The cast of TLC's "NY Ink"

NY Ink features Ami James, formerly of the now defunct TLC show Miami Ink. In season one the show centered around Ami’s quest to open a new, high-end tattoo shop (Wooster St. Social Club) in the heart of SoHo.

The first season chronicled Ami’s struggle to drum up business, dealing with his new team of artists (featuring Tim Hendricks, Megan Massacre (currently gracing the cover of Inked Magazine), Tommy Montoya, Chris Torres and Ami’s apprentice Billy DeCola) and two diva shop managers, Jessica and Robear.

Megan Massacre, from Inked Magazine (inkedmag.com) photo: Warwick Saint

Season one  was full of  personality clashes, a possible budding romance between Megan & Brooklyn “bad boy” Chris Torres, some tattoos here and there and a lot of strife. Honestly, the last few minutes of the season finale made watching the sometimes painful show worth watching. The editing, storytelling and filming made it worth while and hooked me in to giving another season a shot.

NY Ink will return in December 2011 with 10 more hour-long episodes.

NY Ink on TLC
Ami James’ blog

I’ve had a few appointments sprinkled over the past few months, starting in April. An hour here and there whenever we both had some time. From April to June, here’s where we ended up (I love how especially wide my arm looks in these pics):

The mom’s hair is filled in, the older girl has hay colored hair now and some of the background starts to get definition. The eventual scheme is that the background will be sunset colors. I really like how the mother’s hair is kind of ombré. You can see it a little bit from these photos how it starts to get dark towards the ends of her hair.

Last night’s appointment will most likely be one of the last on this piece. I wanted to try to sneak in one more appointment before the Boston Tattoo Convention. My artist, Natan Alexander, is the main-man behind the convention, and he gets incredibly busy this time of year.

Me being a super dork.

I always have good intentions of tweeting and taking more pics while I’m in the chair, but honestly, sometimes this shit hurts too much to hold the phone. Well, that and we chat like a couple of hens at a tea party when we get together!

Anyway, we’re nearing the end of the journey on my half-sleeve. We’ll most likely finish up sometime in the fall after the convention (and when I stop going out in the sun! I swear I wear 70 SPF sunblock, but I’m Italian and my skin wants to soak up the sun).

Last night the sunset background is starting to emerge. The top gem in the frame is now purple and more detail was added in the mother’s gown and the older child’s hair. More detail was also added to the flowers near the girls.

It’s all really starting to come together. I’m very proud of it and am grateful to Natan for taking his time to make sure that it is perfect.

Related posts:

Tattoo sesssions: pt 5
Tattoo sessions pt. 3 & 4: progress
Tattoo sessions pt. 2: color and shading begin
Tattoo sessions pt. 1: outline

I have to confess that it does make me a little giddy. I usually try to tweet (find me on Twitter @rippinkitten) the progress during my visit, but the signal inside the shop is a little spotty so they don’t always make it through (and when they do, they usually say something like “owie, owie owie”). But I always take pics with my phone…Natan really enjoys it when I take pics of him while he’s working!

This was going to be a short visit: about 2 hours. In that time he worked on the top part of the framework, which is the outside part of my shoulder. In those first few minutes after the needle hits my skin the little voice inside my head is screaming “Jesus, why the F do you keep putting yourself through this???” but I remain calm and composed on the outside. Maybe there’s a little teeth-clenching. But luckily after a few minutes those endorphins kick in and it’s totally fine.

Except, maybe while the elbow area is being worked on. That never, ever, ever feels good. Ever!

I am extremely happy with how it’s all coming together. It is such a beautiful piece. I have been enjoying the process of watching it come together and while I’ll be excited to see it completed, I will also miss the time in the chair. This is how people become covered in tattoos: the endurance of pain and seeing the immediate gratification of the art on your body is addicting. It really is an addicting ritual.

