Paradise Tattoo Gathering 2...

The weekend of September 17th-20th we again found ourselves in the Berkshires, the mountains of western Massachusetts. Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort was host of the second Paradise Tattoo Gathering. This year, the weather was better than last year's event in October and it was beautiful up there. Our booth was in the Burbank Center again. This is where all of the forums, discussions, brutal critiques, and tattoo contests took place. We had a pretty successful weekend there last year so we requested the same spot this year. Just like last year, we spent our days in the booth, and our nights in the bar. This year I decided to work smarter and not harder... I enlisted Katie from Pulse and Ms. Claudia a great friend of Pulse to help out working the booth so I could spend more time "networking". Who says deals can't be made on a mountain rollercoaster?

My Paradise experience in pictures (with some words)...

The view of the sunset from the Pulse condo's patio. Gorgeous.
Our first visitor! Stopping by the booth, Dan Marshall from Tribulation Tattoo. Check him out at http://www.tribulationtattoo.com/

Dan, while you're here can you take a picture of us? Claudia from Pulse is tall.

Tony Terrell from Hell City stops by to pick up a Pulse Swag Bag, free to all artists with weekend passes.
Can't we all just get along? Machines in our booth from Workhorse Irons, and Joe Capobianco alongside our own.

If looking good was her job, we wouldn't be able to afford Katie! Lucky for us, she enjoys "customer service". Hahaha. Just kidding Katie! But really check her out! Looking good AND working hard! Service with a smile. No one's better in the booth.
Mile high Nachos. Also know as dinner at 11pm. So good!
BJ "Soba" Johnson from Workhorse Irons with Brett from Pulse
Obie Hughes of Speakeasy Tattoo with me and Jime Litwalk of Hart & Huntington Tattoo. It was a very plaid weekend.

Tim Brewer retuning an old Pulse custom at the breakfast bar. The butter knife served as a screw driver. Go MacGyver!
Nikko Hurtado from Ignition Tattoo stops by to chat with The Baroness Nichole East from Kid Robot and artist/actor Carlos East.

A discussion panel including Shawn Barber, Durb Morrison of Hell City, Russ Abbott of Ink & Dagger Tattoo and Guy Aitchison (Not pictured). This panel was moderated by Brett from Pulse
Brett from Pulse is very excited about some innovations in machine building made by the gentelman in the white Tshirt. I'm sorry I don't know his name, but he really makes some unique machines.
Carlos East rocking a jacket from the Fist Full of Metal show. Carlos is one half of the handsome art team know as the Beast Brothers. Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/beastbrothers and http://kronikle.kidrobot.com/artist-profile-the-beast-brothers/
Our own motley crew. Clockwise from the left, BJ "Soba" Johnson from Workhorse Irons, Joe Capobianco, me, Tim Brewer from Body Graphics Tattoo, Brett Bryan from Pulse, Andy Schmidt from Body Electric Tattoo, and Alex from Pulse.
A very late night in the Pulse condo. After this photo was taken most of our guests cleared out and almost everyone in our place had gone to bed. I was still up watching TV when Bob Tyrrell came by after 2am. The man is a party animal. It was after 4am when he left... looking for another party!
Each condo had a guestbook with notes from previous guests. Ours quickly turned into a sketchbook for artists that stopped by. Tom Strom from Up Town Tattoo in Minneappolis explains one of the inappropriate drawings. We left behind some interesting entries for the next guests of the Ski Patrol Lodge.

Our booth neighbor Guy Aitchison. Guy did a seminar, sat on a few discussion panels, and was available in his booth for book signing, and portfolio critiques for most of the weekend. Check out the new "Reinventing the Tattoo" book at http://www.hyperspacestudios.com/index.html
Joe Capobianco says "Not for nothing..."
Katie from Pulse and Obie Hughes from Speakeasy Tattoo waiting in line for the mountain rollercoaster. Check out the beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. What a great day.
It's quitting time! Tim Brewer from Body Graphics Tattoo and Claudia from Pulse are getting a head start while we close up the Pulse booth.

A great capture by Katie from Pulse. Obie Hughes lets the cards fall where they may.
Andy Schmidt of Body Electric Tattoo with Katie from Pulse. Katie's looking pretty hot considering this photo was taken after 2am! Andy came all the way from Germany to hang out with us for the weekend. Check him out at http://www.andysbodyelectric.de/ My favorite tattoo of the weekend, and winner of tattoo of the day on Saturday. Dolly Parton by Bob Tyrrell. I was actually jealous that I didn't think of this first! Great tattoo on a super sweet girl who has started quite a nice collection. http://www.tattoogathering.com/

Foster's Game Dinner September...

