Tattoos I Know: Comedy and Tragedy

My friend and co-worker David McDermott survived a bout with Hodgkin's Lymphoma many years ago and, as a gift to himself, got the following tattoo:


After he successfully completed chemotherapy and radiation, and survived this scare (I still sport a yellow "LIVESTRONG" wristband in honor of him, despite the fact that they are "out of style"), he felt that the metaphor of the comedy and tragedy masks best represented his struggle.

To him, the tattoo represents life. It is a badge of survival, and a reminder of the importance of humor in the face of the most dire of circumstances. I was only on the sidelines when David struggled. But through it all, he managed to maintain a strong sense of comedy. His sense of humor took a beating, but it never gave up, and it sustained him and let him remain positive. He acknowledges that that attitude had a place in the battle for his life.

The tattoo is discreetly located on his left calf. I say discreetly, because David is not one to wear shorts. I have always seen him in slacks or jeans, but never shorts.

He doesn't recall specifically where he had this inked, other than a shop in SoHo.

Thanks, David, for sharing your tattoo!

Mike McCready Talks About his Tattoos

Pearl Jam is releasing a DVD of concert footage from last year's tour as it passed through Italy. Their fan site has a clip from the video, in which guitarist Mike McCready discusses his tattoos. Check it out here.

Spit On a Stranger

Ever since I started blogging tattoos, I like to carry a folder with printouts and my camera with me, wherever I go.

So on Wednesday night, when I realized I had until midnight to return a video to Blockbuster (Rescue Me, Season 2, Discs 1-3, all unwatched) or face stiff penalties, I dragged my stuff with me, just in case. At that time of night (11:30 PM), I figured opportunities would be slim to none.

Let me clarify, I saw some cool tattoos, but figured it would not necessarily be the best idea to ask bar patrons out of the blue on the street to participate.

Anyway, video returned, happy with just a shot of a new look from The Loneliest Lamp Post in Bay Ridge, I walked past, near the stroke of midnight, a harmless looking gentleman unchaining his bicycle . At first glance, he looked like he had a bicycle tattoo on his right forearm.

Not quite. Instead he had this:


Well, obviously, he agreed to participate in Tattoosday. So, what is this?

Well, the host, named Matt, offered up the following explanation (loosely paraphrased here). The tattoos is based on the cover art for Spit on a Stranger, a 1999 EP by the indie rock band Pavement. Take a look:


Matt is a resident of Williamsburg, but works in Bay Ridge. In retrospect I marvel at his midnight bike commute, although I hope he just rides to the nearest train station. Matt's tattoo was adapted from the Pavement EP, which was one of the band's final records. He says he gets a lot of comments and questions about it, and that people interpret it differently, yet all seem to be in the right ballpark when coming to their own understanding of it. Matt studied political philosophy in school and appreciates the vagueness of the piece, and the fact that it is able to be so widely interpreted by others.

This work was inked at Cherry Bomb Tattoo in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Thanks to Matt for talking to me and letting me take a picture so late in the evening.

Tattoos I Know: The Grim Reaper

This is the sole tattoo of my friend and co-worker, Tom Wacker.

Tom designed and drew the art upon which this tattoo was based.

The Reaper is posed on Tom's biceps/deltoid and has resided there since 1984, when its host was a young lad of eighteen.

This is Tom's only tattoo and he has no plans to get more. He is proud of the fact that, because he designed it and because he then tore up the original design, it is a one-of-a-kind piece. He said that it was very painful because of the amount of black ink that went into it.

The tattoo was inked by Dean at Lola's Tattoos, then in Cliffside Park, but now in Bogota, New Jersey. Tom got this tattoo "because it was cool," although the tattooer tried to convince him not to get it because it was "too mean" for him. Twenty-three years later, Tom says he has no regrets about his ink.

Thanks, Tom!

Jones Beach: Heaven and Hell, Alice Cooper, Queensryche

On Saturday, September 8, I saw Heaven and Hell, with Queensryche and Alice Cooper at Jones Beach. Like Ozzfest, there were tattoos everywhere. Like Ozzfest, asking people about their tattoos seemed to be inappropriate, dangerous (at times), and the epitome of dorkiness, especially since Tattoosday hadn't officially spun off yet.

Like Ozzfest, the best I can do is offer candids, although I did get a great shot of one of my favorite's from the show.