Anyway, here’s the result of this time spent in the chair:

Related posts:

Tattoo sessions pt. 3 & 4: progress
Tattoo sessions pt. 2: color and shading begin
Tattoo sessions pt. 1: outline

Pee Wee writes:
“Yep, I went to South Dakota. (Road trip! Great idea for a movie, by the way…) Get ready for some more name dropping. At the Buffalo Chip were: ZZ Top, Buckcherry, The Guess Who, Bob Dylan and television’s ‘Renegade’ — Lorenzo Lamas. I got a new chopper, burned rubber with about 500,000 fellow bikers and ate the legendary donut burger — the most delicious thing on the planet, and I hear it’s totally good for you too. I met a cowboy named Cork and had beautiful women crawling all over me– I have that effect on beautiful women. BBW — any, and all women. I weighed-in remotely to the Tonight Show (doesn’t everybody these days?!) and I got a tattoo. Didn’t hurt at all. I brought some friends from Funny or Die to record my personal video diary or VLOG, if you will. I love internet lingo!!

Enjoy my journey, okay? I’m changed since I came back from South Dakota. I understand stuff I didn’t understand before.”

Looks like Pee Wee at Sturgis was a heap-load of fun. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

I had my third sitting in mid-June. Detail work was started on the children. The smaller girl looks pretty complete (don’t you love the chubby tummy on her? I do!) and the older girl’s dress was worked on. Some of the grass was filled in and where the blank area is between grass and her gown will be see through.

This past Tuesday night I had another appointment with Natan, my artist, which actually surprised me since he’s buried up to his eyeballs planning the next Boston Tattoo Convention. (Yeah, he’s that guy.) He squeezed me in his busy schedule for a few hours, which was awfully nice of him.

He spent a lot of time working on the guilded framework some more, making it look burnished. The mother’s dress was completed and looks even more drapey. The folds of the older girl’s dress were worked on as well. Some of the background behind Mama’s hair has been filled in. Now I have to figure out what color her hair should be. Maybe she should be a brunette. What do you think?

It looks like we’re at the half-way mark! Check out more of Natan’s work and if you wanna get inked over Labor Day weekend, come join us at the Boston Tattoo Convention!

Related posts:

• Tattoo sessions pt. 1: outline
• Tattoo sessions pt. 2: color and shading begins

Boston Tattoo Convention: September 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th!

This year it’ll be held in a new location: the Boston Back Bay Sheraton Hotel. Join the fun over the long Labor Day weekend for tattooing from artists from around the world, a variety of different vendors, entertainers and performers, seminars from leading artists, discussion panels and forums and more!

Boston Tattoo Convention hours will be:

Friday 9.3.10: 1:00PM – 12AM
Saturday 9.4.10: 12PM – 12AM
Sunday 9.5.10: 12PM – 12AM
Monday 9.6.10: 12PM – 10PM

For more information, questions or to register for a booth head on over to bostontattooconvention.com and follow them for real times updates on Twitter: @bostontattoocon

However, I’m incredibly happy with the progression of this piece. The detail work far exceeded my expectations and I am fortunate to have such a beautiful piece of art to carry around on my body. I’m so pumped to see it when it’s finished! But that’s still a ways away.

I go back again later this week. And for those inquiring, my work is being done by Natan Alexander at Witch City Ink (who is also the man behind the Boston Tattoo Convention) in Salem, MA.

Related post:
Tattoo sessions pt. 1: outline

Alphonse Mucha Monaco, Monte-Carlo, 1897

But many people get direct copies of his art for tattoos and I wanted to do something different. Luckily my tattoo artist/owner (who is also a friend and founder of the Boston Tattoo Convention) of Witch City Ink was up for the challenge. He came up with a great design and finally set aside a chunk of time to do the work.

stencil placed

The first attempt at applying the stencil was successful. I thought it looked really good. And then it hit me how big it was. Wow, this was gonna be great and suck all at the same time. The buzzing began and he started the tattoo from the bottom up.

a bit out of focus, but I don't mind it

I tweeted part of the time I was in the chair, but signal was not always so great inside the shop. Plus we were chatting a lot and I was trying to concentrate on not moving and to ignore the painful parts. We took a break halfway through and I got someone to grab some pics for me.

halfway through. Seeing this pic makes me realize I need to hit the gym and get my hair done at the salon!

alt view

Going back under the needle after taking a break is the worst. You have to sort of get prepared again, the endorphins wear off a little bit. Plus, I was starting to wear out. Two hours later and the outline was complete. We both sighed with relief and happy with the end results.

outline done

detail

Now it’s time to take time to heal (and get thine ass to the gym) before we begin the shading process.

