In the Pipeline: A resurrected Hells Angel

Just last week, the band Rusty created once he got out of prison, Attika 7, released its debut album, "Blood of My Enemies." The loft at Illusion Motorsports is the band's headquarters, where they practice, hang out and even play occasional shows for fans.

You may have already heard some of the band's music featured in the popular TV show "Sons of Anarchy."

Now, they're heading out on tour, in yet another improbable chapter in the life of Rusty Coones.

"I'm making the most of this second chance I have," he said. "Freedom, with honor, is worth more than anything, and I'm now running my life as honorably as I can.

"Hard work is what I live by now. Here in my shop, in my marriage and in my music. And any friends or family with drug issues, I try to help them. But I've learned that the key is, people have to want help before you can really get anything done."

Katherine told me that just before Rusty got arrested, they had started their bike business, and that she had to keep everything alive while he was in.

But at first, she could not even visit him in prison because they were not married yet. So they found a biker minister who performed the service over the phone — with Rusty on a prison pay phone — with permission from the judge.

She also said she knew he was worth waiting and fighting for, and that when she looked up at the sun and the moon and pictured him under those same bodies in the sky, it gave her hope.

She abstained from doing many things she liked doing until Rusty was free so they could enjoy them together, and today she's a very active partner at the shop.

"I was truly in love," she said, "and I still am. I glow when I am with him."

Katherine and her "cement-covered marshmallow" work hard as a couple to run their business. Rusty, also a former general contractor, actually built the loft his band plays in, and he's proud of how handy he is.

"I love to create things," he said. "This space for the band, and especially motorcycles. I look at every bike as a canvas."

Before I left the shop, Rusty stressed again, "If you're going to be free, you've got to be legit."

And for all he puts into his marriage, the shop and his music, he may just dedicate the most energy to that: being legit.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 19 books, including the new "Baseball in Orange County" from Arcadia Publishing. You can chat with him on Twitter @chrisepting or follow his column at http://www.facebook.com/hbindependent.