Tattoosday (A Tattoo Blog): Music

Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Julia's Tribute to Her Parents (and More!)

In late September, I met Julia, a young woman from Mar del Plata, Argentina, who was visiting New York City. I spotted her on Broad Street in lower Manhattan, and I stopped to talk to her about her tattoos.

She had quite a bit of work, most interesting was this piece on her leg that pays tribute to her parents:

Julia explained that the trumpet represents her father, who is a musician, and the book represents her mother, who is a retired professor. These two elements of her parents' lives were major influences on her own life, as well.

She credited this piece to Talpa (@talpa.t.artist) who tattoos out of Asylum 42 Tattoo (@asylum42tattoo) in Valencia, Spain.

Alot of Julia's other work is courtesy of her husband Patricio (@patoink), from Pato Ink. The work below represents some of his handiwork:

Thanks to Julia for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Oscar and Tavárez, by Gian Karle

Back in September, I met Oscar at the local coffee shop in the lobby of my building at 30 Broad Street in lower Manhattan.

He had this cool tattoo on his hand:

Oscar told me that this is a portrait of Manuel Gregorio Tavárez, who is considered the "father of classical Puerto Rican dance."

This was tattooed by Gian Karle (@giancarle) from 1711 Tattoo Studio (@1711tattoostudio) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

People may recognize Gian Karle as one of the finalists from Ink Master's 8th season (@spikeinkmaster).

Thanks to Oscar for sharing his awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Jessi's Musical Bird

I met Jessi at the beginning of the month, while walking up 8th Avenue.

She shared this really cool tattoo on her forearm:

Yes, it's a bird, but it is a design created entirely out of musical notations and dynamic markings. The sharp symbol (hashtag/pound sign) represent the feet. The forte marking (the f) is the wing. The crescendo (the < shape) is the beak. The head and eye are created by the symbol for fermata, or pause. Finally, the slur, which forms the underbelly, is represented by an arc.

"I'm not a music major, I'm just a music fan," Jessi explained, adding that she saw the design online and "stole" the idea for her own tattoo.

Jessi had this done at Neptune Tattooville (@neptunetattoo), but does not recall which artist did the work.

Thanks to Jessi for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Alicia's Heart (Tattoosday in Virginia Beach)

Last August, I was in Virginia Beach, visiting family, and I decided to swing by a couple of tattoo shops. I mentioned Ghost Ship here, and I also swung by Red 5 Tattoo.

The shop was bright big and spacious and I snapped a few photos. However, before I share those, Alicia, one of the shop staff working when I walked in was kind enough to share this pretty fantastic U2 tattoo that hearkens back to the cover photos from the band's Joshua Tree album.

It's pretty self explanatory, with the message “My ❤ belongs to 4 Irishmen” alluding to U2’s country of origin.

I believe this is the source photo:

The recording of my interview with Alicia was deleted, and she no longer work's at Red 5 Tattoo. I did send a message to her to retrieve the name of the artist who inked this tattoo, but I never heard back. So it will have to stand alone.

UPDATE: Red 5 informed me that the tattoo was done about 10 years ago by artist Chris Garcia (@ChrisGarciaTattoos).

Check out some photos from Red 5 Tattoo below.

The Sign Above the Entrance

A Very Bright and Clean Reception Desk

The Waiting Area is Huge and Airy

Artist Portfolios Could Be Viewed In This Interactive Display

Thanks to Alicia for sharing her awesome tattoo with us here on Tattoosday! Be sure to stop by Red 5 Tattoo if you’re ever in Virginia Beach! Website here.

Monday, May 9, 2016

The Return of Musician Mondays - Marcie Bullock's Rockin' Tattoos

Last September, I was outside of the Belasco Theater on West 44th Street, prior to a show of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, when I spotted a woman nearby with some cool tattoos.

I went up and introduced myself and she agreed to share some of her work.

