch in La Honda, California , and set off eastward. Kesey wanted to see what would happen when hallucinogenic -inspired spontaneity confronted what he saw as

2610-493: The Warlocks MC of Pennsylvania sued over their exclusion from a charity event. The primary visual identification of a member of an outlaw motorcycle club is the vest adorned with a large club-specific patch or patches predominantly located in the middle of the back. The patches will contain a club logo, the name of the club, and the letters MC, and a possible state, province, or other chapter identification. This garment and

2697-468: The illegal drug trade and collect $ 1 billion in illegal income annually. Motorcycle gangs frequently begin mutually beneficial partnerships with independent criminals, and maintain a large network of associates by doing so. Crimes are typically carried out by associates rather than "full patch" members in order to protect the club from implication by law enforcement. In 1985 a three-year, eleven-state FBI operation named Roughrider culminated in

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2784-414: The probative value of such items is far outweighed by their unfairly prejudicial effects on the defence. Some outlaw motorcycle clubs can be distinguished by a "1%" or "Diamond" shape patch worn on the colors. This is said to refer to a comment made in 1960 by William Berry, a former president of the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA), that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying

2871-463: The 1960s. Here, they are commonly referred to as "bikie gangs". At present, there exist an abundance of outlaw motorcycle clubs in Australia - many of which are homegrown clubs (founded within the country) and have since expanded overseas. However, a good amount of the country's groups are chapters of international one-percenter clubs which originated outside of Commonwealth of Australia such as

2958-466: The 1971 film adaptation of Sometimes a Great Notion ) and Michael Douglas (who produced the 1975 film version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest ). Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood directed a documentary film Magic Trip (2011) about the Merry Pranksters, which was released on August 5, 2011. In April 2014, Zane, along with friend Derek Stevens, announced a Kickstarter to fund

3045-623: The 1990s. In 1992, Belgium's Blue Angels club became the first international club in the country when they merged with the Blue Angels of Scotland. The Hells Angels opened its first Belgian chapter in Ghent in 1997. In 1999, the Outlaws formed its first chapter in Belgium through a "patch over" of an indigenous Outlaws club based in Mechelen . The Belgian Federal Police has designated

3132-548: The BBC's Dancing In the Street. Some Pranksters have released footage on their own, and a version of the film edited by Kesey is available through his son Zane's website. On August 14, 1997, Kesey appeared with the Merry Pranksters at a Phish concert during a performance of the song "Colonel Forbin's Ascent" from the album The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday (1987). Kesey and the Pranksters also helped stage The Enit Festival , held at

3219-631: The Hells Angels and the Mongols MC. The year 2007 saw an increase of the country's amount of OMCG chapters. According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission , there are (at least) 38 outlaw motorcycle gangs operating across the nation as of 2020. Outlaw biker clubs first began to appear in Belgium in the 1970s, and the Belgian biker scene continued to be dominated by small local clubs until

3306-785: The Hells Angels in Quebec at that time (i.e. 1994) were backed by Vito Rizzuto (of the Montreal Mafia), while the Rock Machine were affiliated with the criminal coalition known as the Alliance Against the Angels (otherwise known as the Dark Circle). The two central figures in the 1994 conflict were the leaders of the two warring gangs (Hells Angels and the Rock Machine): Maurice "Mom" Boucher (leader of Quebec's Hells Angels); and Salvatore Cazzetta (leader of

3393-401: The Hells Angels. After the Rock Machine emerged in 1986, they quickly became the number one rival of the Hells Angels, and a full-blown turf war between the two biker gangs erupted in the 1990s; unfortunately, claiming more than 150 individual lives, including two (2) prison guards and an innocent 11-year-old boy named Daniel Desrochers, who died several days after a planted car bomb exploded and

3480-653: The Merry Pranksters' bus, Furthur , to Mexico, which stranded the Merry Pranksters in Los Angeles. Babbs currently lives on his farm in Dexter , Oregon (near Kesey’s house) with his wife Eileen, a high school English teacher. In 1994, he helped Kesey co-write The Last Go Round , about the oldest and largest rodeos in America. In 2011, Babbs published Who Shot the Water Buffalo? , a coming of age novel about

3567-619: The Merry Pranksters, was a critical success. A subsequent novel, Sailor Song (1992), was not, with critics complaining it was too spacey for comprehension. In 1994, Kesey toured with the Pranksters, performing Twister: A Ritual Reality in Three Quarters Plus Overtime if Necessary , a play he wrote in 1989 about the millennium, influenced by L. Frank Baum 's Wizard of Oz works. The Merry Pranksters filmed and audiotaped much of what they did on their bus trips. Some of this material has surfaced in documentaries, including

