Enlisting acclaimed L.A.-based Cambodian rock band Dengue Fever's vocalist Chhom Nimol, guitarist Zac Holtzman and bassist Zenon Williams to participate in a bicycle ride/lunch event Friday in Long Beach to spotlight the city's new Bike-Friendly Business District (BFBD) program was "a no-brainer," according to sustainability consultant April Economides.
Holtzman, Economides notes, was once a bike messenger in San Francisco, while Nimol hails from Long Beach's Cambodia Town and was discovered there by the other Dengue Fever band members. Williams is a bike enthusiast, while Economides, who was hired by the City of Long Beach to create the BFBD program, happens to be a big Dengue Fever fan.
"I saw they were coming to Long Beach to perform a free show Friday evening at Fingerprints, a famous record store in town, so I contacted the band," she says. "I asked if they would swing by the Cambodia Town neighborhood [also known as Little Phnom Penh] to check out the district’s new cargo bike and commuter bikes, and maybe do a low-key photo shoot to bring attention to Cambodia Town and the bikes."
Friday afternoon, then, Nimol, Holtzman and Williams met at the graffiti wall in back of Homeland Cultural Center at MacArthur Park, and took a whirl around the nabe before lunching at Cambodia Town’s popular Grand Paradise restaurant on Anaheim.
“Cambodia Town is a very fun business district to work with, because their leaders are down-to-earth and they understand why encouraging customers to commute via bicycle is good for local business," says Economides. "I didn’t have to educate them on this, because after all, bikes have been part of the Cambodian culture for many decades.”
Nimol, Holtzman and Williams had fun checking out Cambodia town's new commuter bikes and cargo tricycle. Their visit did indeed bring attention to Cambodia Town and what Holtzman calls the “unadulterated fun of bicycling.”
“I wish we had no cars, just bicycles, horses, and electric emergency vehicles," Holtzman adds. "That would be my perfect world! When you’re riding a bike, sometimes getting there is even more fun than the party or whatever else it is you’re headed to.”
Recalling his experience biking for a small messenger company in San Francisco, Holtzman notes: "It is hard work, and I'd eat two dinners every night! Doing 50 miles a day, I'd come home and eat dinner, and later in the night I'd get hungry and eat another. But it was fun and a good workout and I was in great shape--but it gets hard when it rains three weeks in a row and you're shuffling through 12 pairs of wet shoes!"
When the band was approached to participate in the BFBD ride, Holtzman said yes immediately.
"I'm always down for 'two wheels good, four wheels bad,' and love cargo bikes!" he says. "I even built one once--a recumbent cargo bike out of aluminum--and still have it. Pretty cool! Then go on a little tour of Long Beach and get something to eat!"
As Long Beach has the biggest population of Cambodians in the U.S., Dengue Fever--which also includes Holtzman's brother Ethan on keyboards, drummer Paul Smith and horn player David Ralicke--explored Cambodia Town's entertainment scene in searching for a vocalist when the Holtzman's decided to form a Cambodian rock band in 2001.
"We drove down there and went to the clubs for a couple weeks and did a few auditions, but never really got a feel for everything down there," says Holtzman. "But you know when you're in Cambodia Town because everything's in Khmer [Cambodian language] font. We went to a bunch of nightclubs and restaurants and found Nimol at Dragon House."
The band's 2005 album was entitled Escape From Dragon House, and featured a radiant Nimol on the cover.
“I’m so happy to be here today, because Long Beach was my hometown for 10 years,” native Cambodian Nimol, who moved to L.A. four months ago, said at the bike ride.
Cambodia Town is one of four BFBDs in Long Beach, which encourage merchants and their customers to choose bikes, not cars, for short trips. The districts each have cargo and commuter bikes for merchant deliveries and errands, and offer bicyclists discounts every Saturday through the new Bike Saturdays program, as well as free bike repairs, bike valets at events, and other benefits.
Economides explains that Cambodia Town's new bikes--one large cargo tricycle with a big box in front for carrying cargo and two regular bikes with baskets attached in front--are available free for all merchants to use on a first-come, first-served basis.
"They're scattered around the small business district and stored at the businesses which use them the most," she says. "If another business wants to use them, they go there and sign up on a sign-up sheet."
Incidentally, the cover of Dengue Fever's 2008 album Venus On Earth pictured Holtzman and Nimol on a moped. The band also imported a Cambodian cyclo pedicab, and used to hire a friend to ride her around on the dance floor and deliver her to the stage during shows.
"It cost us $40 to buy one in Cambodia, but a couple hundred dollars to get one here on a pallet, covered with shipping grease to prevent rust," says Holtzman.
Dengue Fever's latest album is Cannibal Courtship (Fantasy). They performed in New York last month at Lincoln Center Out of Doors.
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