Her name was Marcie and she told me she was a singer, visiting New York from Tennessee. This certainly explained her music-related tattoos. She said she had about 20 tattoos in all, and shared the following:

There's a lot going on in this piece, including Bonnie Raitt's guitar at the bottom of the tattoo and Janis Joplin's glasses. The snapping fingers are also a nod to Stax Records.

Above, we can also see the label from Sun Records in Memphis and the Aerosmith logo.

And on the inner section of the tattoo, there's the logo from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, as well as Elvis Presley's TCB "Taking Care of Business" logo.

She also had this pinup on her left arm:

She explained, "I’m a singer and I really just like the classic solo in the spotlight Barbie so I had him do her a little curvier with the longer hair, like me.”

The "him" she is referring to is the artists responsible for all the work posted here, Matt Hays at New Hope Tattoo Gallery in Huntington, West Virginia.

You can check out Marcie and her music at ReverbNation here.

Thanks to Marcie for sharing her cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

A Rendition of Erin, at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade

With summer ending this week, I want to celebrate with one last tattoo from June's Mermaid Parade on Coney Island:

I met Erin at the end of the parade on the boardwalk:

You may notice the colorful tattoo on her upper left arm:

Erin explained that this piece was conceived by a friend of hers who works for the designer Ana Sui.
This is a rendition of Erin, in the spirit of Ana Sui's style. The phrase "Sans la musique, je n'existe," means, in French, "without music, I don't exist."

Erin credited the tattoo itself to Marissa Mikeo, an independent NYC-based artist.

Thanks to Erin for sharing her cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2015 Tattoosday.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Victoria's Tattoos Shine On

I met Victoria last summer next to the New York Stock Exchange, near my office on Broad Street. I spotted this very familiar design and stopped to talk to her about it:

The tattoo is a take on the iconic album cover for Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.

"Wish You Were Here" alludes to another Pink Floyd album and title song. "Shine on My Crazy Diamond" is a variation of the song title "Shine On You Crazy Diamond."

Victoria explained:

"I lost my fiance in November [2013] ... and music was always very big in our relationship, especially bands like Pink Floyd ... very influential and meaningful. A lot of their songs like 'Shine on You Crazy Diamond,' for instance, was a song that I always thought of him, especially when he was gone. He just always was my crazy diamond. So of course that's why I got Dark Side of the Moon on my back, Shine on My Crazy Diamond, and of course I had to add Wish You Were Here because I miss him every day."

She also has this phoenix above her ankle:

Victoria elaborated:

"It's the phoenix rising from the fire and I've had a lot of hardship in my life, had a lot of things happen to me, I've always had to let it consume me or rise above it, especially this last time and so I'm like a phoenix. I've always been reborn and I've always been able to make it through the storm."

Both tattoos were done at Smith Street Tattoo Parlour in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Victoria for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sean's Two Sides: Good and Evil

Here we are in February 2014, and we're finishing off with our last encounter from '13. Back in September, on Broad Street in Manhattan, I met Sean, who shared some of his tattoos with us:

Sean explained that these nautical stars and swallows represent good and evil:

"I did the stars on Adobe Illustrator – I took just basically an outline of regular ones and I did a little distressing to them and then decided to turn the colors around and not have full shadings on them, just like silhouettes of shadings. I thought it was a nice move and that’s when my artist said Okay I’ll do those."

His artist is Rich Fie at R&D Tattooing in Queens. He credited the devil and angel swallows to an artist named Lulu.

He also has this piece on his forearm:

Sean has been a musician for twenty-five years, playing drums, guitar, saxophone and harmonica. This tattoo represents his love of music.

Thanks to Sean for sharing his tattoos with us on Tattoosday!

Get 10% off tattoo starter kits when you shop at www.AccessTattoo.com. Valid until March 2014.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Tattoosday in Massachusetts: Ariel and Her F-Holes

On our way back to New York after a brief stint in Boston, we stopped in Northampton to visit our friends, Anne and Liz.

At their house, I met their friend Ariel.

At one point in the conversation, I asked Ariel if she played the violin.

