Legends

[kylegrey]

More on Mike Perfetto - Eric Jones: The ‘Perfetto’ Experience of a Lifetime « TAM Blog

[Bunny Switchblade]

More on Mike Perfetto - Eric Jones: The ‘Perfetto’ Experience of a Lifetime « TAM Blog

Too funny....I got the same tattoo....only with war paint!

It was hanging on some flash inside his little room and i loved it so i asked if I could get it!

He had flash covering all the walls but i loved the sheet in his room this came off of!

And that article it totally true to form.....I got there around 3pm and got tattooed about 10pm....ha ha ha.....I was number 6 on the list!

Had time to leave and walk around Brooklyn and get some AWESOME pizza on 18th street!

Talked to the other people waiting there pretty much all day to get tattooed....it was an awesome experience!

Parking was easy as was getting there off the highway!

Here's my tattoo....this is a cell pic of it fresh that night!

[riot]

me, my friend neil, and the fabulous hiriyoshi III (he told us to call him yoshi :) )

didn't get a chance to get tattooed by him, but we talked forever and he was so awesome and humble. it was at the national tattoo convention in cincinnati last month sometime... and he was telling me about how he had won an award there, and didn't expect it and he cried. ha ha. he was awesome.

[Scott R]

@riot I would have pawned a tv to get tattooed by him, and I dont even have any japanese tattoos.

[kylegrey]

@Cu-Bu hold onto your horses (and T.V.) homes , I feel something may have been lost in translation here . Pretty sure thats not Horiyoshi III of Yokohama rather a collector called Yoshi who has been tattooed by the main man and who also wears a tigers head by Bob Roberts .

[CultExciter]

Yeah, that dude definitely is wearing a body suit that Horiyoshi III did. It's in the Bushido book.

[Scott R]

I was going to say if you talked to the guy for an hr might aswell continued the conversation over some tattooing

[riot]

ha ha. well sorry for the confusion, i was told that was who it was, so i took it as gospel. ha ha. obviously i need to do my own research next time. yea... i'm buyin a house... so the timing was not quite right.

[Tight-Lines]

Just found out (a few weeks ago) that my co-worker has most of his body covered by Grime (he also states his right sleeve was one of Grimes 1st sleeves). I knew he had tattoos but, he's a lot older than me and I was always nervous to ask . He told me he might be able to get me some pictures so I can post 'em up on here. I felt stupid not realizing it was Grime. The bio-mechanical art is incredible.

[Dan S]

Well, the Coasts have both been written up, so I guess I have to throw in my vote for Chicago.

Cliff Raven. I don't usually like linking to Wiki, but this is a fairly concise and accurate summation of his career.

Cliff Raven - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

While it is accurate, it doesn't really convey just how much of an influence the man had. When I first started hanging around his shop at WAY too young an age, Buddy McFall was still working there, and it was a pretty rough and tumble place. Phil Sparrow was there at times, as was Tats Thomas.

Cliff was called "The Father of Modern Tattooing in America" by those in the know in this area. He may have been, or he may simply have been one of the earliest and most influential advocates of Japanese-style tattooing.

Continuing his style, and also his renown, were some of his apprentices, especially Dale Grande, who still owns Chicago Tattoo, and Bob Benedetti. That line continues with the man I consider to be one of the finest traditional tattooists in the world, Nick Colella, (Tattooing by Nick Colella) and with another outstanding artist, deeply immersed in the Japanese tradition, Miles Maniaci. ({ Miles Maniaci }) BTW, that's my arm in the "Progress" section.

It seems that these tattooists get short-shrift in books and print in general, and that's a shame...Chicago Tattooing is literally a shrine to the art. There is original flash on the walls by Cliff, Dale, and Nick, along with such greats as Sailor Jerry, Don Ed Hardy, Tats Thomas, and many others. Cliff was named "Tattoo Artist of the Year" at the very first International Tattoo Convention in 1976, and shortll after bought out Lyle Tuttle's shop in Hollywierd. While there, he tattooed many celebs, including Ringo Starr.

I got tattooed by Nick Colella a few weeks ago, and he told me that he is hoping to continue the thread on tattooing history in Chicago he had started here as soon as he got a minute free from ink-slinging. The man is busy, but you can still get a walk-in with him without too much difficulty.

So give Chicago it's due, some of the heaviest names of tattooing in the modern age came out of here! Add another to your list, Bunny...you can book a spot with Nick, chat with Dale while you're there, and then maybe hit Miles the same day-he works out of Deluxe Tattoo, not too far from Chicago Tattooing Company.

I am fortunate to have work by by Dale, by Miles, and by Nick, and have more planned with Nick.

.02

[Bunny Switchblade]

I have a photo of Cliff from the 84 NTC Convention in Philly! (I am sorry but I am not going to post it)

Photo's of he and Henry Newman who owned the Sunset Tattoo shop with Cliff Raven....silent partner

Think one or both owned a shop or two in Hawaii as well!

Two lovely guys!

