Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Fast forward to the Fastwards

So Friday, despite the cold that kept me in bed for three days, we all took that long 10 min trek to Philadelphia, ha ha. Well 10 minutes to get to Philly, 1/2 an hour to get parked. Once getting to Fergie's Pub (1214 Sansom st. between 12th & 13th St), the adventure didn't stop there. At first I couldn't get in because my license was suspended for 30 days for speeding. As luck would have it, even though I have been going to this bar every Monday for their open mic night for the last 5 years, this Friday, a bouncer that I never seen before. He wouldn't let me in. Good thing I knew the band, huh. We went into this weekend chaos to support our good friends Brian and Doug.  They along with their bassist Damon are in this pretty sweet band called The Fastwards. Although they are mainly an acoustic trio, we were treated with some songs with lyrics and an amazing Johnny Cash cover of Rings of Fire. I took the opportunity to take some picture of them and an impromptu 12 oz studios apparel photo shoot. The Fastwards' debut EP "Hole In The Bucket" is now available on www.myspace.com/thefastwards  (see the Ayos iShare window for free downloadable audio and cover art). These guys were amazing. After that performance I forgot about the Mitsubishi Galant full of drunk a-holes waving their have empty bottles of Hennessy and cheap vodka in a plastic bottle while driving erratically in front of us, the 1/2 hour driving 2 inches a minute to get to the parking garage, and the 24 year old fat bouncer's power trip. Well I did until I started writing this blog.
















This is called Independence. Perfect for Philadelphia.





Monday, November 15, 2010

I got a new toy today...NO not that kind

So I have about 4 cameras.  Each one was suggested by some one..(First mistake)... Since starting this blog, I've been messing with every single one trying to get the best picture for you.. Yeah that wasn't happening, so I started researching. Then a stroke of luck, I got a new friend. My good friend Izzy (J. Isobel Delisle, Google that she's AMAZING) is an amazing photographer and had a Canon Eos 20D when she took my picture for my website (reconstruction is still in the process). I pretty much molested her equipment. Now a year has passed and I finally got a new, used camera. I got a Canon Eos 30D and it can beat up all of my other cameras at the same time by itself. Actually I named it Chuck Norris.
Brendan is always taking pictures with tiny things. There will be more of these.. Brendan is also known as Sailor B. and bug wrangling is not his only talent. Here he is tattooing.
Here we have Meghan's hands creating magic. There's even a bird flying from her hand..
Here I am Tattooing. Jose took the role of Photographer here.
My grouping of Magic wands
This Beauty was built for me by Seth Ciferri.  He was nice enough to inscribe it to Me.
I did get this camera the day the Pacquiao fight was on. This is the closes I could get of photgraphing that fight. 
These are some of the characters that hang out everyday at the shop... One gots our back and the other gives us luck.... I think... The Gorilla is actually a munny that Jose sculpted.. we are working on a few more of these.. They'll be up here soon.
Yeah the first one is DO no evil.. 
You seriously need some of these.
I"ve been collecting tin robots for a few years now. My new collection of paintings are all robots. As soon as I get them finished I'll post those up
Of course I took my camera home and took pictures of the kids. This is Butterscotch.
Stash is MAAAAAAAAAD
This morning the weather was so nice that we decided to go to historic New Hope. It was a great drive all the way there. The fall colors, the crisp fresh air, and the sounds of nature. I'm a city boy at heart, but getting away every now and then is amazing. These are some of the sights on our way there.
On the Walt Whitman Bridge looking up the Delaware towards the Ben Franklin Bridge.
                                Philly                                                   Benjamin Franklin Bridge



I thought it was just a weird dog bag.. Then I noticed it was a Sonic the hedgehog plushy with a dog bag in front... Just like the Ghetto Boys "My mind is playin' tricks on me."
On that note, I think it's time to go back home and take a nap.. All this fresh air is making me sleepy..










Thursday, November 11, 2010

It costs a lot to be free..

Today is Veterans day and as I look at my life, my brand and the opportunities I've had. I know I owe it all to those brave men and women throughout our history that has fought for our freedom. There is no way I can say thank you enough. They are the protectors of the american dream.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Plan....

Those of you who know or read our first blog, may have realized we are opening a second shop. Today the architect's plans arrived. That means that after 2 months of waiting construction will begin soon. I will be documenting the progress here. We chose our new location because it was located by a mall. A very popular mall, with good traffic. This shop will have tattooing and body piercing with a strong emphasis on retail and the 12 oz. clothing line. Pretty much to test market our new designs.... We were hoping for December but with talks and all red tape from city officials... Looks like January.. We'll see what happens..

By the way people, we are looking to add some talent to our family oriented team. So if you know any tattoo artist send them our way. Have them call our Brooklawn shop  856-742-1234 to schedule an interview.

Monday, November 8, 2010

12 oz Tattoos at The biggest tattoo show on earth in Las Vegas

 The first week of October, Jose and family, Meghan and I headed out to Las Vegas to work our booth at "The Biggest Tattoo Show on Earth" hosted by Mario Barth at the beautiful Mandalay Bay Hotel.







Not only were Meghan and I busy tattooing and representing 12 oz. Tattoos, Jose was busy making friends and Promoting the 12 oz Clothing line. This was our debut out west. I was happy that the west coast kids was digging the line. Don't be surprise when you see our "Crown & Arrows"tm Logo walking around out there.
  




These may not be the originals but they could have fooled me.. They are still amazing.... 
Me and Bob Tyrell...Master of Black and grey..
Mario Barth. The mastermind behind the show, Starlight tattoos and Intenze Products

Here we have two living legends. On the left you have Gil "The Drill" Monte, and on the right you have Crazy Philadelphia Eddie signing his book. I read this book within 2 days. I couldn't put it down. Anyone who wants to know some true tattoo history needs to buy this book.
Below we have tow more Legends. On the left we have Mark Mahoney who was so busy all weekend I didn't get a chance to meet him.. Now I have an excuse to go to LA to visit him at the Shamrock Social Club and get tattooed. On the right is Mr. Bowery Stan adding another member to his piranha and hammer crew. The man has been tattooing since 1948 and still kicking ass. I'm proud to say I sport a Bowery Stan tattoo. If you ever get a chanced to get tattooed by him, Do. It'll be one of the most memorable experiences of your life.
We were fortunate enough to make some new friends. Here we have the Civilian Press booth. Tony Mash is not only the clothing lines owner but the talented designer behind it. He's not stranger to design. He's worked on some amazing project before launching his baby. Show Tony some love and check out www.theCivilianpress.com  
Finally after the convention we got to explore a bit and party it up Vegas style. We were shocked and happy to find and original DAIM graffiti piece inside City Center. In a way it didn't surprise us because if u look at this amazing Complex it looks as if Daim either designed it himself or was a major inspiration to the architects. 




 Someone is taking a Siesta under the Brooklyn Bridge at the New York, New York Hotel


We spent hours at the Vladimir Kush Gallery. It took so much restraint to not buy this.

Farewell Vegas, See ya next year.