Initially, she looked surprised that I would ask, but I pointed to the tattoo on her inner forearm, which had tipped me off:

Ariel explained that these are, indeed, representative of a violin's sound holes, commonly referred to as the "F holes." She elaborated:

"I play the violin. I love violin music and fiddle music and this is exactly where, if you h0ld the violin ... if the sun were shining through ... the violin, I feel it would pierce right there, while you were playing ... It's just a good spot that always reminds me of it, but it's also not very visible and ... these are abstractions of it, they're not perfect, I drew them myself. They're not traced from an actual violin."

Ariel had this tattoo done at Lucky's Tattoo & Piercing in Northampton.

Thanks to Ariel for sharing her musical tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Kevin's Medieval, Mystical, Musical Sleeve

The other day we saw Olivia's "Hippie Chick".

With her was Kevin, who let me photograph his sleeve:

Kevin explained that the sleeve is "a medieval and mystical, musical kind of deal, a battle of what exists and doesn't exist in your own mind."

This work was done by two artists from upstate New York: Joel Mentnor from Hyperion Tattoo in Buffalo, and Josh Avery at Davie Mac's Rock Solid Tattoos on Grand Island in the Niagara Falls area. Kevin sat for the sleeve, by his estimate, approximately twenty-five hours over a two-year period. He has about thirty-five hours of tattoo work on his canvas. [Update: this piece was previously attributed incorrectly to Bob Bieber, but Joel Mentnor confirmed that he and Josh Avery both worked on the sleeve.]

Thanks to Kevin for sharing his sleeve with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Olivia's "Hippie Chick"

Back in September, I met Kevin and Olivia in Penn Station. Both have tattoos and were kind enough to share their work. Today we get to appreciate Olivia's tattoo, which she described as her "hippie chick":

Olivia explained:

"I drew her myself. I draw all of my tattoos ... It's ... my inner personality brought out ... I play the keyboards. There's a hidden paintbrush in there. My name means 'peace' so I have a peace dove."

She had this tattooed by Esther at Beyond DMT in Buffalo, New York.

Thanks to Olivia for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Jared's Sleeve Reflects His Journey Through the Music Business

I met Jared back in April outside of Penn Station on Eighth Avenue. He had an interesting sleeve that he offered to share:

Jared explained that the concept of the sleeve was based on his experience in the music industry. He had been a musician, but gave up the professional calling "about six months ago." He elaborated:

"...It's a sacrificial piece ... the heart right there [at the center of the arm, in the ditch] ... music's in your DNA and it rips your heart open ...

... and the sacrifice you have to go through ... two faces are the two faces you had to deal with in the music business..."

The work above was done by two free-lance artists. The top section of the sleeve was done by a guy named Steve, and the bottom section with the two faces was done by another person whose name Jared doesn't recall.

Thanks to Jared for sharing this work with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Vicki's Half-Woman, Half-Octopus Tattoo

I met Vicki at the DeKalb Avenue subway station in Brooklyn last month and I had to ask her about this tattoo.

This design is a half-woman, half-octopus, and was done by Brian Faulk at Hand of Glory Tattoo in Park Slope. She elaborated:

"I went to him [Brian] with a picture from the Victorian era that was of a woman who is all buttoned up, with a high collar, and then her bustle and her skirt are an octopus, so I went to him and said this is something to go from, but I want it to be more modern and not so buttoned up...it was [also] inspired by a song by Carla Kihlstedt, who's in a band called Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, so this is from a song from her band 2 Foot Yard ... the song is called "Octopus" [and] it's the story of a woman and all the different facets of her personality, pulling her in different directions."

Here's another look at the tattoo from the shop's website:

Brian, the artist from Hand of Glory/The End is Near, has tattooed me before, as reported here and here.

Thanks to Vicki for sharing her woman/octopus with us here on Tattoosday!

Here's a performance of "Octopus" from YouTube:

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pantera Giveaway

I was never a huge fan of the band Pantera, as they peaked just as my love of metal was on the downswing. I'm more of an 80's metal guy. However, as time has passed, I have grown to appreciate the band and regarded their breakthrough album, Vulgar Display of Power, as a classic.