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3654-752: The Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (1966), and in Allen Ginsberg 's poem about the Kesey/Angels relationship, titled "First Party at Ken Kesey's with Hell's Angels" (December 1965). In 1969, Furthur and the Pranksters (minus Kesey) attended the Woodstock rock festival. In the same year, they attended the Texas Pop Festival at Lewisville, Texas . Kesey's Demon Box ( 1986 ), a collection of short pieces, several about

3741-492: The Pranksters and their promotion of LSD. However, Babbs makes it clear that "just because we used LSD does not mean we were promoting its use. (LSD) is a dangerous drug...[It’s] a way, I guess, of breaking down the conformist ideology." During the legendary Prankster cross-country bus trip to the New York World's fair in 1964, a movie was filmed during the process. The film shot on a camera and 16 mm color film

3828-646: The Pranksters bought the bus and named it Furthur . Babbs was the engineer for the bus. Ken Babbs is mostly credited for the sound systems he created for the Trips Festival, a 1966 three day music festival held in San Francisco. Prior to Babbs’ creation, it was discovered that particular music usually sounded distorted when cranked to high levels because of the concrete floor in the San Francisco Longshoreman’s Union Hall (where

3915-518: The Rock Machine). The extreme levels of violence, assassinations, bombings, arson attacks, fly-by-fire attacks eventually led to the creation and passing of both Bill C-95 in 1997 and Bill C-24 in 2001 – setting forth harsher punishments and penalties for members of gangs and organized crime groups. Over the next several weeks, the violence reached a peak. In one week in September 1995, there

4002-884: The Sixties (2007) that those accompanying Kesey on the trip were Neal Cassady (described by Stone as "the world's greatest driver, who could roll a joint while backing a 1937 Packard onto the lip of the Grand Canyon "), Ken Babbs ("fresh from the Nam , full of radio nomenclature, and with a command voice that put cops to flight"), Jane Burton ("a pregnant young philosophy professor who declined no challenges"), George Walker, Sandy Lehmann-Haupt (dis-MOUNT), Mike Hagen (Mal Function), Ron Bevirt (Hassler), Chuck Kesey, Dale Kesey, John Babbs, Steve Lambrecht and Paula Sundstren (aka Gretchin Fetchin, Slime Queen). Zane Kesey and Simon Babbs edited

4089-402: The Trips Festival was taking place). Babbs being a sound engineer resolved the problem. He made sound amplifiers that would not create distorted sounds when turned up to high sound levels. The purpose for this Happening was to link the psychedelic tribes from the west and the east. Many people tend to remember the east tribe because of Timothy Leary and LSD. Many misjudgments have been made on

4176-584: The Vietnam war. Based on his early writing and his life in the armed forces during the first years of the Vietnam War, it took him 45 years to finish writing the book. In January 2022 Tsunami Books of Eugene, Oregon published Babbs' recently completed memoir "Cronies." Outlaw motorcycle gang An outlaw motorcycle club , known colloquially as a biker club or bikie club (in Australia),

4263-465: The banality and conformity of American society. Ken Babbs has suggested that the bus trip reversed the historic American westward movement. The trip's original purpose was to celebrate the publication of Kesey's novel Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) and to visit the 1964 World's Fair in New York City. The Pranksters were enthusiastic users of marijuana , amphetamines , and LSD , and in

4350-675: The bus Furthur . Ken Babbs was born January 14, 1936, and raised in Mentor, Ohio . He attended the Case Institute of Technology where he briefly studied engineering for two years on a basketball scholarship, before transferring to Miami University , from which he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English literature in 1958. He then attended the Stanford University graduate creative writing program on

4437-679: The bus, which is no longer operable, but Kesey refused, and attempted, unsuccessfully, to prank the Smithsonian by passing off a phony bus. Kesey died of complications due to liver cancer in November 2001. On December 10, 2003, Ken Babbs hosted a memorial to Kesey with String Cheese Incident and various other old and new Pranksters. It was held at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon . The proceeds helped to raise money for

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4524-401: The club's patches. Hang-arounds or support clubs wear support patches with the club's colors. A member must closely guard their colors for allowing one's colors to fall into the hands of an outsider is an act of disgrace and may result in loss of membership in a club, or some other punishment. The colors worn by members of some motorcycle clubs will sometimes follow a convention of using either