I first heard of and wrote about Rescue Ink back in January this year and they have been on my radar ever since. Rescue Ink are reformed “bad guys” who love animals and have dedicated their lives to rescuing them from abuse.  They also take the time to educate bad pet owners, no matter what it takes.

Rescue Ink "Unleashed" premieres on the Nat Geo Channel Sept. 25th

Last year the NY Times wrote an article (a really great read and I highly recommend viewing the slideshow that accompanies the article) about them and caught the eye of National Geographic, who approached them to chronicle their animal saving adventures.

Tattoos and kittens: a photo from the NY Times slideshow

I am jazzed to see them get the recognition they deserve. You can’t deny that the juxtaposition of scary looking dudes saving cute lil fuzzies, while “educating” the rotten, neglectful pet owners isn’t a great cocktail for good tv!

Coming to an abuser near you!

Rescue Ink is always looking for donations to help their cause. You can donate at their official website and can also find more info on their myspace page.

Related post: Rescue Ink: an ‘in-your-face approach’ to animal welfare

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Ami James Jewelry Company announced the launch of its new Web site, which will make the company’s signature “Love Hate Choppers” jewelry collection available to the public.

A tattoo artist by trade, James’ tattoo art and creative designs exploded to life as he expanded his medium from skin and canvas to precious metals for Ami James Jewelry Company. James teamed up with Larry “Benj” Weymouth, a Boston-based jeweler who has been making custom jewelry for 25 years, to produce the company’s first designs – the “Love Hate Choppers” collection. The collection includes leather belts, hand-finished pewter belt buckles, high-polished or brushed-antique solid silver rings and pendants with diamond insets, and sterling silver fluted or frosted necklaces and bracelets. Each piece of jewelry features details taken from James’ Miami shop logo. Limited edition necklaces, bracelets and belt buckles, as well as several “Rock the Ink” pieces are also available on the site.

“The Love Hate Choppers Jewelry Collection reflects another aspect of my artistic side,” said James. “With Benj’s craftsmanship and my designs, we created a collection of high-quality, unique pieces that, like tattoos, are a form of wearable art.”

In addition to serving as the inspiration for the “Love Hate Choppers” jewelry collection, James’ logo design details have also been incorporated into accent parts on another one of his business ventures – the new “Love-Hate Choppers” production bikes built by the unsurpassed talents of Sucker Punch Sally’s. The production bikes made their debut during Daytona Bike Week and are available for purchase through Sucker Punch Sally’s.

All pieces available from Ami James Jewelry Company can be purchased via the new Web site. To make a purchase, or for more information, product details and pricing, please visit www.amijamesjewelry.com or call the customer service number at (603) 898-0013.

Punk rock legend, Henry Rollins,  joins the cast of Sons of Anarchy season 2!

A legend in the punk rock world (and an icon from my misspent youth…I can’t tell you how many shows of his I’ve been to!) is joining the cast of Sons of Anarchy for a six episode arc. That’s right, just when I thought I couldn’t get any more excited I just learned that Mr. Henry Rollins is joining SoA this upcoming season.

If you didn’t grow up listening to punk music in the 80′s then here’s a brief bio on Mr. Rollins. He is a singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, stand-up comedian, author, actor, activist and publisher. He was the front man for punk band Black Flag in the 80′s and has since formed the Rollins Band, written a few books, done a ton of spoken word & stand-up tours, has a lot to say about social and political issues (whether you agree with him or not) and even has his own show on the Independent Film Channel.

He will appear in six upcoming episodes of Sons of Anarchy and will play a new antagonist in the show who poses a deadly threat to SAMCRO. Even Kurt Sutter is excited to have him on the show. From his blog, SutterInk:

“I fucking love Henry Rollins. Been a fan for years. From Black Flag to his one-man shows. He’s a super smart cat with exponential intensity. So excited to have him on the show.

I don’t want to say too much about who his character is right now. As we get closer to air, more information will be revealed. Suffice to say, Henry will fucking chew it up.

While Henry’s better known for being an angry, little man and not known for being a fantastic actor, it’s sounds like he won’t have to stetch his acting legs too much. He just needs to have a bad disposition and scowl a lot. I think he’s pretty good at both of those things.

