Jumper.

Did this elephant hockey referee today on Clayton.

My last tattoo of November

(only one month left in MPLS, kids).

Then off to visit family for the holidays,

and out to Oregon for the next three months.

If you didn't book your appointment for before I leave,

you might be too late.

(though i hear that Handsome Adam might be taking bribes to fit you in)

I also tattooed Nona of Dark Dark Dark today.

She didn't sing any DDD for us,

but she did sing some Third Eye Blind as she filled out her paperwork.

no kidding.

I mean, it wasn't her fault,

Ben has it on the ipod for some reason,

and that shit is SO catchy.

(if you like her singing in DDD,

check out her side project with her choir)

Anyway, it's after 2am,

which means December is here,

and 2011 is almost over.

Hope your 11 months have been good so far.

If not, you've got 31 days to make it better.

Like the end of something wonderful sometimes

Well, I guess I lied.

But it wasn't my fault.

You KNOW I got the vegan pizza,

and this photo is Walt of DarkDarkDark and

Why are we building such a big ship?

rocking it solo,

so you know I was at the show.

But Mr Sweet was sick today,

so my foot tattoo was postponed.

That's fine.

I hate getting tattooed anyway.

That shit hurts.

But the show was pretty dope.

Walt rocked the house.

Drums, trumpet, and accordion all at once?

So sexy.

And Nona Marie and the Choir were wonderful, too.

All cover songs, except for the last one,

when a few people joined them for "It's a secret".

It was a tape release show,

and I brought a couple home.

Yeah, cassette tapes.

Luckily I still have the ability to play those things at my house.

Think of a place I would go...

Finished this hawk tattoo up yesterday.
It was a pretty big project,
and done in two sessions with only two weeks in between.
I had a lot of fun doing it,
and learned a few things, too.
(mainly, don't take photos of your tattoos
against a tie-dye shirt background)






















....I'm daydreaming.
If I'm not at home here in the Louderhorn Inn,
Maynard House in Northampton is the next best thing.
And I've never wanted to be there so much as I did last night.
A DarkDarkDark sleepover party?
Damn.
I am one jealous dude.
I know it went well,
because Amy is the best.
It's good to have rad friends.

A little extra bit more

Yup, the Dark Dark Dark "Celebrate" video is already up.

My face gets a little cameratime at a few spots (1:54 and 3:31),

and it's kinda funny to see myself.

Luckily I just got a haircut that morning,

otherwise everyone would have thought Justin Bieber made a cameo.

yuck.



And just so it's not three exclusively DDD related posts in a row,

here's the stencil/sharpie stage of a backpiece I started today.

The existing tree/feet/moons were done by someone else,

I'm just excited to do all of this artichoke, eggplant, sunflower and snail action.

More of all of that soon.

The Big Show.

Last night was a blast.

Getting to work with Marshall, Dark Dark Dark,

and all the other talented people involved

doing the live score to Fritz Lang's "Spies" at the Walker Art's Center

was a pretty awesome experience.

We performed in front of a few thousand people,

and it seemed like a big success.

Meryl took the above photo as the movie was just starting,

and then I found this clip on YouTube of the train crash scene.









We also did a music video for DDD's "Celebrate"

while we were at the Walker,

and hopefully that will be released soon.



Now that all of this is done,

I'm back to having rehearsal-less Sundays

(and I'm expecting some series stepping withdrawals).

Goodbye, dear Spychestra Crew.

I'll be hearing your beats in my dreams.

Spies!

Tonight is the DarkDarkDark and Modern Times Spychestra performance,

we're doing a live score to Fritz Langs's silent film "Spies".

Minneapolis' Walker Art Center

It'll be outside if it doesn't rain,

and it's free,

so if you miss it,

you're probably an a-hole.

If it rains,

it'll be in the Walker's theatre space that we did the rehearsal in last night.

That's what these photos are from,

expertly taken by Meryl.

(and there's even more here)



It's been really amazing working on this,

and being a part of it.

(even without any musical talent,

dance skills, or singing ability!)

I'm excited for the actual performance tonight,

hope to see you there...

Quiet House on the Prairie

Ok, ok,
I'm almost done talking about last week's Philly Tattoo Convention.
But our friend Stephanie posted some photos of the show,
and I felt that this one deserved more exposure.



Who would have thought that spray adhesive for linoleum tile
isn't the best way to stick two pieces of burlap together?
Parts of my banner were falling off all weekend,
so we were continuously providing damage control.
(somehow that made people like it even more?)

I got a lot of compliments while I was out there.
Or, at least I took them to be compliments.
Stuff about me not fitting in,
and not being very "tattoo-y".
Maybe it was the pink shirt?

Right about now I was supposed to be halfway through
an Albie Rock action adventure.
I was so ready.
I have two big ass boxes in my living room;
one is of blank shirts,
and the other pinecones.
Ryan even scored us a tuba for the week.
But instead of Louderhorn Inn being turned into a nonstop workshop,
it's kind of empty.
Meryl ran off to Wisconsin with a bunch of her poet friends,
and it's just me and Shamira holding down the fort.

I mean, I have stuff to do,
for sure.
There's seeds and gardens and drawing and projects,
and taxes.
I'm still staying up late doing it all,
but can't help wishing southwest and the S.W.B. didn't suck so bad.

I'm glad all my East Coasters who know what's up
have been driving across states,
and across state lines,
to catch a show of Dark Dark Dark.
You're missing out if you missed out.
April 15th is the big return date for the DDD,
and we're happy to have them back.

Queer for Homophones

Pi Day is coming up this Sunday, March 14th.
(get it? 3.14?)

But since Dark Dark Dark leaves for tour between now and then,
we celebrated a little early.
Consider it Pi Week, maybe.
Just look at this spread.
(and Meryl didn't even get them all in the photo)




Meryl spent a bunch of time making two different savory pies,
and they were so good.
So good.



So there's still plenty of snow around.
But Spring is here, kids.
Even in Minneapolis.



I know the blogging has been a bit slow lately,
but I assure you I'm still tattooing.
Tax returns are keeping me busy at the shop,
and all of my "time off" is spent putting some big projects together.
I'll have lots to show for it soon.

Better and Better

Nona and Marshall played the Kitty Kat this past Tuesday night,
and they rocked my blues away.
It's so dope having Dark Dark Dark as your home team.

I'll be missing their next show on Sunday,
but it's ok.
Meryl and I will be in Redwing either hiking or letterpressing it up
with Molly and Ryan.
(maybe we'll do both)

Tonight Meryl came up to Identity Tattoo,
and we stayed at the shop late working on her leg piece.
We've lost count on total hours, but we're almost done now,
and we're around 25ish?
Just a little more work in the clouds,
and it'll be DONE.
This photo from immediately afterwards obviously mixes
the old and healed with the new and hurty.
But you get the idea.
And healed photos will be happening once we get back from Japan.
(less than two weeks before we go!)

Shake Your Rump

Dark Dark Dark rocks a house party at the drop of a hat.



Yeah, that's my living room.
That wasn't the original plan,
we had a big fire outside and everything set up around it.
But a few drops of rain later and we decided to make it a living room show.

What's the special occasion, you ask?
The Briggs' from the Maynard House of Northampton are in town for a couple days.
Amy and Jaime.
So I have to cram the two weeks of hospitality they've showed me into just four days here in MPLS.
Of course it's not possible, but that's not going to stop me from trying.
(and their first night here was off to a good start, no?)

Big tattoos are planned for today.
Summer is two days old, and it's already pretty rad.