Last night it was time again for our night out at Foster's Restaurant in New Haven. As usual Katie and I joined Joe and Alethea Capobianco, and unfortunately (for them) none of the other dinner regulars could make it. We sat down with 30 strangers and one new addition to our group, my BF Sean Martin of Brass City Tattoo. Sean loved his first experience at Foster's and you will too, so go eat there!

The dinner's theme was duck...

I say this everytime, I know, but dinner was great! I loved the mussels casino. Mmm... bacon. Mmm... bacon made from ducks. Dessert was also great. Strange and unusual but delicious. Everyone in our party loved the 4th COURSE, and I'll admit that I liked it, but didn't love it. It was a texture thing for me.


And now... the photos. Enjoy!

The PRE-GAME: Pâté de Foie Gras

1st COURSE: Duck bacon topped New Zealand mussels casino

2nd COURSE: Duck consume with duck wonton
3rd COURSE: Duck confit napoleon with potato gofret and a blackberry lemon pistachio vinaigrette

4th COURSE: Goat cheese stuffed smoked duck breast with a slivered pear, pear brandy sauce5th COURSE: Duck egg Grand Marnier zabaglione with fresh berries

za⋅ba⋅glio⋅ne [zah-buhl-yoh-nee; It. dzah-bah-lyaw-ne] –noun Italian Cookery.

a foamy, custardlike mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine, usually served hot or chilled as a dessertAletha and Joe Happy-bianco

Chef/Owner Dave Foster has already posted the Halloween dinner menu on the Foster's site. Check it out! www.fostersrestaurant.com



I'll be there!

Inside the PI (Volume 3)...

The Conference Room. Also known as the lunch room. Where we meet and eat. Sometimes simultaneously. This room is located on the second floor in our main building. It's pink because it used to be my office. I had a birds eye view of the entire lower level. The room gets lots of natural light from our sky lights. When we expanded and moved our customer service center into the building next door to our main building, I moved to my new office in the new space.

I'm 30...

As mentioned in my previous post, my birthday was last Saturday. That was September 12th just in case you want to write it on the calendar for next year. Hahaha. Anyway, I spent the weekend on beautiful Cable Beach in the Bahamas.With my amazing and beautiful friends Kimberly, Tracey and Desiree. We went biking, swimming, snorkeling, sailing, pedal boating, kayaking, wind surfing, and shopping. We even booze cruised to a private island. We also ate and drank enough to fuel a small army. It truly was an amazing birthday celebration. Could it be true that they just keep getting better as the years go on? It's going to be hard to top this one!

CLUTCH...

CLUTCH is one of my favorite rock bands, and I've loved them for a long time. I've been rocking CLUTCH shows since 1995 and I can'te even count the number of times I've seen them over the years.

My friend Bryan is an awesome guitar player and I hold him partly responsible for getting me addicted to the rock show at an early age. His old band TREE used to tour with CLUTCH back in the day and today he works with them still. He's played on tracks in the studio and often techs for them on the road, and when he does he gets out on stage and shreds with them. Thanks to this relationship, these guys have let me hang around over the years, and have shown me many fun times!

Bryan and me on the CLUTCH bus in 2008.
So why the post on how I love CLUTCH? It's my 30th birthday. It's a Saturday night. CLUTCH is playing in Hartford at the Webster Theatre which is only 25 minutes from my house. Seems like the stars have aligned to make it a perfect birthday, right? Unfortunately, tonight I'm missing the rock show! Fortunately for me however, it's because I'm in the Bahamas celebrating my birthday properly with white sand, blue water, and lots of drinks with those little umbrellas in them. Even though I'm enjoying myself... I can't helped but be just a little bummed that I'm missing them play my birthday show.
Some pictures of good times I did not miss...

Pre-show stage side set list review with TM Oscar. Claudia always tries to sneak in some last minute changes. Is that Katie from Pulse? Of course it is!
Sometimes I get a little too close with the camera. Me with Dan Maines. After show... PARTY!
Neil Fallon with me at 18 years young!
Neil Fallon with me at 28 years (still) young! Bryan and me "backstage" at a CLUTCH show in 2007. I love this guy! Check out his new project NEVER GOT CAUGHT here: http://www.myspace.com/theywantmore



And for god's sake, LISTEN TO CLUTCH!

http://www.pro-rock.com/index.cfm Official

http://www.myspace.com/clutchband Myspace