Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/751464
18 nDecember 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS by Felicia Morgan COPPEROPOLIS, CALIF., OCT. 27—The Sierra Nevada foothills have been the backdrop for many a wild and romantic tale as far back as there has been recorded lore. Rich with history lent by forefathers like Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain), Black Bart, John Sutter, Levis Strauss and several other Gold Rush-era notables who trod the trails between the Gold Rush encampments of the 1800s, it's quickly discovered that the area is a perfect place for the creative and curious mind. Toss in a bunch of great, oak-lined back roads and a little bit of vampy blues and the next thing you know you have the mak- ings of a bad-ass biker fl ick. Or at least that's the way it came together for one such notable modern-day character. Charlie Brechtel has been liv- ing and riding the foothills above Sacramento, California, for the better part of his adult life. After moving to California at the age of 19, Charlie made a name for himself as a well- rounded musician who sings the blues while travelling as far away as Russia to share his tunes. Hailing from New Orleans, where his grandmother ran the local brothel and his dad was a notable outlaw, the 59-year-old came hard- wired with a natural feel for what the blues are all about and audiences tend to relate to the message as well as the lilt of his original music. How he came to write a screenplay is a continuation of a theme. "You know, it's really just a story about my life, if you look at it. It kinda wrote itself, actually," Charlie says. "I've been working on it for about a year and a half, we've been shooting since June, and it's a collection of peo- ple I've met and respect and they're just playing themselves, really. All I did was bring them all together so we've got great people from both worlds. In the motorcycling world there's guys like Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo, the fi rst Freedom Fighter inducted into the Sturgis Hall of Fame and Dave Zien, the former Wisconsin state senator and million-mile rider. Those guys are big-time in motorcycling history. And look, there's Woody from the Buffalo Chip, Berry Wardlaw from Accurate Engineering in Louisiana and Nicky Bootz and guys like Kim Petersen from Easyriders and Michael Lichter but there's the other part of my life, too. There's Charlie Musselwhite, the famous harmonica blues player, and Deacon Jones and Guitar Mac. I mean, these guys are icons in the blues world and they came out to be in the movie so it's pretty cool that the motorcycle world is meeting the blues world. It's pretty simple, just like me, ya know?" In actuality, it isn't simple at all. What Charlie has managed to do in Rebel on the Highway is meld the best of two worlds that rest at polar oppo- site ends. "I've never been a part of that Blues Society scene, even though I've been asked to play at some of the festivals and stuff, but I'm about motor- cycles and I've just always been in that circle." So imagine Brechtel's delight when he called Charlie Musselwhite up to ask if he'd like to play in the jam scene and be part of the soundtrack and Charlie said yes. Brechtel has shared the stage with a wide range of talented, and famous, musicians and delights in telling stories about hanging out with Greg Allman and John Lee Hooker but he had never met harps player Charlie Musselwhite. It took just one call for Musselwhite to sign on. Once he saw the commitment, See "Rebel," page 36, column 1 REBEL ON THE HIGHWAY Makings of a cult classic Filming in the foothills Bean're starts the race between good and evil Freedom Fighter Tony "Pan" Sanfelipo plays God, "The Boss," in the movie Long-time friend Pam Hill plays Mama T, a voodoo queen who counsels Charlie Dennis SanFilippo hangs out with "Rickshaw girl" during the fi lming at the Dam Ranch in NorCal