So when the opportiunity presented itself to help promote the 20th anniversary of Vulgar Display of Power, I couldn't resist.

"But wait," you might be saying, "this is a tattoo blog not a music site." True, but I can tie anything to ink, it seems, so let's go down memory lane and revisit an old post from July 2009:

I was talking to a guy named Izzy on the R train. My wife Melanie was sitting next to me as he was telling me about his tattoos.

"Ever hear of a band called Pantera?" he asked.

Melanie laughed, the tattoo made sense, I knew what the crux of it was immediately - Izzy had the autograph of Pantera guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell forever inked on his flesh. Sadly, for those who don't know, in 2004, Dime was murdered on stage by a crazed fan.

Above Dimebag's signature is the logo CFH from their debut album Cowboys from Hell and below it is a guitar drawn by the legendary musician.

Izzy met Dime about 11 years ago [1998], outside of the building where Howard Stern was broadcasting his radio show. Dime drew it all on with a Sharpie and an artist named Eric tattooed it in the back of Bleecker Bob's Records.

Read the full post here.

Earlier this month, Rhino/Atco released the 20th anniversary edition of Vulgar Display of Power.
The new package includes the original remastered album, with the addition of "Piss," a recently discovered unreleased track from the recording sessions. It is packaged with a DVD that contains an unreleased live performance filmed in Italy in September of 1992, with the addition of the three official music videos from the album.

Check out the clip from the new video for the new track "Piss":

This is classic Pantera at the height of their game, and the live DVD performances are just phenomenal shots of pure adrenaline and power.

In conjunction with Rhino/Atco, we here at Tattoosday are giving away four copies of the 20th anniversary 2-disc combo. How cool is that!? So, if you are interested, please leave a comment on this post (making sure I have a way to contact you if you win) or, if you prefer, go to our Facebook page (here) and post a comment on the Pantera post to be eligible. I will use a fancy randomizer to help pick the winners and will announce them here on Friday, so enter by Thursday at midnight, EDT.

And, if you don't win, you can snag the CD from iTunes here or Amazon here.

In the mean time, you can also listen to some of the tracks streaming from the record by clicking this link:

Pantera - Vulgar Display Of Power 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

Good luck to all!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Two for Tattuesday Saturday: Wanderful Love Under the Cherry Blossoms

In honor of the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) , we're sharing this tattoo, which I spotted back in September:

This belongs to Rich, a musician and rap artist. He's a big Harry Potter fan, as exemplified by the magic wand. The snake at the base of the wand not only symbolizes infinity, it is a nod to Severus Snape, a character associated with the House of Slytherin, of which the serpent is the mascot.

The concept of the tattoo is exemplified by the music coming out of the wand, illustrating that sounds can be magical and that Rich is under music's spell.

The piece was inked by Chris at Lady Luck Tattoo Studio in Montville, Connecticut.

When I met Rich, he was sitting with his girlfriend in Penn Station. She introduced herself as Kytti, and asked if I wanted to see her tattoo.

But of course!

She actually has two tattoos, but lifted up her shirt to show me this beautiful design:

Kytti explained that this represents her and Rich together in Japan. They've been together for over a year and they'd both love to go there together and experience the culture. The tree is filled with cherry blossoms, a flower often associated with Japan.

Chris at Lady Luck also was the artist behind this tattoo.

Thanks to Rich and Kytti for sharing their magical and romantic tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Penny's Metal Collage

Penny made me feel old.

And I mean no disrespect to her. She was more than cooperative when I stopped and asked her about the unique and colorful tattoo that graces her upper left arm.

However, I was working at a technical disadvantage (borrowed camera) and like many who have met me have observed, I don't necessarily ooze hipness.

Nonetheless, Penny indulged my photographic fumblings and I was able to capture this image, which is a fairly decent photo of her ink:

This piece is based on a collage of pictures Penny took at a handful of metal shows.