4611-413: The club. A 1990 paper noted the changing role of women within outlaw motorcycle clubs, and a 2000 paper stated that they now have agency and political savvy, reframing the narratives of their lives. "We did it. We showed them we are real women dealing with real men. I'd much prefer to be living with an OMC member than some dork who is a pawn in the system", said one woman who felt she and her peers had "set

4698-528: The denigration of women, maintaining a macho image, and the heavy use of drugs and alcohol. Many non-outlaw motorcycle clubs adopt similar insignia, colors, organizational structures, and trappings to outlaw clubs, making it difficult for outsiders (including police ) to tell the groups apart. Much of the mystique and many of the unwritten rules, values, and ideals of non-outlaw clubs are believed to come from outlaw clubs. Outlaw clubs are often prominent at charity events, such as toy runs. Charitable giving

4785-415: The entire club. This appears to make these groups extremely gender segregated. This has not always been the case, as during the 1950s and 1960s, some Hells Angels chapters had female members. Academic research has criticized the methodology of such previous studies as being "vague and hazy", and lacking in participant demography. Such reports may have made clear statements and authoritative analyses about

4872-529: The fall of 1958, Babbs took a writing class at Stanford University with another Wilson Fellow, Ken Kesey. Babbs later described meeting Kesey as "a moment of mirth and sadness, highness and lowliness, interchanging of ideas and musical moments." They became friends, maintained a correspondence while Babbs was stationed in the Far East with the Marines, and eventually formed the Merry Pranksters. What started as

4959-565: The following: The late 1970s and early 1980s were considered to be the "golden age" in Western Canada for independent outlaw motorcycle clubs. Outlaw motorcycle clubs first appeared in the Canadian province of Quebec during the early 1950s. By the year 1968, the province was home to at least 350 of such groups – with most of, if not all, being "home-grown" – rather than having origins outside of Canada (or even Quebec). Some of

5046-412: The gang. These clubs are referred to as support clubs, satellite clubs or puppet clubs. They act as auxiliary groups, providing support to the larger club by propelling their influence further, acting as sources of recruitment and various other ways in return for protection and to bolster their reputations. Support clubs can also be used to help the principal club facilitate criminal activities. Although

5133-612: The group to varying degrees. These events are also documented by one of the original pranksters, Lee Quarnstrom, in his memoir, When I Was a Dynamiter . In an interview on BBC World Service in August 2014, Ken Babbs suggested that the name "The Merry Pranksters" was his idea: Kesey and George Walker and I were out wandering around and the rest of the gang were sitting around a fire in Kesey's house in La Honda, and when we came back it

5220-519: The hierarchical orders and bonds of "amoral familism" of other criminal organizations such as the Mafia. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent William Queen , who infiltrated the Mongols , wrote that what makes a group like them different from the Mafia is that crime and violence are not used as expedients in pursuit of profit, but that the priorities are reversed. Mayhem and lawlessness are inherent in living "The Life" and

5307-442: The impact the war had on him until he received his orders to go to Vietnam. Babbs later stated that he "had no perceptions of the right or wrong of the situation before I went to Vietnam, but it took about six weeks to realize we were wasting our time there... being humble, respect[ing] local customs, learn[ing] the language and helping does more good than hurting." While serving in Vietnam he began writing about his experience. In

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5394-569: The largest OMG bust in history, with the confiscation of $ 2 million worth of illegal drugs, as well as an illegal arsenal of weapons, ranging from Uzi submachine guns to antitank weapons. In October 2008, the FBI announced the end of a six-month undercover operation by agents into the narcotics trafficking by the Mongols Motorcycle Club. The bust went down with 160 search warrants and 110 arrest warrants Canada, especially, has in

5481-455: The last one percent were outlaws. The alleged AMA comment, supposedly in reference to the Hollister riot of 1947, is denied by the AMA, who claim to have no record of such a statement to the press and that the story is a misquote. Whether the original quote is true or not, the "1%" patch is worn only by clubs characterized by criminality. Outlaw clubs began wearing the "1%" patch after Hells Angels president Sonny Barger convened

5568-451: The late 20th century experienced a significant upsurge in crime involving outlaw motorcycle clubs, most notably in what has been dubbed the Quebec Biker War , which has involved more than 150 murders (plus a young bystander killed by an exploding car bomb ), 84 bombings , and 130 cases of arson . The increased violence in Canada has been attributed to turf wars over the illegal drug trafficking business, specifically relating to access to

