In celebration of our recent collaboration with COG Magazine, we held an urban bike photo show at Chrome Chicago last week. Starting off the night, we had a projector set up in back to play a collection of COG's ventures throughout the years.

COG also brought several large-scale prints to hang throughout the shop, one of which will remain on display for a while (CMWC 2011, anyone?). 

It was a full house all-night, packed with old friends of Chrome and COG alike. We went through 7 kegs between 8PM and 11! Probably the largest crowd to date! Local bicycle hero, Nico Deportago-Cabrera, has his band Young Distractions play too, & they killed it! Let's do this again real soon.

Also, check out some photos sent over by Peter from COG:

 

Photo by Peter DiAntoni

Photo by Peter DiAntoni

Photo by Peter DiAntoni

Photo by Peter DiAntoni

Check out the COG Magazine + Chrome All City shoe here >>

For this month's Third Thursdays, in celebration of our recent collaboration with COG Magazine, we're throwing a photo show at Chrome Chicago. Select photos that have helped define the urban bicycle scene will be exhibited. One Night Only!

Chrome Chicago / 1529 N. Milwaukee Ave.

8PM - Midnight / No Cover + All Ages (21+ for beer)

Live Music & Bar (w/ID) (Hosted by 312 Goose Island)

RSVP Here.

 

To celebrate our recent collaboration with COG Magazine, its masterminds — Kevin Sparrow & Peter DiAntoni — talk about what COG is all about, as curated by John "Prolly" Watson.

Check out the brand new Cog Southside here.

 

Kevin and Peter, you two are the face of COG Magazine. Tell us a little about the other parties involved with the magazine and what each of your roles are. Also, what are your other "jobs"?

Peter:  COG has become an all consuming lifestyle project for me along with my wife and daughter. The headquarters is based out of our home in Riverwest, so there's no escaping it. As far as roles go, you could say "all of the above, whatever it takes." Other jobs that pay the bills include freelance design and photography, and on-call messengering when needed.

Kevin: To pinpoint a specific roll is hard to do because every day is different. I have my hands on a lot of different things in the creation of the magazine. COG is more of a collaboration of minds that all work together to come up with solid content. I am also a part time messenger and a full time graphic design student at UW-Milwaukee.

 In many ways, COG was one of the first grassroots publications that focused and followed the track bike and fixed gear movement. Before that, what kind of scenes were you involved with and how does that background influence your perceptions of the now worldwide, urban cycling community?

Peter:  I grew up skateboarding and was heavily influenced by early '80s punk rock and new wave. I used to steal Skateboarder and Action Now magazines out of my middle school library. My bedroom walls were covered with magazine photos. The Duane Peters interview in the December 1980 issue of Action Now, the discovery of the zine “Skate Fate” and my first visit to Surfin' Turf skatepark on Milwaukee's South Side were life-defining moments for me.

Kevin: I was an avid skateboarder who train hopped and hitch hiked across the states in my teens, and it was in San Francisco and Boston that I was introduced into the messenger scene. When I moved to Milwaukee I was hired as messenger at Breakaway and soon after found my true passion for bicycles. The messenger culture sparked my interest in traveling around the country for alleycat races, which led me to cyclocross and road racing as well. I attended my first messenger championship in Seattle in 2003. That really showed me how strong and tight knit the messenger culture was worldwide.

 I know both of you were going to shows growing up, do you see any connection with the punk rock and hardcore ideologies with the track bike and messenger community? I know this is kind of a cliché, but did you ever feel like the track bike of the 2000's was the skateboarding of the 90's?

Peter:  I would say more closely resembling the backyard ramp scene of the '80s. I can draw direct comparisons travelling to alleycat races to my days traveling as a skateboarder. Until recently, you knew pretty much everyone in your town who was riding a track bike on the streets, which was the same for skating in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Travelling to different cities and getting rad with like-minded souls hasn’t changed much, though nothing beats exploring a new city via bicycle. COG is a pure extension of this lifestyle.

Kevin: I definitely feel the messenger community is a lot like traveling punk bands. I played in a 2 piece punk band and traveled in a pickup truck along the east coast in the summer of 2002. I think both communities have this sort of unspoken fact that wherever you go, there’s this sense of family and friendship. There’s always going to be a couch you can crash on. The messenger culture has always amazed me in that way.

A lot of people say that the track bike is gateway drug to other forms of cycling and I couldn’t agree more. There is a certain appeal to riding a stripped down track bike but when it comes down to it its the thrill of riding fast and shredding the streets in the city that compares most to skateboarding in the 90’s.