And now for your viewing/listening pleasure is “Liar” by the Rollins Band.

So, while I recover from the shock of getting back to the daily grind, I’ll leave you with the top 10 viewed posts of 2008!

1. Steampunk Motorcycles-even though I wrote this post a year ago, it is the most popular post of my site. The Steampunk movement has gained much popularity since then.
2. BikerorNot.com: bikers and social networking pt. deux-social networking sites are booming. It seems that every subculture has formed their own social community these days. Since this post was published I have received numerous emails informing me of yet another new biker social community and asking me to join or write about their site. I can only keep track of so many accounts these days and it makes me wonder if more is better.
3. Bikers and tattoos-Two of my favorite subjects! A brief history of tattoos in America and how they touch my world.
4. Bring Exile Cycles back to TV-the popularity of this post surprises me a little. Prior to this post I had read a myspace bulletin from Russell putting out the call to fans for some help. This year we’ve seen Russell on VH1′s Rock of Love and of course, that silly Comcast commercial that featured Exile Cycles, with an actor playing the part (instead of “hardcore” heavily-tattooed Russell) that confused so many people. Here’s hoping we see a lot more of him in the future.
5. Anatomy of the Kawasaki Vulcan-in the summer of 2007, Greg White contacted me and hooked me up with Kawasaki to test ride the Vulcan 900 Custom. I spent a few gleeful weeks riding this bike and this is my dissection of various elements of the bike in detail. Thinking back on the experience makes me remember how much I enjoyed riding this bike. And yes, the skinny front wheel felt safe!
6. Biker Movie Hell Ride in theaters August 8-this movie was all the buzz for us this summer and it came and went in the blink of an eye. It had a very limited release in theaters and when it finally came out on DVD it would be an understatement to say it is a love/hate kind of movie.
7. Slayer launches a line of helmets-*RAWK!* Rockhard helmets launched a line of motorcycle helmets emblazened with graphics of our favorite thrash metal band. They’ve since increased their lineup of bands that include: Lynard Skynard, KISS, Slip Knot, Motorhead (yes!), AC/DC and The King. These suckers ain’t cheap but if you’re a fan I’m sure they’re well worth the cash!
8. Garage Girls: a new site for women, or is it?-this was my initial review of Sara Liberte’s new online venture. I was as honest as I could be while reading through the site (maybe too honest?). So much so  that I actually received an email and blog comment from Sara letting me and everyone else know that the site was brand-spankin’ new and to cut her some slack. I revisited the site three months later and was pleasantly surprised at the changes that had been made and the fresh content that had been added. Props to Sara.
9. Video Tuesday: Harley-Davidson Dark Custom-this video accompanied the announcement of HD’s newest and coolest motorcycle. I also went on a bit of a tirade about how out of touch Bruce Rossmeyer is with a younger demographic.
10. My first motorcycle love-I’m so happy to see this post made it to the top ten! This is a guest post, written by my nearest and dearest, recounting the love of his first motorcycle, the experiences he had while owning it, and then eventually trading it in for a newer Road King. Definitely a good read. Hmm, that reminds me…I think I’ll bug him to guest post more often!

Bettie Page died today as a result of a heart attack she sustained over the weekend. She had been hospitalized for pneumonia weeks before and spent the majority of this week in a coma. I had heard the news this past weekend, wanting to write about her then, hoping that the inevitable might not happen. I held my own silent Bettie-vigil, waiting for any kind of news. And today it was news that I didn’t want to hear.

I don’t even know how or where to begin to write about Bettie Page. She was a secretary-turned-model that ended up being an unlikely icon for generations based on bondage photos and Teaserama dances. She inspired many girls to covet and acquire those trademark, fringe bangs. She had an enigmatic sweetness in her smile, despite all the naughty things she might have been doing in those fetish photos of hers! And she had a body to die for. Not like these sticks with tits that grace our magazines these days, but a real woman’s body with curves that Did. Not. Quit.

There’s no shortage of information, books, videos, photos, websites, movies and songs dedicated to Bettie. She is the subject of many an artist, most notably Dave Stevens (who also passed away this year at the young age of 52) who rendered the famous illustration of her in his comic The Rocketeer, and Olivia De Berardinis, who probably owes all her fame to recreating Bettie’s visage.

