eisen777

Loooove that head tattoo!

3 year wait list is just a filter. I actually need to wait between appointments otherwise I cant afford it because I travel. Traveling to NYC is like having every dollar extracted out of your bank account.

3 year wait list is just a filter. I actually need to wait between appointments otherwise I cant afford it because I travel. Traveling to NYC is like having every dollar extracted out of your bank account.

@horitsune2 While Shige is a great tattooer in his style, he didn't get there by himself. Firstly he started out with western "one point" tattoos that he would see in biker magazines while still doing some Japanese work. Practicing on a group of friends that would tattoo each other. Opened his shop in '98, then met Filip Leu in '99 which really opened his eyes to neo-traditional japanese. In the early '00s he went to Switzerland to study under Filip Leu.
So you can say that he did become good his own way, its iffy. Also Horitsune II is a real tattooer which I don't think would take to kindly of other people using, that is unless of coarse, he is you.

I'm trying to set up an appointment with O'Donnell. He's not taking appointments at the moment apparently, but hopefully I can at least get something scheduled for the distant future.

Man, everybody already used my smart-ass answers but the Greg Irons quip was funnier than I could have come up with.
But back to the original question.
This is one of the newer approaches to tattooing that makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. Myself and a few tattooers I know and work with have noticed the trend of customers finding a sense of pride in how long they had to wait for their tattoo. As if that makes the tattoo more worthwhile.
With some of the currently living/working tattooers mentioned in this thread, I personally know people (not even on the internet) that have tattoos from all of them. Filip, Horiyoshi III, Shige and Mike Rubendall. Yeah, they had to wait a little while for some of them but not as long as you'd think for others. Mike Roper is a different situation because he makes it deliberately difficult to get in touch with him, which answers the question posed above. But that wasn't really the question that was asked and it's rarely the question that gets asked. The question, or at least the implication, is "who has the longest waiting list' or "who has appointments booked furthest into the future". If I were to be snarky "who gives me the most bragging rights".
For me the hardest people to get a tattoo from are the tattooers who are located furthest away from me. The ones where I have to get off my ass and do something about it. Time is easier to overcome than distance although patience is a different matter. It astonishes me that people call our shop from the outskirts of the city expecting us to change the way we work because they are catching a train to get here. On the other hand, we are humbled and honoured by the people who cross seas and continents to get tattooed regularly with us.
But that's aside from the issue.
Why is it a trend that makes me uncomfortable?
Because I've heard people brag about how long they had to wait for 'x' artist and wear that information like a badge of honour. It feels almost as distasteful as bragging about who charges the most. Yeah, tattoos are for tough guys and tough buys like to brag and maybe that seems harmless, but it makes me uncomfortable and I have trouble clearly explaining why.
Maybe it's because it's a phenomenon spurred on by the internet and the gossipy world of hearsay. Nobody calls and checks with the artists or shops they want to get tattooed at. Nobody travels down to the shop to ask the question. They just ask random strangers on the internet who have a lot of time on their hands and like to talk about something they know nothing about. Then the reality gets lost or twisted and in the end the real information is lost. I see this a lot with regards to the shop I work at. Forums are (or certainly used to be) bursting with 'facts' about how much we charge, how long we take, how far 'x' and 'y' are booked or how long their waiting lists are. Nobody calls the shop to ask and nobody suggests that the person calls to ask.
I know that happens with a lot of things but it seems like this is starting to have a real-world effect, however small. People who wanted tattoos that we would love to do heard that we wouldn't tattoo them at our shop because we were so cool and busy and booked up for decades and rolling around in money 'n' bitches or something. We've heard of this a few times and it seems to be happening more. Yeah, we're busy, you may have to wait a little, maybe not. If someone has contact information, especially a phone number on their website it means that they want you to call.
I'm not really going to touch on the tone of the "are they a fad or are they really worth it?" comment, except to say that if you have to ask, the answer is "no".
Sorry to jump on this fun thread with a rant. I look forward to more witty quips.

Yes

@slayer9019, you into Tombs at all? Met one of the dudes the other day that plays with em super nice guy.

I am half-way in on a Tibetan skull with Chad. Hope to finish it next month some time.

