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Scott Sylvia

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Blog Entries posted by Scott Sylvia

  1. Scott Sylvia
    ENCYCLOPEDIA FOR THE ART AND HISTORY OF TATTOOING
    BY HENK SCHIFFMACHER, AKA HANKY PANKY

    I believe my first true encounter with Henk was at the last Amsterdam convention in 96. I had met him before, but never got the full experience.
    I had flown to Europe with Jeff Rassier, it was my first trip there and I was stoked. We got to our hotel, threw our shit in the room and headed straight to Henk's shop. The red light district was full of dirt bag tattooers roaming about, lurking on the hookers and being amazed by all the the weed, pussy and down right foreignness of the place. When we got to the shop we found Freddy Corbin and Mike Wilson working. When Freddy introduced me to Henk, I was greeted with a great big smile and a hand shake that made me feel as if I was child shaking a grown ups hand. He was as welcoming as you could ever want. With a hundred people there to kiss his ass, Henk still had the ability to be genuinely hospitable. The trip was extraordinary, and by the end of it I think my life was different. I have never looked at tattooing the same way since. It was then that I realized that this was a sacred family, and I was welcomed to it in Amsterdam, with Henk sitting at the head of the table. There are so many stories from that week and those experiences make it all worthwhile.
    I was there for the unveiling of the museum, and had the good fortune of helping Henk and ten other people get the last bits of it together immediately preceding the opening. I believe that Henk has the most extensive collection of tattooing machines in existence, he even owns the Samuel O'Riley machine. In addition, he has everything from a hippo skull to tattooed skin, chopped off fingers, and mannequins in full samurai dress. I'm pretty sure he even has a dick in a jar. Hank has a library that can't be beat, hundreds of books that I had never before encountered. Hanky Panky is ostensibly the worlds best historian in the field of tattooing. He has the most extensive collection I have ever had the pleasure of investigating, and the walls of his home are stacked with more museum artifacts. I have heard that he is to open another museum soon, I hope to God that this is true.
    So Hanky Panky has made another book, and man, it's a doozy. This hefty family bible size book could just about change your life. With all of the information that he has, combined with a tattooer's background, he’s put out an amazing book full of everything anyone could think of to include in a book on tattooing. It's all in there, the full spectrum, from bands who are tattooed, as he does know a lot of them, to the rarest of tattooed tribes. Ritual, spiritual, and clinical forms are well covered. As for tattooers, this is where Henks sense of humor and shear lack of giving a fuck comes into play. There are so many tattooers in it that I know are historically significant, and there are some that I have never heard of before. This Encyclopedia has a wealth of flash, machines, stencils, photos of tattooed tribes, I can look at this thing for hours then come back to it and start over again. This is a must for any tattooer's book collection. Just the brief history and hilarious shit said about people is great, even syphilis gets showcased.
    This man has kept the spirit that is tattooing alive. If anyone had the pleasure to see his original shop or the museum you know what I mean. So I say thanks to Henk for adding this gem to the tattoo world. It seems tattoo books are never ending, whether people are putting them out about them selves or regurgitating flash into new books, but this one actually has a purpose and is separate from the rest. All hail Henk.
    Thanks,
    Scott
    The Tattoo Encyclopedia is available here, and can be found at Temple Tattoo in Oakland, CA this winter.
  2. Scott Sylvia
    ATTENTION ALL BAY AREA TATTOOERS.
    my friend danny dringenberges car was broken into tonight next door to black heart tattoo and all of his shit was stolen. anyone brings any tattoo related stuff including tattoo machines please call the shop.415-431-2100 there will be a reward for sure. please help if you can. thanks
  3. Scott Sylvia
    Published by State of Grace

