The Rat Fink

A celebration of all things cool and "kustom"

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Cars and what people do IN them and TO them are a large part of Los Angeles' culture and history. Beyond the obvious sitting in traffic and creating the unique color of our sunsets via the refraction of light off the exhaust, there are those in L.A. who take cars and car culture far beyond that of mere transportation.

Mechanized Mayhem

Each weekend there seems to be some happening, race, event or other organization of mechanized mayhem going on in the basin. On the weekend of June 12, 2004, Canoga Park, California was host to the 5th annual Rat Fink Party and Kustom Kulture Extravaganza. The Rat Fink Party is a celebration of all things cool and "kustom" and features everything from cars to guitars.

As unlikely a hero as a rat may be, the mighty Rat Fink is a hero to those who know. The Rat Fink is, of course, an unlikely hero. Bright green, with giant teeth, often drooling, and sporting a pot belly, the hot rod icon was made famous by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and continues to symbolize what it means to be free to build crazy cars and kustoms, wacky bikes, lead sleds, trikes and the like. As unlikely a hero as a rat may be, the mighty Rat Fink is a hero to those who know.

The Rat Fink Party and Kustom Kulture Extravaganza was born of collaboration between legendary kustom car icon Ed "Big Daddy" Roth and one Moldy Marvin. In 1999 Moldy and Ed had started up www.ratfink.org. Moldy was also running a small art gallery in North Hollywood called Kulture Shoq. Moldy's original plan was to have a small get together in his 3,000 sq. ft. location with Ed as a special guest.

The more Ed and Moldy talked and schemed, the bigger the plans became. And pretty soon the pair had put together an event that took the Mooneyes "Rat Fink Reunion" one step further. As they drew up plans, the event grew from Moldy's studio to the parking lot, then into the even bigger parking lot across the street, which also featured a loading dock that could double as a stage.