"The Rocketeer"

devilish Bettie by Olivia

recent years: Olivia, Hugh Hefner and Bettie

Bettie’s likeness also inspired many people to get lasting tattoos of her iconic beauty and she also graces plenty of motorcycle tanks!

Painted tank by http://www.grumeretz.com

My post is only one of hundreds that you will find online. I didn’t want to rehash the details of her life, you can go to plenty of articles and pages to learn those facts. I really just wanted to pay my respects and write a small tribute to this icon of a woman who influenced me and so many others.

Bettie, you will be missed.

That was the subject of a contest held over at Crackberry.com recently for those who consider themselves BlackBerry addicts. They were giving away 10 BlackBerry Storms to those who were willing to do whatever it took to win one (and they actually had to follow through on their promise!).

They received 3,000 entries to the contest and “a popular theme of entry that emerged was extreme brand loyalty, or in other words, showing off your love for BlackBerry and/or CrackBerry for the whole world to see.”

The first winner was TJ of Revelation Tattoos in Toledo OH, who had a lifesized BlackBerry tattooed on his leg. Two things of note: 1. TJ didn’t pay for his tattoo. He works at the shop and had it done for free. 2. The tattoo artist, Brian, is a total Mac fanboy and die-hard iPhone lover. It must have killed him to do this tattoo!

While I don’t find the fact that he had the tattoo done to win a phone all that shocking (I hang out with a LOT of tattoo fanatics/artists who get work done for less meaningful things), I find the backlash a little surprising. What makes this guy’s tattoo any different from anyone willing to have a Harley-Davidson tattoo put on their body? It’s essentially showing the same kind of “extreme brand loyalty.”

If you’re interested in reading the war of comments you can read them at Crackberry.com and on Information Week’s blog, which also did a post about this today.

Trashville USA is an online store with kick-ass clothing, shoes, accessories and lots of other stuff for men and women. Heavily rooted in rockabilly/psychobilly/retro-tattoo style, the site is chock full of cool belt buckles, t-shirts and killer jewelry. I want one of everything. But instead of racking up my credit cards, I’ll just show you some of my favorite items.

From Trashville USA’s Belt buckles section:

These are only a few of the plethora of belt buckles they have to offer.

From the Jewelry Department:

Seems like guns and brass knuckles are everywhere these days. Honorable mention: the bee and seahorse necklaces are awfully cute!

T-shirts: men’s (left) and women’s (right)

So if you like what you see and are looking for something different to wear to your next biker event, go to their MySpace profile at http://www.myspace.com/trashvilleusa, add them as your friend and save 15% on every purchase (there’s a Secret Squirrel code there for you to use).

From Spike TV:

New York, NY, August 27, 2008 – Jesse James takes on the role of a modern-day daredevil in “Jesse James Is A Dead Man,” a new, original weekly series on Spike TV premiering in February 2009, it was announced today by Sharon Levy, senior vice president of original series for Spike TV.

“Our goal was to create a new and distinctive series for Jesse that is unlike anything else on television,” said Levy. “In this series, viewers will get to experience one of the most fearless guys on the planet in an entirely new way, taking on death-defying physical challenges each week.”

Each episode will follow James as he readies himself for a different death-defying challenge. Preparing for the risky challenge can often be as dangerous as the challenge itself as he endures a battery of tests to prepare. With CGI effects, viewers get a taste of the enormity of the stunt, revealing the physiological stress James’ body will endure.

Some of the dangerous challenges he’ll be facing include the harrowing, grueling and lawless off-road race, the Baja 500, and hitting over 200 mph on a Nitro bike supercharged by ultra-combustible nitro-methane fuel.

Ten weekly one-hour episodes of “Jesse James Is A Dead Man” will be produced by BASE Productions (“Sports Science,” “Fight Science”) with Jesse James and his production company, Payupsucker Productions, serving as an executive producer. Spike TV signed James to a multi-year talent deal in October 2007, and this project represents his first series with the network.

Jesse James is a custom bike and car builder, producer, publisher, television host and restaurateur. In 2000, James started his TV career with Discovery Channel’s “Motorcycle Mania,” and in 2002 produced and starred in the international television hit, “Monster Garage.” Before his TV gigs, James started West Coast Choppers by doing what he loved, building motorcycles in his mom’s garage. As an expert welder, Jesse produces only 12-14 bikes a year, making a very long wait list for his coveted custom machines.