    My first experience with Bob Roberts was in 1989. I had just moved from Monterey, a nice quiet place, to this mega asphalt hell called southern California. I was 17 and working as a union apprentice butcher. I had been tattooed a few times by my high school friend Aaron Cain. He had told me where to find Bob Roberts, who was know to me as the guy in the "tattoo times" who tattooed all the punk rock folks, so away I went. I drove from West Covina to Hollywood, which coming from Monterey was a long haul, to see Spotlight Tattoo. I walked in the door and no one was there. "What the fuck?" I thought. "Mecca and no worshipers?" so I went about my gazing. Bob was tattooing, greeted me with a squint, and I stared and stared at everything for what seemed like an eternity. It made such an impact on me that I can remember it to this day, and I have a terrible memory. The flash, stickers, little signs... man, it was cool. Where I came from, the tattoo shop look like a trailer or something, like you could pick it up and run with it. This was probably for good reason, the owner was no good.



    So I'm there for maybe 1/2 an hour maybe 45 minutes and bob stands up with this sort of bull grunt, walks over and says, "Well you gonna get tattooed or what?" I could feel my self get hot and start to sweat when the words came out, "Ppbff, no man, I don't have any money." This, apparently, was the exact thing that needed to be said to receive this gift - "What the fuck you think this is, the god damn library?" He glared at me and I think he may have also gotten a little taller. I decided that my stay was over, thinking that I'd better go before this before this dude popped me in my mouth. That is what tattooing was to me, and at times, it still is. I can't possibly thank Bob Roberts enough for teaching me that I was standing in his church, and I had brought no offering. Nothing but stares of amazement at all the reapers and tribal designs, which ruled long before the Chili Peppers made them popular.
    So here's his book, and at first the price hurt my ass, dispite the fact that this printing was part of a limited run of 1000. Sometimes I think that book prices are being driven way up for no real reason these days. At first glance I thought this was confirmed, but then I started to get into the book. I mean not just the pictures, I started really reading it. First the forward, then the intro from Ed Hardy, which is pretty cool. Ed gives a nice time line, and there's a ton of respect praised upon Bob without too much self celebration. Then I read the Bob interview, which is really more of a manifesto, 'cause he's sort of staking his flag in the back of tattooing. As I thumb through the pages, I'm reading this awesome history of tattooing and life. There are some real moments in this book that really inspired me, like his relationship with his kids, and how much he adores charlie is incredible. Also his friendship with Horiyoshi, and how he speaks of the connection they have. I am especially grateful to hear him talk about how that we aren't shit without the customers. It's an awesome point of view and well worth the read. Bob Roberts' life is amazing, with all his ties to Ed, Greg Irons, Zeke Owens, Jack Rudy, and on and on. How could this book this go wrong? It can't. I don't want to go into every detail of the book, but it's refreshing to see a man that's been tattooing that long and is still inspired and can be honest about himself. Bob Roberts is man is full of integrity and opinions, and he shares them all without apologizing.
    The book is probably 7/8 photos which is good, 'cause man, his paintings are incredible. There's big sections of tattoos, then line drawings, then tattoo paintings and non tattoo paintings, some of the photos are a little pixelated but makes no difference. The only thing I find strange is that he has his current crew in the back of the book. I understand why, but it dates the book, so in three years when people have moved on they'll still be there, in the back of Bob's book. I was told that was one of his requests, so God bless this man, for never giving in to what everybody else wants him to do, and still reminding me that it's his church and I'm just standing in it, looking at pictures.
    You can buy it here: Horitaka's State of Grace.