5655-503: The law". The Hells Angels sponsors charitable events for Toys for Tots in an attempt to legitimize themselves with public opinion. Contrary to other criminal organizations, OMGs operate on an individual basis instead of top-down, which is how supporters can claim that only some members are committing crimes. Belonging guarantees to each member the option of running criminal activity, using other members as support—the main characteristic of OMGs being "amoral individualism", in contrast to

5742-411: The money they obtain by illegal means is only wanted as a way to perpetuate that lifestyle. Recently, authorities have tried tactics aimed at undermining the gang identity and breaking up the membership. But in June 2011 the High Court of Australia overturned a law that outlawed crime-focused motorcycle clubs and required members to avoid contact with one another. In the U.S., a Federal judge rejected

5829-411: The most notable outlaw biker gangs at this time were Satan's Choice Motorcycle Club , Popeye Moto Club , Devil's Disciples Motorcycle Club (unrelated to the American group of the same name ), the Gitans, the Atomes, the Missiles MC, and of course, Hells Angels. The largest, most-feared chapter of Hells Angels was formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1977, when a biker gang called the Popeyes joined up

5916-484: The needy by driving down public participation and reducing donations. Events such as a 2005 shootout between rival outlaw clubs in the midst of a charity toy drive in California have raised fears about the participation of outlaw biker clubs in charity events. Authorities have attempted to ban outlaw clubs from charity events, or to restrict the wearing of colors at events in order to avert the sort of inter-club violence that has happened at previous charity runs. In 2002,

6003-406: The new member affirms his loyalty to the club and its members. The final logo patch is then awarded. Full members are often referred to as "full patch members" or "patchholders" and the step of attaining full membership can be referred to as "being patched". The majority of members of outlaw motorcycle clubs have no serious criminal record, and express their outlaw status on a social level, equating

6090-620: The number of "white supremacist biker clubs are growing nationwide", according to the ADL . Many members of outlaw motorcycle clubs engage in criminal activities and organized crime and "pose a serious domestic threat". Law enforcement agencies perceive such individuals and motorcycle clubs as being unique among criminal groups because they maintain websites and businesses, identify themselves through patches and tattoos, write and obey constitutions and bylaws, trademark their club names and logos, and even hold publicity campaigns aimed at improving their public image. The term "outlaw motorcycle gang"

6177-620: The outlaw biker's total rejection of social constraints, and desire for the shock value among those who fail to understand the biker way. Most outlaw motorcycle clubs do not allow women to become full-patch members. Rather, in some 1%er clubs, women have in the past been portrayed as submissive or victims to the men, treated as property, forced into prostitution or street-level drug trafficking, and often physically and sexually abused, their roles as being those of obedient followers and their status as objects. These women are claimed to pass over any pay they receive to their partners or sometimes to

6264-481: The outlaw motorcycle club subculture has a tendency to be associated with the United States, a large number of regional scenes have emerged transcontinentally within countless nations across the globe. Europol has reported that there has been steady growth in the membership of outlaw motorcycle clubs worldwide since the year 2005. Outlaw motorcycle clubs are reported to have first appeared in Australia during

6351-511: The patches themselves are referred to as the colors or cut (a term taken from the early practice of cutting the collars or sleeves from a denim or leather jacket). Many non-outlaw motorcycle riding clubs such as the Harley Owners Group also wear patches on the back of their vests, without including the letters MC . The club patches always remain property of the club itself, not the member, and only members are allowed to wear

6438-418: The president of the mother chapter serves as the president of the entire MC, and sets club policy on a variety of issues, whereas other clubs either elect or appoint a National President for this role. Larger motorcycle clubs often acquire real estate for use as a clubhouse or private compound . Clubhouses, which are often fortified and equipped with a sophisticated security system, serve as a meeting place for

6525-479: The process of their journey are said to have "turned on" many people by introducing them to these drugs. The psychedelically painted bus's stated destination — "furthur" — was the Merry Pranksters' goal: a destination that could be reached only through the expansion of one's own perception of reality. Novelist Robert Stone , who met the bus on its arrival in New York, wrote in his memoir Prime Green: Remembering

6612-422: The prospect may wear the club name on the back of their vest, but not the full logo, though this practice may vary from club to club. To become a full member, the prospect or probate must be voted on by the rest of the full club members. Successful admission usually requires more than a simple majority, and some clubs may reject a prospect or a probate for a single dissenting vote. A formal induction follows, in which

