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2002 marked another year that Explicit Concepts hosted their show, Toppin' It All, with one major change. EC decided to host the show to give everyone an alternative to the "other" show that was being thrown in Texas that same weekend. There was lots of controversy surrounding this, all the way down to the day before the show was to actually happen. Even with all the last minute drama and headache, EC threw one hell of a show and party. I decided to hook up with my friends from Kontradictions in Little Rock to make the journey down to Texas for TIAO. I left on Thursday and was promptly greeted by my old buddies from Kontradictions. Mark invited all the new members that I hadn't had the chance to meet over and we ate pizza and talked trucks well into the late hours of the night. With a decent drive ahead of us in the morning, we all turned in for some rest. Friday morning, everyone met at the McDonalds in Little Rock to get on the road to Dallas. After a quick breakfast, everyone loaded up in their rides and we took off down the freeway for the trek to Texas. Along the way we picked up Jimmy and Melody from Severed Ties and continued on our way to Dallas. After taking some rather interesting backroads (thanks Cootie!) we finally made it to our destination and got settled in at our hotels. After arriving at the hotel, Steven and Big Gay Matt came by to greet me. We hung out, talked for a while and Matt kept trying to play with my butt. Sorry dude, I don't swing that way! Friday night, I met up with a friend that I've talked to for a lot time now in SSM chat, Courtney (aka Badgirl). We went had dinner and she showed me around to some of the finer points in Dallas. I was beat from the long day of driving so we went back to my hotel and chilled for a little while and I turned in, antcipating the show the next day.
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Saturday morning meant rise and shine and time for the weekend to begin. After a quick shower , Courtney and I went over to the show which had been moved from its original location (Texas Motor Speedway) to the North Texas University. Upon arriving I noticed two things right away: how terribly HOT Dallas is in July and how the parking lot was filled with phat rides! I pulled my camera out of the bag and quickly began to walk the show grounds, meeting and greeting people as I took me stroll. Right away I saw rides from many of the hard hitting clubs in the country including Severed Ties, Kontradictions, Lower Level and Pleasures. I ran into friends Jeremy and Scott near the ST camp, and talked for a few minutes catching up on things. After snapping a few quick photos I kept walking to check out what else the show had to offer. The day was nice, the sun was hot and the rides were even hotter. Each row in the show field had something to offer, whether it be minitruck, compact car or fullsize. I caught up with all the EC boys around the stage area. Shey was on the mic MC'ing, Carl was drinking beer, Steven, Jimmy and Jokr were pimping hoes and Big Gay Matt was pimping guys. Haha. After snapping as many photos as I could without feeling like I was going to die from heat exhaustion, I went back to the Kontradictions camp to chill under the tent. Chris from Kontradictions-Texas and his crew invited me to step away for a short break from the show, which I gladly accepted! We found some nice shade and relaxed. Haha. Thanks guys! EC had a gang of contests lined up for the crowd, but the one that everyone anticipated was the late night wet t-shirt contest Saturday night. Several young ladies were on stage while EC members gladly poured cold water on their bodies, much to the delight of the spectators. When it was all said and done, one lucky lady went home with a handful of cash in her hand. Sunday morning I met up Chris and his Kontradictions-Texas crew. We went out and snapped a few feature photos of his van, then went over to Waffle House to grab a bite to eat before heading back over to the show. Jamel and I had the pleasure of cruising the van, and enjoying the hot sun with the windows down and the ragtop open. We enjoyed our favorite refreshments along the way as well (thanks Jamel!) When we arrived at the show, everyone was already back and a dragfest had insued in the parking lot. Everyone was doing their best to lay it out and gain the crowd's respect. Jimmy from ST-Arkansas even pulled a few three wheels in his air cylindered Frontier. Continued.......
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