  14. Scott Sylvia
    Up until this point, everyone I have interviewed has been a friend or acquaintance. When I was getting ready to do the Tim Hendricks interview, I spoke with my friend Demian Cane. "Since you're coming down, you should do Flatmo, too." Now I have seen a lot of Kore Flatmo's work and I've always loved it, but I've never so much as even seen a picture of him, let alone had a heart to heart conversation. Demian took matters into his own hands and called him. One phone call later, I was sick to my stomach with nerves. I am not what anyone would call a social butterfly, I have anxiety beyond a doubt. I am only 100% comfortable at two times, when I am tattooing, and when I am in my home. All I can do is think of how I don't know the guy and how awkward it will be, and how could I possibly do a good interview if I don't know what to ask? Seriously. Well, lets say when I met him it was a surprise, the general size of the man. I was not expecting a big dude since his tattoos have such a gentle sense about them. Kore was really easy to talk to, very well spoken, and had strong opinions, which is a quality that I love in people. Strong opinions, to me, signify a strong character. Whether that has any validity, who knows, but that's what I believe. After a few minutes, it became clear that Kore is as prolific in his words as he is in his tattooing, and I was able to see where the gentleness in his work originates. This interview turned out to be single handedly the easiest one I have ever done. I hope that his words bring a huge smile to your face, as they did to mine.
    Thanks again Kore for your graciousness, and thank you Danny Dringerberg for letting me do this at your place. LST viewers, you are in for a treat.
    Scott

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpqwCuwGPtI
  16. Scott Sylvia
    Dan Dringenberg hails from an era of tattooing that was scary, violent and otherwise hostile. I started tattooing in
    this period, cutting my teeth with a big biker guy named Miller. I'm sure that many people will understand when I
    say that Dan has changed tattooing in many ways, but most notably with his black back pack. It maybe true that every corner of this business is currently saturated with suppliers ripping each other off, but it wasn't like that back then. Dan was one of the first people to produce a high quality tube. Up until that point, you either used super small Spaulding tubes or crappy brass National ones that turned strange colors in the autoclave. That's where Dan's genius began. He produced a remake of the tattoo Sven tube which is now known as the "open top shader." Philip Leu had been traveling around the world tattooing with these, but they were just legend to us, until along comes Danny. In his great wisdom, he figured out the jig work needed to make these things. Now I have seen these things, and they are really complex pieces, multiple actions happening at once. But cut, polish, press, and blamo! There goes Danny, out on the track pimping his wares out of a black back pack. I still have the first tubes i got from him to this day. They've been beaten useless, but i still have them. Dan has since been through the gauntlet of ups and downs and has come out on top. His machine shop has become a corner stone of innovation, and the quality of the machines coming out of that shop matches Danny's integrity. All of my first parts were from Dringenburg and Company, he is the only reason I was ever able to start making machines in a production form as opposed to one-offs.
    I did this interview at the same time as Kore and Tim's interviews, just real late at night when everyone had split
    except two of Dan's friends who sat next to me while we talked. I'd like to thank Dan for not only allowing me to use his place and disrupt the day to day affair of his shop to do these interviews, but also for all of his
    help and involvement with my own machine business.
    I hope you enjoy this wild ride with Danny, I know I sure did.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WjcUpHoBbQ
  17. Scott Sylvia

    what i want

    By Scott Sylvia,

    ok, what i want
    you to be a part.
    your pictures
    your ideas
    your input
    your intentions to be pure and not driven from jealousy
    to vioce your opinion
    to be righteous
    to be positive and constructive the world is full of haters, leave them there.
    draw something new today with no intention of ever using it
    mail someone a hand written letter. they are awsome.
    i want your story
    tell someone.
  20. Scott Sylvia

    one fucking year.