"Which bands?" I asked, hoping to find a common ground with this younger person. I cut my teeth on early American metal (I still cherish my vinyl pressing of Metallica's Kill 'Em All on Megaforce records), but then again, that was the '80s. Penny uttered names I had heard (yay me!) but alas, couldn't put in their necessary classifications.

Deathklok. Children of Bodom. Amon Amarth.

What can I say? I'm an ancient 43.

Alas, Penny was a good sport and her tattoo post has just as much to do with my feeling older as it does with her ink. Sorry, Penny.

The work she credited to an artist named Adal, who transformed her pictures into this collage on flesh in two sessions and about five hours, all told.

Thanks to Penny for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

eL's Musical tattoo

Last month, much to my surprise, our old friend Paul (see his most recent work here) told me there was a tattoo shop nearby.

I was surprised, to say the least. "New?" I asked him. "Been open over a year," he replied.

I was puzzled. How had I missed a tattoo shop within walking distance of work? Was I blind?

Not quite. I was just too busy looking around me, and not looking up.

Because Fort Apache Tattoo Studio is just a stone's throw away from my regular inkspotting stomping ground, at West 31st Street near the corner of 8th Avenue.

How I missed it was the fact that it peers out over the southwest corner of Madison Square Garden from the 4th floor. Four flights of old-style New York City stairs.

But once I made it up there, I was pleasantly surprised by the layout of the shop. Four artists have separate work areas separated by low walls.

While there, I met Freak, who specializes in custom designs with a comics influence.

Do check out the website to see everyone's work.

But another question arose, how had I gone for over a year with this shop in my backyard and never met anyone who had been tattooed there? Of the hundreds of people I have met, no one had shared any work from Fort Apache!

Until the next day.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

The following day I stopped to talk to a guy sitting on a bench at the corner of 7th Avenue and 33rd Street.

He had this cool tattoo on his upper right arm:

"And where did you have this done?" I asked.

Yup, Fort Apache.

(And thank you for sharing your post with my story about finally finding the shop, by the way.)

The owner of this tattoo is named eL. He is an artist and a guitarist.

The tattoo represents a scar from a bad break-up. Because of the central role of music in eL's life, it only made sense to represent the heartbreak with symbolism near and dear to eL's heart.

I asked if the notes actually made up a tune, but they do not. For aesthetic reasons, they are musical symbols inked in flesh, nothing more, nothing less.

This tattoo was done by Hexx.

Thanks to eL for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Also a thank you to Freak for welcoming us with open arms as we checked out the shop!

Here's hoping we'll see more work from Fort Apache in the future!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Hang the DJ

I met Rohan on a Brooklyn-bound A train.

He has "thirteen or fourteen" tattoos, and he offered up this one from his right arm:

The phrase "Hang the DJ" refers to lyrics sung by Morrissey when he was with The Smiths.

I was only on the train with him for two stops, so I didn't get a full explanation of the tattoo until later, when Rohan e-mailed me:

I got this tattoo for several reasons - first and foremost I love The Smiths and their music changed the way I viewed myself against the social and cultural backdrop that we're all in. I thought a jukebox with the lyrics "Hang the DJ", the refrain from the song "Panic", was ironic.

The jukebox is what allows all of us to be the DJ and in "Panic", Morrissey is singing about how the music the DJ is playing means nothing to him and his life, and I share that sentiment with most of what I hear. The tattoo is sort of an encapsulation of how I feel about rock and roll and how certain bands and certain songs can, when they're really good and really honest, mean a lot more than just entertainment value.

The tattoo was inked by Dusty Neal in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently working at Donny Manco's New Republic Tattoo.

UPDATE: I exchange a few e-mails with the artist Dusty Neal after this posted and he remembered doing this tattoo very early on in his career as an artist. He wanted me to clarify this point, and to communicate that he feels that his art has developed to the point that this piece does not best represent his work as a tattooer. A look at photos of his work on MySpace here certainly showcases some amazing tattoos. Dusty encourages people to check out his current endeavors and, with all due respect to Rohan and the tattoo in this post, judge his talents based on what he has done more recently, and not early on in his career.