More recently, Jesse established his own production company, Payupsucker Productions, and in 2004, he became publisher of Garage Magazine and launched Payupsucker Publications. In 2006 he opened an eco-friendly burger joint, Cisco Burger in Long Beach, CA.

Spike TV is available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.

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What do you guys think of Jesse coming back to television on a non-motorcycle related show?

“The Tattoo Artist” by Norman Rockwell, Saturday Evening Post, March 4, 1944

A brief history of post WWII motorcycles & tattoos

After World War II tattoos became further stigmatized by their associations with bikers and juvenile delinquents. Tattooing had very little respect in the American culture. In 1961 there was an outbreak of hepatitis, which caused an even bigger backlash against tattoos and sent the tattoo world into a tailspin.

tattoo flash by Sailor Jerry

Here in Massachusetts, there was a ban on tattooing in effect since 1967, until local underground artists lobbied to legalize it in the late 90′s, partly because of health and safety reasons. Tattooing was finally legalized in this state in 2001 and shops began to spring up everywhere–the first legal shops being Fat Ram’s Pumpkin Tattoo and Darkwave Tattoos (which then spawned Lightwave Tattoo Studio and Witch City Ink). Natan Lin, owner of Darkwave,  Lightwave and Witch City Ink, was a large supporter of legalizing tattooing in MA and has been running the wildly successful annual Boston Tattoo Convention ever since.

Here are three of my favorite, tattooed bike-builders (can you guess why?) Billy Lane, Jesse James and Russell Mitchell

Current perception of tattoos in the biking culture

These days bikers use tattoos as a means of expression. Common designs for biker tattoos contain skulls, spiderwebs, pin-up girls, flames, eagles, scorpions and of course the die-hard Harley-Davidson logo.

photos by Forrest Frazier (see more motorcycle pics at ffphoto.com)

Tattoos today are more acceptable and popular than ever before. And it’s getting even more mainstream with TLC hitching its programming trailer to tattoo shows like LA Ink, Miami Ink, and London Ink. Acceptability and high demand for the best artwork have put some artists on the map. Certainly that can partly be contributed to the quality of inks and needles that just weren’t around forty or fifty years ago. People now revel in the highly artistic nature of tattoos and artists are now truly fine artists.

Kat Von D from TLC’s La INK

From the Exile website:

“As many of you may know I love doing the bike shows and it seems I’m at a different one in a different State every weekend. I get so many people asking me when I’m shooting the next Build or Bust series and sadly I don’t know whether we will because we don’t actually have control over that. That set me thinking recently as we have so many good ideas for our own TV show. So here’s where you guys can help me out. I’m pitching some great new ideas to the networks right now and would really appreciate the Exile fans out there helping me out. Your comments about how you wanna see the Exile crew back on TV causing trouble would show the massive support we receive from you all. So why don’t you write a quick e mail to say just that and send it to media@exilecycles.com and with any luck you’ll see me and the crew back on TV, hopefully with our own show.
Cheers.
Russ”

It definitely seems that motorcycle programming has been phased out to almost extinction and the new trend is tattoo shows like LA Ink, Miami Ink and Tattoo Wars. With Jesse James without a show and Billy Lane trying to dig out of heaps of legal problems, Russell does seem like the next in the natural selection.

Thursday night I got all dolled up and attended the kick-off party for the Boston Tattoo Convention. We schmoozed with lots of tattooed people, got tipsy from drinking Dewars, looked at art work, played Guitar Hero and oogled strippers (because nothing classes up a formal party than strippers!) all night long.

Left to right: me in the car on the way there, the BTC logo and the Dewars bar

Left to right: some of the art on display, the fabulous Miss Jessica Lee & Mr. Forrest Frazier, crazy moustache

playing photographer, tattoos!

The evening’s entertainment, Jess, Natan & me and my fabulous outfit

Special thanks to Natan for the invite!

On Friday I barely made it through a harrowing day of work and promptly came home to prepare for what I was looking forward to all week and the topic of my next post: Saturday’s trip down to Cape Cod!