Who doesn’t like a tattoo convention at a casino? Well, if you don’t you are probably a communist… Anyway, Kent and I decided to kick off the TAM West Coast road trip (look for more on this later) by going to the Konocti Vista Casino to the first tattoo convention in Lakeport, CA. (more…)
My weekend started with Damon Conklin’s solo gallery show down in Grants Pass at Gogué Art on Friday night. I had to miss the first day of the Eugene convention, but I was committed to the gallery show, and had been working on support products for it for months… (more…)
This post will be much like the Fresno convention, short and sweet! The Fresno convention is one of those rare two-day shows that has all the talent and pageantry of a three-day convention, without the Friday blues that many of us are accustomed to. There are very few shows where you don’t hear at least one person say, “Friday was slow… I’ll kill it on Saturday.” So Fresno just cuts out the Friday complaints and gets right to it on Saturday… [Video on expanded page](more…)
Baltimore single-handedly wiped me out… Well, actually, one night with Hunter Spanks wiped me out! And how about those Orioles, huh? Anybody? No… okay.
I love the Baltimore Tattoo Convention because I get to spend three days with Hunter. Except, that particular weekend we crammed three days into one night! So off we go… (more…)
I feel like riding a really fast horse to get some chicken so I’m going to Louisville. Actually I am going to a convention, but there was always time for chicken! (more…)
Reno, the land of dreams… Oh, wait, that ain’t Reno. I meant, Reno, the land of toothless hookers. Wait, that’s just rude. Reno: It’s warm here and that’s pretty cool.
I boarded the trolley to Circus-Circus after briefly witnessing and elderly chain-smoking woman yell at pretty much everything. The two men sharing this trolley ride with me spoke to each other loudly about tattoos and rumors of a convention this weekend. I finally give in to their attempt to talk to me about tattoos and confirm the rumors. (more…)
Musink was three days of skating, rock ‘n roll and hanging with some old peeps, while meeting some new ones… Oh, I guess some people got tattooed as well? Above is a video compilation we put together from some of the activities at Musink. However, it’s hard to cram a whole show into a three minute video clip, so we have added some pics and another short video below… Enjoy! (more…)
The Motor City Tattoo Expo holds a special place in my heart. This convention (four years ago) was the very first convention I worked for Tattoo Artist Magazine. I had no clue what I was doing! Crash mostly abandoned me that first year, like a newborn gazelle, I was thrown to the “tat con” wolves and had to get on my feet and start running. But I guess there’s no better way to figure out how to survive than sink or swim… (more…)
I land in Salt Lake City and holy crap there are mountains here! Mountains! I get to the hotel and discover that I have a flipping Sleep Number bed in my room! I know what I am doing later. Will I be a 48 or a 92? I’m stoked. Focus! I have a convention to set up for. I head down to the convention center to set up. CJ and the entire staff that put on the convention did an amazing job. Everyone was super friendly and this was by far the most space I have ever had in a booth. (more…)
Ok, so this blog was supposed to be posted over a week ago, but I could not muster the strength or energy to get it done. It seemed that I somehow got brushed by the black finger of death while in Milan, with the worst illness I have faced to this day. I have no clue what this Italian funk was that I caught, but I do not wish that shit on my worst enemy… Well ok, maybe they too should be struck with it one day… (more…)
Here I am again, doing the airport shuffle. Those old familiar feelings of anxiety and excitement brew as I get ready for my first international trip of the year. I hate airports, flying, leaving my family and home, but I love new places and people so I deal… (more…)
After a week-long stay in Austin, Texas (ATX) following the Star of Texas Convention, I jumped in a cargo van and drove out to the West Texas Tattoo Convention in San Angelo.
It happened as soon as I landed in Austin, Texas. Not the Star of Texas Tattoo Art Revival- that would start the following day… however it didn’t take long to see some friendly faces, deep in the heart of Texas.
I was posted up in baggage claim, doing my normal multi-tasking: texting, listening to music, checking e-mails, playing Words With Friends (you know) the usual mindless activities while I waited for the baggage gods to release my personals. (more…)
To continue with my list of highlights from the SF show… It’s always a treat seeing Thom deVita and, as usual, finding him in the hotel lobby every morning by 7a.m. (He and I are commonly the only people stirring at this hour). Sitting with Thom and listening to a few of his stories each morning was a real treat.
The first morning I asked him what he was doing…”Are you people-watching?”
“Lady-watching,” he said, with a wry grin.
DeVita "Lady Watching" in the morning
DeVita also sold some of his art (which we will soon be featuring on the TAM site) and he did several tattoos on some devoted tattooers over the weekend. (It was the first time I’d seen him wear gloves!)
This has long been one of my favorite conventions each year and 2010 was better than ever. A million ‘Thanks’ to Horitaka and crew for doing such a fine job organizing and promoting the STATE OF GRACEshow (as usual) and for taking such good care of TAM and all the attending artists/vendors.
On Sunday evening, following the power outage at our hotel (more on that later) and early-ending to the convention, my partner Kent Smith, friend Hunter Spanks and I all shared my usual sushi and sake (cold, unfiltered) celebratory dinner at the very fine Barracuda Japanese Restaurant.
State of Grace Dinner of Champions
During the meal we each discussed our favorite aspects of the weekend. It was an interesting exercise and this blog entry is the result. I hope it proves entertaining to readers. (more…)
Who doesn’t like a tattoo convention at a casino? Well, if you don’t you are probably a communist… Anyway, Kent and I decided to kick off the TAM West Coast road trip (look for more on this later) by going to the Konocti Vista Casino to the first tattoo convention in Lakeport, CA. (more…)
By Nicki Kasper
By John
By John
By Kent
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