Unedited King’s X Interview 2/96:
[Special thanks to Lynda of Velvet Hammer for retyping this interview after the file accidentily got deleted!]

Part One: Ty Tabor:

FIRST OFF, I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES. WHAT DO YOU DO WITH MOTOCROSS? HOW SERIOUS ARE YOU AND WHAT’S YOUR INVOLVEMENT LIKE?

“Well, I love motocross. It’s definitely the one thing outside of music that’s...well, truthfully, over the last few years, it’s been even more important to me than music. I know that sounds funny. But it used to be I couldn’t wait to get home from school just so I could race. I take it pretty seriously. I’m kind of too old to be in any real competition or whatever. Even though I’m in my mid-thirties, I still race as a young, up and coming kid. My last race, in the class I raced in, everybody was like from 18 to 22 years old. I was probably expected to be in last, and out of nearly 20 riders, I ended up 4th.”

WHAT CLASS ARE YOU IN?

“I raced in the 125. I did race 250 for a while, and I jump around from class to class, from different, like beginner classes, to open classes with novices. I’ve raced several different types of classes. So, right now, I’m not really stuck in any one class. I just sort of see how I’m feeling on a certain week. I just pick the class and go for it. I train for it and race when I can, as long as I’ve got a lot of time off around it, where I have time to recuperate if I have an accident, which happened this year. I had a pretty bad accident. I broke my foot in four places, and was unable to walk very well for nearly six months. I’m just now getting up and around pretty good on my foot, and it’s been 8 months. So I haven’t been able to ride, and it’s been driving me crazy. As a matter of fact, I’m supposed to have some new boots coming in today, and I was gonna be trying to get on the bike again this week.”

WOW, YOU MAKE ME JEALOUS. I USED TO LIVE IN THE MOJAVE DESERT, AND I USED TO RIDE EVERY DAY. I NEVER RACED. I JUST RODE MY OWN TRACKS OUT IN THE DESERT, BUT I DID IT EVERY DAY.

“I love it, too. My favorite thing is getting air.”

YEAH, THAT IS SO FUN. I WANTED TO JUMP MY ENTIRE SENIOR CLASS.

“That sounds like a good one.”

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD YEARBOOK PHOTO OP.

“I’ve jumped some cars. We had this big field out by my house. The neighbors, we just stuck like two cars and a truck out in the field and two of us jumped ‘em. We had a little wooden ramp.”

WHAT IS YOUR EQUIPMENT? WHAT KIND OF BIKE DO YOU RIDE?

“Right now, I’m riding KX bikes. Isn’t that appropriate -- King’s X? It really doesn’t have anything to do with that. I just really like Kawasaki suspension, and the older I get, the more important the suspension is. So I’ve been riding KX’s. I was riding CR’s before, Hondas, and they’re just so ridiculously powerful that I was crashing too much.”

WHAT SORT OF TIES DOES THE MUSIC HAVE WITH THE MOTOCROSS, LIKE DOUG MENTIONED THAT WHEN SOME OF THE BIG RACERS COME TO TOWN, THEY GIVE YOU TICKETS?

“It’s like, I don’t know how to equate it. I guess all I can say is that when King’s X goes out on the road sometimes, we have like.....sometimes there are a lot of fans out there who seem really excited to hang with us after the shows and stuff. I’ve always been the type of person that, when I’m in that situation, I hate to bother anybody. But I’m such a huge fan of motocross that I’m just like other people are to us when motocross is around. I wait in line and go up to meet the guys. I’m just like a total obnoxious fan. The guys that I’m with -- the guys on my race team were just laughing at me the first supercross we went to. They were like, ‘Look at this guy. He’s acting just like everybody acts to him.’ And they couldn’t get over it. But man, I love motocross. But I’ve been lucky enough to make friends with a couple riders, so whenever I get a chance to go to an outdoor national event or a supercross, we can usually get tickets or passes and get to hang out with the guys.”

HAVE YOU EVER MET JEFF WARD OR HURRICANE BOB?

“I’ve never actually spoken with them. I’ve been in the same room with them. I’ve met all the killer riders of the day: Jeff Henmick, Jeremy McGrath, Mike ----, to whoever.”

I’M OUT OF TOUCH WITH TODAY’S RIDERS.

“Rick Johnson was my favorite all time rider in history. To me, he was like Bob Hannah is to a lot of riders. Well, right now, there’s a guy who is undisputedly the absolute best supercross rider in the history of the sport.”

WOW. HE’S GOT LIKE THE MOST POINTS AND STUFF?

“Well, he’s broken every record that there is to break. He’s won more races than anybody ever has in supercross. His first three years in supercross, starting with his rookie year, he’s won the championship, so he’s won three in a row, and he’s on his way to winning his fourth. He’s broken all of Rick Johnson’s records. It’s just completely ridiculous. This guy is insanely awesome. I got to meet him last time he came through. But one of my favorite riders is a guy named Mike ----. To me, he’s the greatest outdoor rider in the world. He was the outdoor national champion last year. Mike is the one I really pull for. He’s the one I’ve become friends with, and he’s usually who I call when there’s a race. He’s a great rider, just one of the best I’ve ever seen. I usually pull for him.”

WE COULD TALK ABOUT THIS FOREVER, BUT I’LL MOVE ON HERE. I UNDERSTAND YOU’RE DOING SOMETHING ELSE, LIKE WITH COMPUTERS, NOWADAYS. FILL ME IN ON THAT.