Thanks again to Rohan for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

As a little bonus, here is the video from "Panic" by the Smiths:

Monday, August 31, 2009

The Return of Victor's Ink

One of my favorite posts last year was my encounter with Victor, whose tattoos were numerous and wonderfully eclectic. The post was one of the first "tatalogs," as I call them, when a subject shares a multitude of their ink.

So, when I had just finished speaking with Austin about his sleeve, and saw a familiar face (and ink) hanging out in front of Fuse at the corner of 32nd and 7th, I ambled on over to say hi to Victor.

He had new tattoos, of course, and I soon had my camera out, adding to the tatalog.

I contacted him later to get the scoop on the work. Although he told me about it on the street, I didn't write any of it down, as I was too busy taking pictures. We've added five more pieces to the record here, and I'll let Victor narrate the rest:

The Divine Tattoo [just above his left wrist] was done by my cousin Ed Bonacore in the poconos. He is the only tattoo artist I really go to know. I trust him, he does good work. He works at this amazing shop in the Poconos called FUNHOUSE TATTOOING. The vibe there is cool from the colorful horror movie atmosphere, to all the artists and the friendly shop girl.

Anyway, I got the JOHN WATERS signature tattooed on [on my outer left forearm] last summer the day after I had met him with my best friend RUBY LAROCCA.

She got the same thing. She got him to sign his name to her arm as well! We make films and John Waters is one of our biggest influences so to have his mark on us for life is a reminder to keep making dangerous art.

I got the John Waters done at RED ROCKET TATTOO in NYC, I had to get it quick and fast so the autograph didn't fade. The artist's name slips my mind, but he was making a guest spot at that shop and he was originally from Texas. Red Rocket is one of the best shops in Manhattan.

So anyway, I got the autograph super big on my forearm, because in his movie Cecil B. Demented, all the characters get the favorite director tattooed on their arm. I though it would be pretty cool, to do that in real life, from the director that created that idea.

Back to Divine. Then I got the Divine tattoo because, how can't you love Divine. One of the greatest actors ever. I saw Pink Flamingos as a youngster, and I remember my parents talking about how this tranny was eating poop at the end of the film, and how they were all gagging watching the film! That got me really interested to say the least. And after Female Trouble, I know I would love anything these people collaborated on. I unfortunately cannot dig up Divine and get him to sign my arm, so [I] did a little portrait of him. He was a true artist, actor, performer, comedian, and I respect that.

Mink Stole, is also from the original DreamLand gang, and is in almost every John Waters film. She is amazing in Desperate Living, and when I met her, she was so sweet, so I figured with John Waters already inked into my arm, I would start the John Waters tribute arm. I met her at a horror convention in Baltimore, and one of the vendors was a tattoo artist, so I got the autograph, then got it tattooed and was able to show Mink by the next day. She was in shock.

The Taxi Driver tattoo [on my inner left wrist] was again done by my cousin Ed Bonacore...I have loved that movie forever, and think Travis Bickle [Robert De Niro's character] is the ultimate Anti-Hero. Its like an oil painting version of the shot at the end after he has killed all the pimps and scumbags in the brothel.

The quote on [the left side of] my ribs was also done by my cousin Eddie, but this is before he was in a shop.

It was done at this house after I had smoked a fat blunt and [was] high as a kite. It hurt a lot, my most painful tattoo. The side of the ribs hurts a lot because there no skin there, and every time the needle hits your skin, your ribs vibrate. It took 3 different sessions to do that tattoo. The quote is from a band called HUNCHBACK, that just split up. And it's from a song called "RED IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVES HAIR." When I saw the song live for the first time, I was convinced this would be my new favorite band. And I can honestly say, this is the best song ever performed live. It blew me away. And the lettering that was used is the font from THE WARRIORS. Another one of my favorite films!

So, there you have it, folks. Another block of Victor's tattoos! I can't wait to run into him again to see what's new!

Thanks once again to Victor for his generosity and sharing his ink with us here on Tattoosday!