You both still ride track bikes and fixed gears correct? Tell us about your rides. What lifestyle habits and demands influenced your bikes?

Peter:  My most recent bike was custom built through knowledge gained over the past few years traveling for COG, carrying 30 lbs of photo gear throughout the cities we've visited. It's a modified Milwaukee Bicycle Co. Orange One, S&S couplers, Gates Belt drive (no greasy chain in the travel case), custom raked Waterford fork to accommodate a custom Capricorn front rack which has carried up to 70 lbs no problem. We also have an Xtracycle my wife and I share, along with a pair of tandems and vintage Schwinn cruisers. My biggest love is a 1976 Schwinn Paramount track bike with chromed Nervex lugs which I ride locally.

Kevin: Ive had a lot on relationships with different bikes in the last 10 years. My stable used to consist of only pure velodrome track bikes. Over the years that has slowly changed to more street friendly rides like my Milwaukee Bruiser and GOrilla Kilroy. The ever evolving fixed freestyle frames unknowingly produced some of the best messenger bikes in my opinion. I worked as a frame painter for Vanilla bicycles in 2008 and saved up for a first year SS Speedvagen cross bike that I race and go for longer rides on. My newest bike is a Trek/Gary Fisher Presidio geared/SS CX. Its the best all-around bike and is the best for pulling my daughter in the trailer.

How did working with Chrome on a sneaker come about?

Peter: Chrome was one of the first companies to understand our passion. We’ve had a solid relationship since issue two back in 2008.  The sneaker collaboration came about during our visit to Chrome’s San Francisco HQ. Matt Sharkey pulled out some shoes which were in the final design phase and asked if we’d be down for a collaboration. It was a very exciting moment, mostly as this was a first for both Chrome and COG and the shoes are indeed badass.

It seems the world is filled with tons of new companies, all promising to support the scene. Do you find yourselves spending more time now than ever picking your supporters for advertising? 

Peter:  We don’t spend a whole lot of time sorting through targeting advertisers, maybe if we had a full-time ad/sales person things would be different. Believe it or not, we’ve been breaking even since the beginning, save for travel expenses. I mean, we could cut the quality and the size of the mag down and pocket the change, but that’s not what we’re doing this for. The advertisers supporting COG, and likewise have found each other without too much trouble.

 I've heard rumors that the next issues of COG will be largely shot on film. You've already experimented with various video formats this year (16mm, etc), is this a trend or do you feel like the return to analog technology and arts will become the norm in print? What drove you to work with more film?

Peter:  The rumors you've heard are true, we love working with film! We have a world-class Heidelberg drum (film) scanner which can turn the most basic point & shoot film camera into a 30+megapixel digital capture device. The quality is stunningly raw and pure. I always get a kick out of how people are endlessly trying to re-create "film look" effects in Photoshop. My background in photography and also printing and publishing goes way back to the earliest days of desktop publishing. It's in my blood, working with traditional methods, yet I do love and embrace today's technologies as well.

Kevin: I took a film class in college and that really was what got me into the 16mm and super 8 stuff. With all the HD video and fancy DSLRs it was a refreshing change to see cycling in this format. The results just cannot compare to digital. It is also about the process that really separates it from digital. When you are shooting 16mm or s8 you can feel the ticking of the shutter as you are filming and people often express how they love that sound. Peter really sold me on still film photography after showing me 2 images of the same subject. One photo was with his 5d MkII and the other shot on color negative film. I was blown away by the side by side comparison and quality difference.

Do you find that the numerous fixed gear blogs are harming your content? Or just making you work harder to find original content?

Peter:  In no way are the blogs harming our content, except when out-right stealing our images without credit, which has happened a bunch. I personally don't pay too much attention to the blogosphere.

Kevin: No way! It does sadden me though when blogs have some really great content and then it just gets pushed down the page and then gets lost in the sea of posts. Blogs are like commercials on TV and COG is like a full featured movie you keep on your shelf.

 If you could say anything to the community you represent, what would it be?

Peter:  Live simply and ride a bike, be dangerous and be happy.

Kevin:  Cycling will always lead you to good things and away from distractions. Ride every day and work hard at what you are passionate about.

And finally, what plans do you have for 2012? Any big events or projects you're stoked on?

Peter:  Just hope to keep living the dream...

Kevin: We’ve got some pretty interesting projects going on in 2012 but everyone will just have to wait and see.

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