CABS

Just scored that old Juxtapoz Tattoo book from 2008 for half price. It's so interesting to see the old shops that our favorite tattooers used to work at.

First off, I'm not a tattooer. I highly recommend going to the best shops in The Bay Area and asking their expert advice. Check out any of those shops that @9Years recommended. But as a collector that doesn't know anything about tattoos, I feel like you should get it lasered first to lighten it up a bit.

College nickname. Pretty boring.

Atlas, AWR. Wouldn't mind getting tattooed at those places a lot.

I love his work!!! Would love to get something from him.

I want two babes in it, one helping the other. Still toying with the ROA idea for my back, but that isn't going to happen for awhile.

I missed out on Simon Erl when he was guesting at Spider Murphy's and Temple. He wasn't on my radar at the time.

B&G American Traditional is the style, p much. You might like Heather Bailey's work. She tattoos at Black Heart in SF.

Pharoah's Roses of No Man's Land.

I mean, my pals @9Years and @hogg have awesome tigers from Tim Lehi. I would get a tiger from Lehi too, just not the exact same tigers. I need a little variance. But let's say someone got a Rose of No Mans Land on their hands, I probably wouldn't get that on my hands anymore. BUT! I would totally get an Eddy Deutsche ROA even though my pal Taro has the same thing. As long as there's variance. I have a lot of weird rules.

I just like giving a really vague direction. All it takes is a word or two and that should be enough. "A weird lady head" or "a B&G snake." I would rather not have to give a long winded explanation of what I want. I also like picking out of line books. Because typically this is what the tattooer is stoked to do. - - - Updated - - - Nothing is original in tattooing. Nothing is original in life. Even though I have my own self-imposed rules that if a friend of mine gets a certain tattoo, then it's off limits for me. I'm such a hypocrite.

Tattooers that definitely caught my eye this year at SFO: Grez, Arriola, Benevides, Kiku (Invisible), Chris Trevino. Prob wouldn't get anything from Trevino, but I respect his work so much. Grez is one of my favorite tattooers in NY and he's not in California that often. Arriola can do anything and I thank a handful of LST'ers for putting me on. I've always been a fan of Benevides style, and Kiku is doing a really tough Japanese style that I can dig. Kiku's also rarely out in California.

Center stomach is my upcoming spot now too, bud. Not looking forward to it. Go with your gut (HA), and get the tiger head.

FUCK! WOW!

I am super biased, but here's my list: Temple, FTW, 13. Too much good talent in all those shops.

FUCK YEAH! I BACK THIS DUDE FULLY. Welcome to LST, Martin! - - - Updated - - - I met this guy at one of Black Heart's few Walk In Sundays. Me and him along with two other dudes were the only nerds camping out in line before the shop opened. I managed to keep in touch with him ever since. I fucks with this dude!

I can only go one day, so I'm trying to figure out what day to ask for off. Saturday seems most logical. Also might pop in to Blackheart that weekend because usually there's a ton of guest artists in town covering for the whole shop while they're at SFO.

Getting "Otis" on my ribs tomorrow.

Of course the tiger is amazing. Makes me want a Lehi tattoo even more. But I'm really digging that lightning. I need some lightning on me.

I love Tuesday Tattoo. What a fun shop she is joining.

Let's go to that yakitori spot again!

Totally HAIL SATAN. Man, sounds like I need a Lehi tattoo ASAP. FUCK!

I'm an old fart too. I'm all about "cash is king." However, I'll use PayPal to send a deposit to someone that isn't local. I've done this a couple of times. I've also received a Visa Gift Card for Christmas a couple times. So the first idea that came to mind was to put down a deposit somewhere that takes Visa. Safe to say that my parents never gave me a Visa Gift Card for Christmas ever again.

I may not be qualified to speak on this because I don't have any blast overs myself, but from what I understand it is best to laser a few sessions before blasting over. Depends on the look you're going for. Do you want the old tattoo to still peak out, or do you want it completely non existent.

This is comforting to hear. Thanks guys. And I'm down to work out my abs too. I gave Phillips a bunch of ideas and am looking forward to see what he comes up with.