6699-648: The record straight". One woman in 2001 described the previous work done by men about women in the outlaw motorcycle club world by saying "the men that wrote that must be meatheads". They [women] are part of the scene because they want to be and enjoy it. These women have broken from society's stereotypically defined roles and find freedom with the biker world. High-profile outlaw bikers have historically been white and their clubs are typically exclusively racially homogeneous. Other sources state outright, that "With few exceptions, blacks are excluded from membership or riding with one-percenter biker clubs." The average age for

6786-470: The road. A group of filmmakers documented the journey, releasing a film titled Going Furthur . Ken Babbs Ken Babbs (born January 14, 1936) is a famous Merry Prankster who became one of the psychedelic leaders of the 1960s. He along with best friend and Prankster leader, Ken Kesey , wrote the book Last Go Round . Babbs is best known for his participation in the Acid Tests and on

6873-411: The role of women associated with outlaw motorcycle clubs, but few state how they have come to such conclusions; one admitting that, "[his] interviews with biker women were limited lest [his] intentions were misinterpreted" by their male companions and that such views of women are mythic and "sexist research" in itself, using deeply flawed methodologies and serve two highly political purposes of maintaining

6960-505: The state, and the occasional interested third party organization, and hold periodic meetings on neutral ground where representatives from each club meet in closed session to resolve disputes between clubs and discuss issues of common interest. Local coalitions or confederations of clubs have eliminated some of the inter-club rivalry and together they have acted to hire legal and PR representation. Larger outlaw motorcycle clubs will often establish localized smaller clubs that are subservient to

7047-488: The three-piece patch arrangement, this is not necessarily an indication that a club is an outlaw motorcycle club. Law enforcement agencies have confiscated colors and other club paraphernalia of these types of clubs when they raid a clubhouse or the home of a MC member, and they often display these items at press conferences. These items are then used at trial to support prosecution assertions that MC members perform criminal acts on behalf of their club. Courts have found that

7134-561: The video and audio clips made by the Pranksters on the trip to produce a DVD (1999) called simply The Acid Test , which is distributed by Key-z Productions. Kesey and the Pranksters also had a relationship with the outlaw motorcycle gang the Hells Angels , whom Kesey introduced to LSD. The details of their relationship are documented in Wolfe's above-mentioned book, in Hunter S. Thompson 's book, Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of

7221-468: The word "outlaw" with disregard for the law of groups like the American Motorcyclist Association , not the laws of government. Outlaw bikers view themselves as a fraternity of men who reject societal norms, and their sense of brotherhood is reflected in tattoos, the wearing of club " colors ", and earning ranks and titles within a club or chapter. However, there is also a subculture of outlaw biker activity which revolves around performing outrageous acts,

7308-508: Was an assassination in a parking lot; bombings at a strip club, a bar and the mansion of an organized crime figure; arson attacks on a pawn shop, tanning salon and a used-car lot; and a friendly-fire incident where bikers accidentally killed three members of their own club. The Hells Angels (or "H-A" as they're often referred to) were, and continue to be, one of the more prominent biker gangs still in existence today in Quebec and other regions of Canada – having at least 34 different chapters across

7395-483: Was coined by the journalist Hunter S. Thompson in 1966 and was subsequently adopted by federal and local law enforcement agencies in the United States and elsewhere. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have designated four MCs as "outlaw motorcycle gangs": the Hells Angels , the Pagans , the Outlaws , and the Bandidos , known as the "Big Four". These four have

7482-486: Was dark and Mike Hagen called out "Halt! Who goes there?" And just out of the blue I said, "'Tis I, the intrepid traveller, come to lead his merry band of pranksters across the nation, in the reverse order of the pioneers! And our motto will be 'the obliteration of the entire nation' ... not taken literally of course, we won't blow up their buildings, we'll blow their minds!" Although a great many friends and associates spent time with Kesey at his La Honda, California ranch in

7569-451: Was intended to be called The Merry Pranksters Search for a Kool Place . However in 1999, a 50-minute edit of the movie was released, and in 2002 another excerpt was distributed but not completed. The 2011 documentary film, Magic Trip featured much of the footage. The Acid Tests were inspired from when the Pranksters met the Grateful Dead . The Hog Farm collective was established through a chain of events beginning with Ken Babbs hijacking

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