Damn....when did tattooing get so sensitive sally? Do tattooers care about the whole "this makes us all look bad" bull? So what, you look bad, world keeps turning and you keep tattooing. Its tattooing, no matter how mainstream it gets someone things you look bad just for doing any tattoo. This is a non-issue....shes an adult, she wanted it move on. People love to worry about everyone else and how they live.

I guess. Its still true. I was a teenager then and early 30 now. Im just thinking on the past and remebering how dumb/awesome it was. I think most people do that.

I guess. Its still true. I was a teenager then and early 30 now. Im just thinking on the past and remebering how dumb/awesome it was. I think most people do that.

@hogg, He's not coming to London, I'm going 'over there'. There has been no online announcements or conversations because they often cause trouble, or at least a good luggage search/interrogation.

I would say the only way to get a "real" black metal tattoo" would be some kind of stick and poke. This is of course if your are a "true black metal fan" as low production quality is better. I joke, but seriously that is some pretty black metal stuff there.
In all seriousness you should check out Uncle Allen. Dude has some unreal black metal stuff!

Well I stick and poked a shitty rune on my arm in high school, my friend did the band "emperor" E logo on his arm, so this was the 90ds so I did the rune often seen on burzum albums. Young dumb metal head, my tattoo feel out (mostly) still it got covered up(what was left of it). Then tattoos became legal a few years later. My wife who was my girlfriend at the time went to the tattoo shop and got a baphomet from a cross eyed biker in Worcester...because i was not to be out done my my wife I went to get a OM MANI PADME HUM. Still looks nice but its become a college kid cliche I keep it because my wife got it too. Hell that time was all about LSD and spirituality so sue me.

The artist Im talking about...i think is pretty "big" without being a mainstream TV tattooer. Hes never claimed to have the best lines or best anything, but he does what he does well and pushes his work all the time. As a testament to that you see people copy it all the time...often people copy it and clean up/overly perfect many aspects but in that remove all the character/soul and feeling to the tattoo. Naming names and calling things out is pointless. Recently reading the internet in regards to tattooing has really bummed me out, lots of shit talking. Too much competitive tattooing and hater bullshit. Nothing constructive whatsoever. LST is basicly the only place that I have found thats enjoyable to be a part of.

I have tattoos with some poor lines and prob paid alot in some peoples eye, but the tattoo has power and soul and is one of my favorite tattoos ever. I dont need perfection, I just need the tattoo I want.

What should we be discussing?

The artist Im talking about...i think is pretty "big" without being a mainstream TV tattooer. Hes never claimed to have the best lines or best anything, but he does what he does well and pushes his work all the time. As a testament to that you see people copy it all the time...often people copy it and clean up/overly perfect many aspects but in that remove all the character/soul and feeling to the tattoo. Naming names and calling things out is pointless. Recently reading the internet in regards to tattooing has really bummed me out, lots of shit talking. Too much competitive tattooing and hater bullshit. Nothing constructive whatsoever. LST is basicly the only place that I have found thats enjoyable to be a part of.

The artist Im talking about...i think is pretty "big" without being a mainstream TV tattooer. Hes never claimed to have the best lines or best anything, but he does what he does well and pushes his work all the time. As a testament to that you see people copy it all the time...often people copy it and clean up/overly perfect many aspects but in that remove all the character/soul and feeling to the tattoo. Naming names and calling things out is pointless. Recently reading the internet in regards to tattooing has really bummed me out, lots of shit talking. Too much competitive tattooing and hater bullshit. Nothing constructive whatsoever. LST is basicly the only place that I have found thats enjoyable to be a part of.

Hooper?

The most technically imperfect tattoo I have is one of my favorites and has more magic than perhaps any other ones I have.

I love this Eisen...good art will never be technically the best....good art has character, soul. what makes a better story? I got tattooed by a great artist, we had capachinnos and discussed Vivaldi. .....I got tattooed by a good ol man, we went out later and got our asses kicked. This who's the best crap is lame and only for the snobbish.

I have tattoos with some poor lines and prob paid alot in some peoples eye, but the tattoo has power and soul and is one of my favorite tattoos ever. I dont need perfection, I just need the tattoo I want.

I have tattoos with some poor lines and prob paid alot in some peoples eye, but the tattoo has power and soul and is one of my favorite tattoos ever. I dont need perfection, I just need the tattoo I want.