[Dan S]

Cliff owned shops in S.F. and el-Lay. He had a "silent Parnter" in both, but I don't know who it was. He, together with Dale Grande and Buddy McFall, bought out Lyle Tuttle in L.A., then He bought out Buddy, then finally Dale traded his half of the L.A. studio for Cliff's half of Chicago Tattooing Company.

The man was a trip, for sure, and you know, all of them tolerated a kid hanging around their shop watching and waiting...now that's class. Course I spose they figured they'd make their money back from me in a few years-and they did!

[MadeIndelible]

Henry Goldfield of SF. Still tattooing.

From his site:

Henry Goldfield established Goldfield's Tattoo Studio in 1977 on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. One year later Henry moved his shop to its present location in San Francisco's famous Broadway Strip where the street was teeming with locals, sailors and tourists. A master of many trades Henry is known worldwide as one of the profession's finer artists, and is considered a pioneer of modern tattooing styles.

[CultExciter]

I just want to take the time to thank @ShawnPorter for all the videos he has up. Man, it's a treasure chest of tattoo legends.

[kylegrey]

Really nice pieces on Horiyoshi family Irezumi including the Nowness video which got lifted.

Horiyoshi III Inks Japan | Don't Panic Magazine | Radar

[kylegrey]

Tony P on the BBC . Thanks Jade1955 .

BBC News - Legendary tattoo artist still inking aged 77

[SStu]

This guy could be Abe Vigoda's brother.

[Bunny Switchblade]

Tony P on the BBC . Thanks Jade1955 .

BBC News - Legendary tattoo artist still inking aged 77

When I was getting tattooed by Mike Perfetto and Tony came in to visit me.....Mike was telling me how the BBC had done the research and found that Mike's shop was the oldest shop still in operation in NYC! Mike told them that he was honored that they would come to him looking for "history" but they really needed to include Tony Polito in their "documentary" (of sorts)......so tony came down and you can see the outcome in the link.....Tony tattooed Mike Perfetto.....fucking awesome!!!

Thank you for posting this up!!!

I will pass it on to Tony on FB.....

:)

[Dan S]

This post is most emphatically NOT about a legendary tattooist, but mayhap a legend of tattoing?

So, many moons ago, when I was yet a youngster, we went to Walter's Barber Shop, out near Mannheim and Ogden. This was a real-live, old-time guys barber shop. You know, True Magazine, Esquire, pinups on the wall, racing sheets available, the whole drill. Walter was probably in his mid-sixties at the time.

One day, I must have been maybe 12, I was in getting a haircut, and for the first time, it registered that he had tattoos on each arm! Actually, a sailing ship on one forearm, and a nekkid pin-up girl on the other. Both looked to have been done, probably during the maiden voyage of the Ark. Nice, even greenish ink, I"m sure you've all seen the stuff.

Anyhow, I asked him about them, and he tells me "oh sure, I used to do tattoos right in the backroom here!"

Well, I had to see it, and he took me back to his storeroom, and sure enough, he had all kinds of tattooing gear there. Machines, hand-needles, flash, all kinds of stuff that I didn't recognize but knew I wanted! "No, it isn't for sale, I guess I just like to have it in case I ever decide to use it again." That, and he didn't want my pops to come looking for him with a baseball bat, I'm sure.

So as we talked, it turned out that he had tattooed in that area for maybe 15-20 years, pretty steadily, and had made a nice bit of extra change at it. Back then, in Illinois, you could get a tattoo as a minor if you had your parents permission. You can guess the rest. He did a full chest-piece of a sailing ship on a young lad who presented a note from his dear old Mither saying he had her blessings, and wouldn't you know the little rascal was only 14 and had forged it!!!

End of tatttoing in LaGrange. Walter escaped any serious repurcussions, but had to hang-up his tattooing shingle after that. Still had the sign there, too!

Don't know what his last name was, I'm going to do a little digging, see if I can track him through his Barber's License. Who knows what stories the man could have told, or what the equipment was?!

[jade1955]

Great story @Dan S thanks for sharing.

[Our Endless Days]

this is an excellent book about some of the greats

[Jack Wier]

Chad Koeplinger told me he visited Roy before he passed and that it was a very surreal experience.

I met him and Debra once at a convention and they scared the crap out of me, but that's not really a negative.

Has Chad Koeplinger shared the story on LST?

[ShawnPorter]

Has Chad Koeplinger shared the story on LST?

He hasn't. But when I get my stomach finished, maybe I'll coerce him to telling it on film.

[kylegrey]

More cool Greg Irons stuff

[Deb Yarian]

Cliff owned shops in S.F. and el-Lay. He had a "silent Parnter" in both, but I don't know who it was. He, together with Dale Grande and Buddy McFall, bought out Lyle Tuttle in L.A., then He bought out Buddy, then finally Dale traded his half of the L.A. studio for Cliff's half of Chicago Tattooing Company.

The man was a trip, for sure, and you know, all of them tolerated a kid hanging around their shop watching and waiting...now that's class. Course I spose they figured they'd make their money back from me in a few years-and they did!

and in Twentynine Palms, Ca