    By Scott Sylvia,

    So....One fucking year already? I can't believe it has been that long. seems to fly by with everything going on you never really keep track of the beginning point? At least I never do, but thank god somebody paid attention because I sure wasn't. When loch told me about it I was surprised to say the least.
    I would like to thank everybody who has participated in this place, from the blogs, to photos, to the stories and even bumble nuts who i think may secretly be marrying ursula, "they really had an energy between them". ha-ha i would really like thank the great tattooers who have let me intervene in their lives for a while and show people what i find great about them and there work that needs to be shared.
    I would also like to thank everyone for their patience with the changes of the actual site while we grow and try to keep it an easily useable site. Who would have thought we would have so many photos so fast?
    We are having a get together tonight and I cant wait. Spent all day shoveling and ripping out concrete. I could use some diner and adult conversation, as adult as I am capable of.
    Finally I would like to thank everyone who has made this possible. First Steve is the man! He made this mother fucker from duct tape and paper clips and it rules. Tammy is the internet guru who has the master plan of the forum she is sort the grand master flash to our furious five. Lochlan is the man holding down home plate always managing and posting and doing things that people abbreviate and i just smile and act like i know what the fuck they just said. then there is as i like to call her "the boss" my wife who has to put up with me in all forms and has to edit everything i write so i don't sound like a retard. she will not be editing this so you can get the idea of how important she is. ha ha. she is a great women and i am a better man for even knowing her.
    Thank you all. Scott
  21. Scott Sylvia
    The following is what I wrote at the end of a thread that will be removed. By request, I've taken this part out and moved it here. If you have no idea what it's in reference to, lucky you. Don't worry about it.
    Hey everyone,
    Sorry I haven't been on here so much, I've been super busy painting and getting ready for an art show for the shop. Thank god we're now officially broken up with BumbleNuts.
    To clear up the "private section" issue, I just want to say that it has never been my intention to have a private tattooer's section. My goal has always been to promote good tattooing in a positive way. There are other tattoo forums that have had private sections, and they've just turned into knitting circles with name calling and frat boy posturing. I'm not against clubs per se, I am a member of the Good Gents and the Oddfellows, but a private section would only hurt the long term health of our forum.
    There are tons of ways for tattooers to talk to each other everyday, you could also PM each other on here. But this forum was never intended to teach techniques or explain how to tattoo, we just want to elevate the publics' knowledge, and our own, of the truly great things that are happening in tattooing, past, present, and future.
    I especially want to thank Valerie and Stewart and anyone else who's tried to participate as a tattooer OR a collector on here and help cool this fire down. It's also the non-tattooers like Shawn Porter, gougetheeyes, Ursula, and Ms Rad that make LST great. Just like how we wouldn't be tattooers if we didn't have clients, we're interdependent both in the shop and on LST as well.
    So yeah, Go Team! (Clearly I've drank a lot of good coffee today.)
  22. Scott Sylvia
    Hey everybody, there is some light at the end of this Tattoo School tunnel, and it came in my mailbox today. I recieved a letter from a friend whom I know to be a credible and reliable source on the subject. Here are his suggestions on how we can direct our collective energy in a positive direction to help clean up this mess.
    Thanks,
    Scott
    "Ok, here is the breakdown of the atrocious new show Tattoo School. The show as we all know is aired on TLC, TLC is part of the Discovery Channel Incorporation. DCI is owned by media giant Cox Enterprises Inc and is received in nearly 66 million homes and is co-owned with Tele-Communications Inc.. They also own part of the E! Entertainment Network, Rysher Entertainment, six television stations (which covers 8 percent of the United States), 16 radio stations, 18 daily newspapers, and several weekly newspapers. Cox Enterprises employs roughly 60,000 people Cox Enterprises, Inc.
    In 1994 Cox Enterprises Inc. was worth $3 billion and is now worth nearly $15 billion.
    TLC bought the show from Touch Productions, which produces Tattoo School. Touch productions is a massive Production Company from the UK who is behind a slue of television shows and documentaries for BBC and many of the largest UK and United States Networks. They are not worth as much as Cox but are still up in the hundreds of millions and climbing. TOUCH PRODUCTIONS
