Rock star, bike builder, Xavier Muriel throws in to help CHaD

LACONIA — Xavier Muriel, retired rock star, is best known for what he can do with a pair of drumsticks in his hands. He discovered music at age 12, he said, but drumming was always his second love. His first passion came when he was just 5 years old.

Muriel, who grew up in Texas, said he still remembers the day. He saw his father pull up in front of his house pulling a trailer. On the trailer was a big motorcycle for his dad, a small motorcycle for his big brother, and, even smaller, a Honda MR50 for little Xavier.

“We were a motorcycling family. We went motocross racing around the country,” Muriel said.

For most of the past two decades, though, Muriel was criss-crossing the country in another capacity, as drummer for the rock band Buckcherry. It was a grueling schedule, spending 10 months of every year on the road and living in what he called a “rock and roll circus.”

But he never left motorcycling. In fact, during the little time off he had each year, he would haunt motorcycle shops owned by friends or he would be in his own garage, teaching himself how to weld or hone another skill.

Then, a few years ago, he saw a post on a friend’s social media page. It showed someone on a motorcycle, with a quote, “never get so busy creating a life that you forget to live one.” The next tour with Buckcherry was Muriel’s last. He moved back to Texas and started building bikes.

“I just dove head-first into it,” Muriel said. He was asked to enter a bike show put on by the magazine Cycle Shop, and he had to come up with a name for his shop. So he picked “Providence Cycle Worx,” inspired by some literature that he said is important to him.

His bike placed in the show, and he got invited to another custom bike expo.

One thing led to another, and Muriel’s creation won the 2019 Easyriders Magazine Bike of the Year honor.

He feels very new to the scene, and doesn’t like being called a “bike builder.”

“I still am a little uncomfortable with that title,” he said. “I don’t consider myself to be one of those guys. I consider myself blessed to go from one art form… to another art form that is just as satisfying.”

In a short amount of time, Muriel gained status in the motorcycle community to match that of his rock and roll career. So when the Laconia Roadhouse, managed by Rich Roy and Bri Heney of Faro Italian Grille, was looking for a notable person to lead last year’s ride to benefit Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, Muriel’s name came up.

That Muriel led last year’s CHaD ride symbolizes how his life has changed. He had been to Laconia Motorcycle Week, and other rallies, before, but only as part of Buckcherry. They would roll into town, play for all the bikers, then get back on the bus for the next gig. Last year was the first time he actually got to ride, and he loves the curves, crests and views of central and northern New Hampshire.

His participation in the fundraising ride also shows how his outlook on life has evolved.

“I’m all about giving back. To whatever degree, whatever charity, I’m all about it,” Muriel said. “I’ve done it both ways, don’t give and don’t get, or give and get.”

He said he was happy to lend his time to ride last year. “I signed some autographs, I took some pictures, I met Bri and Rich and we had a really good time.” The ride, combined with a raffle for an Indian motorcycle, as well as other efforts, raised $30,000 for the fund to help support families of children who need treatment at the hospital.

At Daytona Bike Week in March, Heney and Roy met with Muriel to talk about this year’s CHaD ride. “They said, do you have any ideas how to get this bigger and better?” That’s how he ended up providing one of his custom-built motorcycles for the raffle. The bike is on display at Faro Italian Grille, and tickets for the one-of-a-kind, rock-star-built motorcycle, are offered for $25 each.

Muriel will again lead the CHaD Ride on Saturday, which leaves the Laconia Roadhouse at 10 a.m. and returns at 1 p.m. Sometime after the ride returns, the winning ticket will be drawn.

The motorcycle is a rider, one that looks cool and unique but is also meant to be on the road, not just displayed.

“It’s just black and chrome and cool, brand-new motor, new belt drive, all of it (new), and built by me,” Muriel said. He said he gave equal attention to the bike’s form as well as its function. “I like things to look cool,” he said. “A guy likes to ride into an event and have people go, ‘Ooh!,’ ‘Ah!’” Yet, he added, “It’s totally rideable. Any guy who’s a serious rider won’t have a hard time with it.”

The motorcycle he provided was one he happened to already be working on when he met with Heney and Roy in Daytona – there wasn’t enough time for him to start a ground-up build. But if the raffle goes well this year, he’ll do just that for next year’s effort.

“At the end of the day, I’m more concerned with getting as much for the foundation as possible. That’s what I’m concerned with,” he said.

Muriel’s dad, the guy who bought him his first motorcycle, received a double lung transplant, and later died of cancer, he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals. I’ve watched miracles happen, and I’ve watched things that people shouldn’t have to go through, especially children.” He said he’s honored to join the Faro team to help ease the burden of families who are experiencing a medical crisis.

“I’m looking forward to it, and, yeah, let’s make a lot of money for CHaD.”