FAQ

While smart phones were a relatively new commodity when the show started, Kurt Sutter explains in the commentary, that by keeping them using simple flip phones, it helps keep the show from feeling dated. Also, because they're criminals, they use "burner" phones. Cheap, disposable phones that have a limited amount of talking minutes on them. Once the minutes are used up, you simply toss the phone away. These are popular amongst criminals because they are nearly impossible to tap or trace.

Because once a gun is used, it would be discarded to avoid the user being caught with it. It's also possible the buyers re-sell the guns in their territories for a higher price.

John Teller (#1) started the club with his best friend Piermont 'Piney' Winston (#2).

The third person to join the club was Lenny 'The Pimp' Janowitz (#3).

Next was Keith McGee (#4), the Irish member of the club, who then went on to found the Belfast chapter of SoA.

The fifth member was Wally Grazer (#5). A man who was a drifter and knew Redwood county well.

Thomas 'Uncle Tom' Whitney (#6) was brought in to the club by Wally.

Chico Villanueva (#7) was the first Hispanic member to join the club.

The final founding member to join the original charter was Otto 'Lil' Killer' Moran (#8).

Finally, the last member was Clarence 'Clay' Morrow (#9). He was the first member to be brought in to the club as a prospect, sponsored by Piney.

Most of the character's nicknames are never explained. So some entries will be going off fan speculation:

Jackson Teller a.k.a. "Jax" - Nickname is just the shortened version of his name.

Clarence Morrow a.k.a. "Clay" - Nickname is just the shortened version of his name.

Robert Munson a.k.a. "Bobby Elvis" - Nickname is the shortened version of his first name and also because he was an Elvis impersonator.

Filip Telford a.k.a. "Chibs" - He explains the term "chib" is Scottish for "street blade". Though other sources indicate that to chib someone, it means to slash or stab someone. All explanations are fitting, due to the "Glasgow smile" scars he has on his face. He also keeps a pair of knives holsters under his arms.

Alexander Trager a.k.a. "Tig" - The name is never explained, but he is also often called "Tigger" or "Tiggy" which may be a reference to the lovable, hyperactive Tiger from Winnie the Pooh. Alternatively, it's possible it's play on his last name. Finally, it's possible. Due to him being a mechanic, he may specialise in tig welding.

Juan-Carlos Ortiz a.k.a. "Juice" - It's possible, due to him being the tech wiz/hacker of the group, his name is slang for electricity or perhaps information. Like when someone says "give me the juicy details". Next it may again be a play on his first name. Juan-Carlos>Ju-os>Juice. Lastly, Theo Rossi stated that in the original, unaired pilot, his character was significantly different. The character was constantly doing speed and chugging energy drinks. So The nickname referred to his always being "juiced up". However, the character was heavily altered for the re-shot pilot, yet the nickname stuck.

Harold Winston a.k.a. "Opie" - his name is a reference to the character played by Ron Howard on the Andy Griffith show. Perhaps he looked like him as a kid.

Piermont Winston a.k.a. "Piney" - Nickname is likely two-pronged. One, due to his towering height, he could be jokingly referred to as taller than a Georgia Pine tree (which grow over 100 feet tall). Secondly, the term "higher than a Georgia Pine" is used to describe someone who is extremely drunk. Given Piney is seen almost constantly drinking, this is fitting.

Writer and creator Kurt Sutter has stated time and time again that the Pilot episode was partially structured after Hamlet. The reason being that it was easy to pitch to the network to give them a rough idea of what the plotline would be. However, Sutter has said the only real elements of Hamlet are that John Teller (the king) was murdered by his Vice President (Clay Morrow) and best friend (brother), and took the throne and the queen (Gemma) for himself, while becoming a father figure to Jax (the prince/Hamlet). Aside from those parallels, the show has little to no similarities to Hamlet. More recently, Sutter said "The Hamlet archetypes will definitely influence the show, and I've talked about that quite a bit, but the show itself is not directly based on that narrative. But I think some of the archetypes are there, some of the relationships are there, and as the seasons progress you will see some parallels in terms of story and character arcs (as they) continue to play out. There is that awareness."

SAMCRO is an acronym for Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Originals. Sam Crow is the personification of that acronym. It's how the club refers to themselves. Over time, the locals began calling them Sam Crow as well. In fact most of the members live in a part of Charming called "Sam Crow's Corner".

Redwood Original refers to the Redwood Country, where they cruised the Northern California coast from Eureka to Big Sur -- Once they decided to settle in Charming CA, after Gemma became Pregnant with Jax, Charming was too cute for John Teller, so he named it the Redwood Originals instead.

As of season 5, it was finally revealed that if you're physically incapable of riding a motorcycle, you are forced to step down from any leadership position you might have and you will lose your privilege of voting in club business. Piney mentioned at one point that he rode his minimum simply to keep his voting privileges and he was shown to only be able to ride a three-wheeler yet was still allowed to vote. So it's likely if you can't ride due to age, health or injuries; you can keep your patch and stay in the club. You simply wouldn't attend chapel and would probably fill an advisory position instead.

In Series 4, the term RICO is often used when discussing the jeopardy in which the club is found.

This refers to "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act" a US federal law that allows additional and often extensive penalties for crime perpetrated by "criminal organization". It was in part enacted to beat the Mafia. The RICO statute allows leaders of a criminal organization to be held accountable for crimes done by the organization over which they have authority or influence. It can also be used to limit convicted felons from participating in organizations such as those identified as potentially "criminal".

Racketeering is using a group of people to run complex criminal activities, like gun-running, protection, etc.

Harley Davidson Dyna-Glide (Super Glide Sport)

Jax carries a KA-BAR United States knife usually issued to the USMC but also issued to the US Army and US Navy. The knife's name is commonly pronounced as "K-Bar".

It's possible it belonged to his father.

Air Force One by Nike