Here's a flaming skull on the forearm of an Alice Cooper fan:


I wish I could have got this one, front and back, but no such luck:

Here's a bit of a blurry sleeve:


Although I couldn't read the words during the show, I loved the symmetry of this piece:

I like the script and the hourglass shape that molds perfectly between the shoulder blades. Even better, when I got home and used my photo editor, I was able to isolate the text and read what was so inspiring as to get someone to ink into their back:


Ah, the bard! Not every day dost thou espy a Shakespearean tattoo:

Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing." --From Macbeth (V, v, 19)

Basically, that's all I was able to get at the show. However, the Macbeth tattoo made it all worth it. I have no other concerts on the horizon, so that may be it for a while from the live music venues.

Introducing Tattoosday

On the second anniversary of my blog, BillyBlog, I have decided to launch a spin-off, called Tattoosday. I originally intended for the Tattoosday concept to be a once a week feature, with posts every Tuesday (or Tat-Tuesday, if you will).

I have copied my six Tatttoosday posts from BillyBlog over to this site for continuity purposes. My reasons for doing this are hazy. Primarily, I thought it would be easier to explain to people with tattoos that I had a blog called Tattoosday that featured them, as opposed to a blog called BillyBlog that had a weekly feature called Tattoosday. Simpler explanation, I think, if the blog is devoted solely to tattoos.

There's also less pressure, I think, to find people. Instead of needing them by a certain day, I'll post them as I find them. I can also post other tattoo-related items here, if I see fit.

So even if you see posts dated prior to September 8, 2007, they are dated to correspond to the "Tattoosdays" when they appeared in July and August.

Tattoosday #6: Going Mobile

Sorry for the delay in posting, I was worried I would have to improvise, but found two participants today. Last Friday I had my first rejection: a guy at 53rd and 6th Avenue sitting on a bench was the first person to decline. He had many colorful tats on both arms and seemed open at first, but was adverse to my taking any photographs.

On Tattoosday Eve, Labor Day, I still had nothing for the post. I stopped someone in front of my building yesterday with a really cool Hellboy tattoo. He seemed receptive but wanted to check out the blog first.

I found myself with many opportunities but passed, not necessarily out of lack of nerve, but because the tattoos were not so nice, old, faded, or blurred by too much sun. I
have seen a handful of dolphin tattoos like the one the Ancient One sent me.

Today was the kids' first day of school, so I took off from work. Around 11 AM, I decided to ride my bike, eventually making it to Coney Island, where I guessed I could find some good ink. Yet it was still sparse, I had ridden down the Boardwalk and had circled back when I found my first subject.

I approached two young ladies who were taking pictures. One of them had a tattoo on the back of her neck:


The Japanese characters spell out the woman's name, Fernanda. Unlike on the recently-aired episode of VH1's "Rock of Love," in which one of the contestant's gets Bret Michaels' name tattooed on the back of her neck, as a show of devotion, Fernanda has inked her own name. I see a lot of people that do their own names on their arms or legs (I work with many who have done so), and have never really understood the phenomenon.

But in Fernanda's case, I get the artistic expression a little more. These are Japanese letters that have a greater aesthetic impact than Roman letters. When I asked Fernanda why she tattooed her name, she merely expressed that she loved Japanese letters and Japanese culture. She was born and raised in Brazil and has only been living in New York for a year. She did not remember the name of the shop where she had the tattoo done, but narrowed it down to the Astoria section of Queens for me.

I have to agree, it's a pretty cool tattoo.

I made another pass and headed back home. Once I made my way to the Shore Road promenade, where I do the majority of my cycling. I have several spots along the several-mile route from which I can head home. I decided to go down to the 92nd Street footbridge. Standing on the bridge was a gentleman who seemed to be cooling off from running. He had earbuds in and a large biceps piece. He also had an ankle piece and another tattoo on his triceps.

I passed him while walking my bike and then headed back and said loudly, "Excuse me!" He removed his earbuds and I explained my mission. He was game. His name was Mike and he had 6 tattoos in all and didn't mind which one I photographed. I asked him which one was the most special and he held up his arm and pointed to the piece on his triceps. This one:


He explained it a tribal Native American designed mixed with the American flag which he got as a tribute after 9/11. The piece was done by Craig Cooley at Abstract Tribal Tattooing in Brooklyn. I asked him if he was a fireman, and he said, "No, a police officer." I thought, with the 6th anniversary of September 11 just a week away, it was a perfect punctuation mark to end a week of tattoo-spotting, and begin a week of reflection on this somber anniversary.

Thanks to Fernanda and Mike for their participation in this edition of Tattoosday!