Hailing from the upstate New York town of Binghamton (sharing his hometown with the likes of Rod Serling and David Sedaris), Michael j “geese” graphix, was known to friends and family simply as Michael. After graduating from Buffalo State College with two degrees he never actually used, graphix was bitten by the rock ‘n’ roll bug. He embarked on twenty-five year career with various musical artists (Bad Company, Guns N’ Roses, Hiroshima, Barry Manilow, Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Ted Nugent and Ratt amongst others), where he picked up the sobriquet, “Dr geese.” When he wasn’t touring, he was riding Kawasaki sportbikes everywhere he could in North America and the United Kingdom. Retiring from the demands of constant touring, this ‘road dog’ found his way to the JCCSF with the opening of the new facility in 2004.
A few years down the road, he met Claudia Lomeli, a teacher in the HYC department at the JCCSF, and fell in love with her and her son Lucca. Claudia and Michael will be married on 14 September 2014.
In 2004 I visited the Isle of Man, a Mecca for motorbike enthusiasts. Thrill-seeking motorcyclists venture to this island in the Irish Sea every summer for the same reason the gentlemen of 1907 did: the Tourist Trophy, more commonly known as the Isle of Man TT motorbike races. I could...