INKED Magazine: Keith Underwood
Courtesy of Inked Magazine: Story by Charlie Connell. Photography by Sarah Lim
For centuries people have said that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, meaning that when people are left with nothing to do they turn to vice. When the phrase was coined in medieval England, no one imagined that tattooing could be the virtue in such a situation, but that is the case in the life of Keith Underwood. After the passing of his friend and mentor Mike “Rollo Banks” Malone, Underwood fell into a deep addiction and has come out of it realizing that he needs to stay busy to escape those demons. “The worst thing to happen to me was to have my friend die, get a bunch of money I didn’t earn, and develop a drug problem with no job and nothing to do,” Underwood explains. “The best thing is for me to stay busy.” (more…)
Sailor Jerry Day Twitter Rewteet Contest
Courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum Company: On June 12, 2012, we’re raising a glass to Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins to commemorate his passing in 1973. As the undisputed father of the old-school tattoo, he inked his iconic images on fellow sailors. He penned poetry, hosted radio programs, and sailed the high sea with the Navy. Jerry was a true legend who lived according to his own rules, convention be damned… (more…)
Sailor Jerry: Chris Trevino Hold Fast (VIDEO)
Courtesy of Salior Jerry: Chris Trevino is an expert in traditional Japanese tattooing who earned the nickname “Horimana” after studying for five years under the legendary master Horiyoshi III. His elaborate, full-body representations of Asian symbology remind us of the later works by Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins aka Horismoku. Trevino now runs Perfection Tattoo in Austin, TX which was founded by Bob Moreau in the late 70s… (more…)
Sailor Jerry Rum to Open Hotel Street Venue in London
Courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum Company: Sailor Jerry will open its very own London venue later this month bringing rum, clothing, music, film and the original art of tattoo master Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins to Soho. Opening on Thursday 19th April, Hotel Street at 120-125 Charing Cross Road is named after Honolulu’s infamous Hotel Street District where Collins’ made his name. A gallery and store by day, and gig and dive bar by night, Hotel Street will be an all-round good place for bad people – open Tuesday’s to Sunday’s from midday to midnight, serving up the best Sailor Jerry Spiced cocktails in town… (more…)
Sailor Jerry Airstream at MUSINK 2012
Story and Photos by Nate Igor Smith
As I write this I am currently on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City on my way home from shooting the Musink tattoo convention and music festival in Orange County, CA. I was out there working for Sailor Jerry and having some fun along the way. Sailor Jerry once again set up a trailer to tattoo bands, promote the brand and host some serious games of corn hole. Dan Smith was doing the tattoos all weekend and tattooed bands like New Found Glory, Bayside, Paramore, Against Me! and a bunch of others… (more…)
Subscribe Now: Win Initialed Sailor Jerry Acetate and More!
Subscribe, renew or add to your Tattoo Artist Magazine subscription now for a chance to win an original Sailor Jerry acetate (initialed), one extra year’s subscription to TAM and the Chris Treviño Book: Gods and Warriors.
Winner will be chosen March 1st, 2011.
(Contest is for tattooers only.)
Click here to sign up: http://www.tattooartistmagazine.com/payment [Picture of Sailor Jerry acetate on expanded page.]
Dave Gibson: Bird’s-Eye View of a Pig’s Ass in the Moonlight
By Dave Gibson
My uncle used to tell this story about when he was in the Navy… He and his small group of friends liked getting tattoos and talking about them. One shipmate in particular had an unusual tattoo, and he never wanted to talk about it. My uncle described it as a pig with a tree behind it, a bird in the tree and a moon in the sky. No matter how much coaxing, the sailor didn’t want to talk about it. Finally, one day he gave in and said, “Alright, you wanna know? It’s a ________________.”
Sailor Jerry’s Birthday To Be Commemorated With Free Tattoos
Courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum Company and Chicago Tattoo Company: An authentic birthday celebration will be held Saturday, January 14th to commemorate what would have been the 101st birthday of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, the father of American tattooing. To mark the occasion, Sailor Jerry Rum Co. will offer 101 complimentary tattoos featuring iconic Norman Collins designs at The Chicago Tattooing Company in Chicago…
Jack Rudy Presents: Artist’s Choice Show at Koolsville (Opening Party December 3rd)
Jack Rudy will be hosting his Artist’s Choice opening party on Saturday, Dec. 3rd at Koolsville. Please call the number on the flyer for more information. Some of the attending artists will be Don Ed Hardy, Bob Roberts, Mr.Cartoon, Jack Rudy, Aaron Bell, Filip and Titine Leu, Paul Booth, Von Franco, Keith Weesner and many many more… [Larger image on expanded page]
Mike Brown (RIP) Vice Magazine Art Talk (VIDEO)
Courtesy of Vice Magazine: Mike Brown is a tattoo artist who, if you know your history, always comes up when people talk about those who pioneered tattooing in the late 1970s. He worked at China Sea (formerly owned by Sailor Jerry), ground zero for traditional American tattoos, and at the birthplace for black grey penitentiary-style tattoos, Good Time Charlie’s Tattoo Land. His life has had some ups and downs over the years, and they’ve made him a little hard to track down if you’re looking to get a Mike Brown tattoo. But we had the chance to visit Honolulu in January and made sure to stop by the shop Mike works at to ask him about the old days. He still tattoos five days a week, and we’d wager that most people who see him have no idea about his pedigree. His portfolio alone is a history lesson in tattooing, with everything from the most beautiful Cholas, Pin-Ups, mean-ass biker skulls, and touristy sea turtle tats. Mike Brown still does it all, and does so with the most humble manner… (more…)
First Look Inside the New Amsterdam Tattoo Museum
A letter to Tattoo Artist Magazine from Dean Williams:
Tattoo Artist Mag…
Hey hey, it’s Dean Williams co-owner of Elm Street Tattoo with my long shadow-casting partner, Oliver Peck. On November 5th me, Oliver and couple of the guys from the shop went to Amsterdam for Hanky Panky’s grand-opening of the tattoo museum. I would say it exceeded my expectations, not to mention there’s… I believe a couple more buildings not yet open to the public. But what is open now is a couple of wings beautifully crafted with three floors with tattooing rooms upstairs that would accommodate any style of tattooing… (more…)
Sailor Jerry Rum at Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans
Courtesy of Dana Dynamite and Driven By Boredom: One of the cooler branding promotions that exists on Earth is Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum giving out free tattoos. Not little fake temporary tattoos with their logo on them, but actual real life tattoos given by a bearded man in a small air stream trailer. If you are not aware Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins was a bad-ass motherfucker who pretty much revolutionized tattooing. He was tattooing sailors in Hawaii for something like 40 years and designed thousands of flash tattoos that have been compiled into three tattoo flash books that pretty much every tattoo shop in the world owns… (more…)
Subscribe Now: Win Free Stuff
Subscribe, renew or add to your Tattoo Artist Magazine subscription now for a chance to win one extra year’s subscription to TAM, Chris Treviño Book: Gods and Warriors and an original Sailor Jerry sketch.
