Sideshow Body Art...Austin, TX

Well, after a few more months in crazy Manhattan, New York...I decided to move again, this time down to Austin, Texas...where i'm now working for a new shop that my amazing friends from formerly Voodoo Tattoo in Iowa have opened here in Austin called Sideshow Body Art. We're right down on 6th street, which rocks and reminds me of how the East Village used to be...now that CBGB's closed, and the Continental is gone, and the city has become so gentrified that I have decided...New York is dead, L.A. is dead, Seattle is dead, so the next haven for musicians and artists is now Austin. The city motto is "Keep Austin Wierd" how perfect...so, I will post my Austin adventures here, or perhaps even create a whole new Austin blog to keep my exploits on...so stay tuned, as there will be much to see and read on here as I begin a new experience down here in my home state of Texas!...peace...elvis

Philadelphia Eddie's and journey's end

Well it was a long amazing trip, and what better way to end it at
Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoos on south street! Also, Don Juan (who was
working in north carolina at my first stop) had moved back to philly,
and I worked with him again....he was at the beginning and the end...the
alpha and omega if you will of my tour...heh. I do so love philly, and
philly cheesesteaks (with whiz! Of course) and was feeling much better
by this time. Working at Eddie's was way rad, and they have kept such an
old school vibe there...kudos to the crew who were awesome!

Troy Timpel, Furry Couch, Don Juan, Byrd, T....

Many thanks to those guys for having me!

Now I'm back in New York City, at New York Hardcore Tattoos my
home....I'm trying to stay here for awhile, depending on when and if I get a place...

All in all it was an amazing journey across our great country of America! I hope to see some of the awesome people I met again sometime in the future...thanks for everything everyone, and all those who upheld
the old school codes of taking care of all us travelling artists.

...
--elvis

Skin Art Tat2 Sioux City

I rolled up into Sioux City, to the shop like a thief in the
night...with the greatest of intentions to do tons of work...the amazing
guys there Ben, Harold, Chad, Big Ben, and apprentice Tony treated me
like gold...

Then disaster struck, I came down with a mad sickness that felt as
though the grim reaper had his scythe stuck halfway in my back and he
didn't let go for four days....during which I had a crazy fever of 104,
chills, and couldn't move....but I did manage to escape the reaper this
time. And through it all the guys at skin art were awesome and made sure
that deaths evil claws did not close upon me.

...shout out to those guys and if you're ever in the area be sure to get
some ink by the fine upstanding lads at:

Skin Art Tat2
2300 Dakota Ave.
So Sioux City, NE 68776
402 494 2919

....next spot come see me at:

Philadelphia Eddie's Tattoo
621 S 4th st.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
215 922 7384

...limited time only!...then it's back to New York!
--elvis

Pure Imagination....

Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker!.....

My next adventure took me off to Mount Pleasant, IA to see my first apprentice Kandyman Joe, and his Pure Imagination wonderland there. The atmosphere was small town magical, as there happened to be a fair in town that week called the "Old Threshers" reunion. Complete with funnel cakes, candies, and awesome arts and crafts booths galore. And not to mention the sweet delicious tattoos that we served up that week! I was also taken to "Sneeze Bend" river and dunked there as some sort of strange tribal ritual that the natives of the town felt that I needed...a pseudo baptism of sorts. It was way fun!....and silly...

Mad shout outs to all the kids there...I had a good time, and if you're ever tired of the craziness of the city and want a true taste of rural america, well...go see that magical place Mt. Pleasant, and visit Pure Imagination Tattoos there, i'm sure the Kandyman will whip you up a nice and tasty tattoo!...Oompah Loompas, I mean the staff there rocks as well, Jared and Alex are a must see! Awesome ppl and excellent artists...so go, now!!......

....just use your imagination!

...on to Nebraska it is for me, as I have much more to see!!!

The Voodoo that Iowa can do!

It's been a long jaunt, and i've been so busy and slackin but here begins the updates!...from San Fran to Cedar rapids, IA...but I made it. And Preceeded to have some good times there. Iowa is quite the interesting place indeed...in the week and a half that I was there I had a teenage lesbian give me her bra, saw a corn silo get hit by lightning and explode (quite awesome actually and I don't think that anyone was hurt, except for some tasty corn)! The staff there is always friendly and helpful, and all round good ppl, Shane, Shannon, Louis (Louithhh), and Cory "So Radd!"....I had the distinct pleasure of working with those guys, and hanging out many times at the lumberyard (gonna miss that club!)...Alsowhile I was there we went up to Minneapolis to see an amazing hardcore show starring the Gorilla Biscuits and Murphys Law, which rocked all around! Civ and Jimmy on tha same stage! How can you go wrong?...if you're ever in the Cedar Rapids area, you absolutely must go get some good voodoo in you!!!well gotta runnoft to tha next spot!!!

One Shot San Francisco

...I was able to head to San Francisco to work next to golden gate park at One Shot Tattoo with:::Dave "Dawg" Bobrick, Greg "Gmoney" Rojas, Karina "lakarina.net", Sky "boogie" Winchester, and thier awesome apprentice Gaytha. We had some good times, and those guys are amazing tattoo artists, if you ever get the chance to head over to San Fran, make hella sure you stop by One Shot!!!

I'll definitely miss this city, and will have to go back soon to check out more of it and hang at the Shamrock, and the Mucky Duck again!....Off to iowa!

http://www.oneshottattoo.com

:::Tour Updates:::

Aug 10th-20th

Voodoo Custom Tattoo
106 Third Ave SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

319-365-8282 or 319-365-TAT2

Aug 21st-30th

Pure Imagination Tattoos
112 S. Main St.
Mount Pleasant, IA 52641

319-385-3977

www.pureimaginationtattoos.com

Sept 4th-13th

Skin Art Tat-2
2300 Dakota Ave.
So. Sioux City NE 68776

402 494-2919

Red Hot Texas

Ah Texas...my hometown (besides New York of course!)...it was typical triple-digit weather, and no snow to be seen. Thank goodness, though I did find myself missing the cold a couple of times...

I had the pleasure of working at Red Hot Tattoos, with Chilli, and Benny Shaw. They also have another location with Jamie English, Peanut, and Adam X.

I also took time to visit with family while I was there, which was nice, and spent july 4th swimming !...We also had a small family reunion and I was able to visit with my grandma (who rocks by the way!) and ate much
bbq!

Me and the guys from the shop lit off as many fireworks as we could, Benny also called me before I left and told me of how he dropped a lit black cat into his toilet blowing a hole in it the size of a fist! Ha!
That kid is mad crazy, gotta love us tattoo artists! He also put one on my foot while I was asleep on the couch in the shop one day and they filmed it....don't fall asleep in the shop, or around us, cause crazy stuff happens!

All in all, it was good times with good friends and family, I hope to go back there soon! If you're in the area don't leave without getting some Red Hot Ink! And don't mess with Texas! Onward to San Francisco I go!

... http://www.redhottat2.net

Stay tuned!
--elvis