    The tattoo industry, even if every single last one of us banded together, could not make a tiny dent on TLC or Touch Productions. It would take tens of millions of petition signatures to raise enough awareness for any action on their end to take place. Do not be discouraged, there is still hope. Remember, it all trickles down (or in this case, UP). TLC purchases the show from Touch Productions, Touch hires a crew to film the show at its location of the Tattoo School. If you eliminate the Tattoo School out of the equation, there would be no show for TLC to air. The Tattoo School is a real business and is well within our reach to do something about and create waves for them. It would take a lot less signatures on a petition to raise enough awareness about a local business teaching without licenses and keeping an unsanitary environment according to health standards. THIS IS WITHIN OUR REACH PEOPLE. Artists and collectors need to unite against the Tattoo School, If we would have focused all our attention and time towards the Tattoo Schools as we have towards TLC we might easily have damned the Tattoo School’s for good. The executives at TLC are most likely toasting champagne glasses to all the media and free promotion we have given them, but what’s done is done.
    Let’s start campaigning against the Tattoo Schools; we can do this. There is one in Upstate New York and one in San Diego California. If you live near these areas I urge you to go to City Hall and write a complaint about these schools, even a letter or email to the city website will suffice for those who don’t live close enough to make an appearance. If you sit around and keep the attitude that someone else will do this for you then you do not deserve the gift of being a tattooer or wearing one. All the information is listed below and it will only take a small portion from your day to speak out in what you believe in.
    Tattoo School in upstate NY
    This is the link to the City of Schenectady Council where you can write a letter and copy and paste it to every councilman’s email address Schenectady::City Council
    Or you can email Kathy Finch who is in charge of human resources at:
    kfinch@schenectadyny.gov
    Tattoo School in Escondido, San Diego"
  23. Scott Sylvia
    Tim Hendricks is a world renowned bad ass. He lives a life most of us could only dream of having, and somehow pulls it off. From pro skateboarder, to surfer, to incredible tattooer, to TV notoriety, he has encompassed all things cool in his life.
    Tim and I have a good friend in common who's responsible for our introduction, Demian Cane. Demian has a body suit that I believe Tim has redone three times or something absurd like that, Tim finally had to cut him off. His tattoos are like that, they can make a collector act like a dope fiend.
    I respect Tim Hendricks so much because he puts all the work into the tattoo and it seems effortless. If you've ever been fortunate enough to see this dude execute a portrait, you know what I mean. Most tattooers peck at them like chickens, where Tim is hauling ass, dumbfounding speed and ability rock his tattooing. Tim Hendricks produces line drawing books for tattooers, but he's also made power supplies, tattoo machines, his own needles, his own gloves and motorcycle grips, and god damn ball point pens just for tattooing. Yeah, they write on paper, but they really show their stuff on skin. If he thinks of it, he just does it, that simple. Tim has tattooed me three times, and my wife two times, one of which is a portrait of me that is so good it weirds me out. It's strange to see yourself on someone else's body. My wife didn't tell me she was getting it done, so when I first saw it, she said that I stared at it so long, speechless, that she started to think I was angry. Truth is, that's just my face, it makes me look angry even when I'm just thinking about a sandwich.
    I have had the pleasure to travel across the globe with this man, and in addition to being a great person, Tim is also a great traveler. How well someone travels, in my opinion, tells a lot about a person's character. Tim has a great sense of humor and can tell a story like no other. This interview takes place at Danny Dringenburg's place, I drove down to catch him before he headed out to NY to start filming New York Ink. I am glad and grateful that he shared this time with me. I find this interview to be a lot of fun, I hope you do as well.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FBDYctTcqU
  24. Scott Sylvia
    Ok, just so you can understand the sickness of my tattoo machines these are pictures of just the ones at the shop. I still have the machine shop where I build machines. I am going do organize these things I am hoping to build some display cases so I can get them all in one place. So retarded.
  25. Scott Sylvia
    So keeping with the Aaron cain, I have a lot of them I use to bail him out of every bad financial decision he made. Usually he would go on some toy shopping spree right before rent was due.
    This machine was from when he first started to build machines for sale. i could have gotten a lower number but thought the 13th one would be cool and somebody had dibs on number 7. i have the number 14 of the iron telephone dial from Mickey sharpz and for a moment i thought i would collect machines by numbers but lost interest quickly. i used this for a while it always had some crazy long stroke and was not an everyday machine. it now hangs in the cabinet and looks great in there so there it stays ha-ha.
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