Winner will be chosen November 15th, 2011.
(Contest is for tattooers only.)
Click here to sign up: http://www.tattooartistmagazine.com/payment [Picture of Sailor Jerry sketch on expanded page.]
Sign Up Now for the TAM Blog Monthly Giveaway
Sign up to be entered into the FREE monthly TAM Blog giveaway!
Each month TAM will put together an awesome prize package for all the true tattoo fanatics out there!
September’s Prize: WIN a free Sailor Jerry book “Homeward Bound”, the Hori Smoku DVD documentary on the life and work of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, a TAM Blog t-shirt and a grip of assorted TAM stickers! Several runner-up sticker package prizes will be awarded each month too.
Signing up also grants you access to a FREE monthly video and entrance into our monthly prize package drawing, as well as special limited offers on tattoo artist merch; like shirts, books and prints from some of the best tattooers in the world!
Tattoo Artist Magazine Volume I Book Will Be Arriving Next Week!
We are excited to announce that Tattoo Artist Magazine Vol. I will be arriving next week from our printer! We will begin shipping all pre-orders at the end of next week. We apologize for the extended delay and would like to thank everyone for their patience regarding this matter.
If you would like to order the book please visit our TAM Pro Store here: http://tattooartistmagazine.myshopify.com/password.
TAM Vol I. is for professional tattoo artists only.
Foil stamped cover art by Hunter Spanks.
Cheers- TEAM TAM
Doug Hardy Tattoo Artist Magazine Article Preview Issue #27 (VIDEO)
[Pictures and info on expanded page] (more…)
Tattoo Artist Magazine: Rose Riot at NXNE and NIX
Despite an auspicious start my trip to Toronto to cover North by Northeast (NXNE) music festival and North Ink Exposure (NIX) tattoo convention was quite informative and enjoyable. NIX was my second convention and I was to learn how to run the TAM booth from the boothmaster John, as well as interview tattooers and cover music at NXNE. We embarked on this trip with less than a full night of sleep between us, so by the time we made it to Canada we were what you might call, spent…
Tattoo Artist Magazine California Road Trip
By Crash
I’m too old for this shit, but damn, what an adventure! I thought I could write something short to share the TAM Road Trip journey and give TAM Blog a little more content. I believe the potentials we have with the TAM Blog are pretty evident, and given enough time, can be fashioned into something powerful, entertaining and educational…
Pinky Yun (RIP) Tattoo Artist Magazine Article Preview Issue #26
By Horitaka and Horiyuki
[*Note from Editor* We’re sorry to say that Pinky passed away December 2nd, 2010. We’re leaving the story as originally written, when Pinky was still with us.]
Pinky Yun may be one of last great strong holds of a bygone era. His career began in Hong Kong tattooing sailors for the mob and his life’s journey led him to opening a shop in Japan and later multiple shops in California. His flash continues to inspire generations of tattooing and he is best known for his definitive interpretation of tigers, panthers, dragons and of course pin-ups. The most well known pin-up he designed was his famously iconic Suzy Wong, which was popularized by Sailor Jerry… (more…)
Shop Profile: Ed Hardy’s Tattoo City Teaser (VIDEO)
Short video clips from Doug Hardy’s interview… [Pictures and info on expanded page] (more…)
Sailor Jerry Documentary ‘Hori Smoku’ Screening at Ink ‘n Iron
The Sailor Jerry Rum Company will be hosting a special screening of Hori Smoku this weekend at the Ink and Iron Festival on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. If you have not seen this award winning documentary, this would be a great time to see it… [Lager image and more info on expanded page]
Rollo & Me Comic #4
The “Rollo & Me” strip is a series of stories told by Keith Underwood and illustrated by Dan Henk which appear regularly in Tattoo Artist Magazine. They chronicle Keith’s experiences living with and working alongside one of tattooing’s greatest icons of the 20th century- Mike ‘Rollo Banks’ Malone. Mike departed this life in 2007 but these stories represent Keith’s healing process and are figuratively supposed to occur on the couch of his therapist. Enjoy. There’s more to come. [Full comic on expanded page]
Sailor Jerry Toast at Ink ‘n Iron
Well, it’s here again… Ink ‘n Iron time. Time to cram into a giant haunted boat with 10,000 of our closest friends…
This year the good folks at the Sailor Jerry Rum Company are sponsoring a toast to the life and memory of Norman Keith Collins, a.k.a Sailor Jerry. [More info on expanded page] (more…)
