Thursday, May 10, 2007

Ink Me Up, Baby!

It has appealed to men and women of all ages and backgrounds for centuries; the tattoo. Permanent body paint used to display warrior’s courage, experiences, wisdom, snippets of time, significant moments, everlasting relationships and no so everlasting relationships. Each design permanently engraved into a person no longer being merely a picture, but becoming who the person is or will be.
In ancient times, before men were “civilized” and wood was still used for weapons rather than metal, warriors would light their blades on fire to make their attacks on their enemy therefore making the wounds more severe. The burning wood would leave ash in the wound therefore creating a permanent blue streak under the warrior’s skin creating the first tattoos. The warriors wore these scars as badges of bravery and honor. Thus, the honor and pride as well as the tattoos themselves were unintentionally born.
Fast-forward to 1902, New York City in a shadier part of town near Little Italy and
Chinatown. Small tattoo shops began opening up in closet sized room with a single light bulb hanging overhead and a lone tattoo chair. The air always stunk of something like urine, blood and vomit and the bucket of water and rag used to clean off the blood during the tattooing process never seemed to be changed. But the customers didn’t care. In this rough area of town cleanliness was not an issue. These dirty conditions were another way to show you were tough and could handle anything. Age limit did not matter to the artists either. Children as young as 13 would come into the “parlors” to get tattoos small enough to hide from there mothers but large enough to keep them from being beat up on the way to school. Since tattoos were so cheap in those days (a quarter per tattoo) an epidemic broke out in the grade school and parents began to complain to the teachers about their young children coming home with tattoos that rivaled those of the local sailors.
But to the sailors tattooing was merely to show they were tougher than the other kids on the block. To the sailors the tattoos were badges of honor for things they had done and mementos of the various places they had been while in the service. Soldiers also got tattoos of their lovers to give them hope of what was waiting for them at home and to show that they would be loyal to their girls while they were gone. Sadly, the boys would come home only to find that their one and only had left them for another man and so the lovely Rhonda on their chest had to be changed into a sailing ship or a dragon to hide the embarrassed lad’s mistake.
The amazing part of this entire tattoo craze was that is was not reserved for the lower class citizens and laborers as it is today. Men and women alike, no matter what the status felt the need to inscribe ink into their skin. Upper class women would typically get religious symbols, butterflies or hearts, while the men would get patriotic symbols and birds of prey. Even the upper class would get involved. Judges would be fully tattooed from head to toe with suck things as sock outlines and the general public would never know. The upper class women would get their eyebrows tattooed on, have there lips reddened, their cheeks to be rosy.
During the depression the tattoo craze died down and most artists went out of business due to lack of customers. The people who before had brought the artists so much business were now broke, suffering and some were unemployed. The fad had died out. All that was left of the tattooing world were the scars of yester-year. It appeared that an era was over.
Over, that is, until the 1950’s when rock and roll was king, kids were rebellious and a tattoo was just another way to make mom and dad angry. The ink the hot rodding boys and girls displayed on their skin to show that they had no cares for authority, their parents or anyone’s rules at all. The tattoos were their way to prove that they were their own person with their own rules and they were going to do things the way they wanted.
The design of tattoos began to change as well. No longer did people want the plain designs of the olden days and single tattoos. Full sleeve tattoos became popular and eastern designs worked its way onto the flesh of the young Americans. New designs began to evolve. No longer was the focus on birds of prey, flowers and patriotic symbols they now displayed sex, drugs, cars, and rock and roll. And the tattoos were no longer widely accepted; in fact the opposite was true. Tattoos were reserved for lower working class citizens and young delinquents. Parents everywhere were outraged at the monstrosities displayed on their teenage children’s bodies. The controversy was back and so then the fad was back.
Though tattoos may never be as widely accepted, as they were when they first were presented to the general public, they will always exist as a time capsule for an individual. Each drop of ink will always represent the adventures, loves, losses, passions, and sometimes drunken nights that a person will never be able to forget and never want to forget.

Originally published for Daddy-O magazine 2004. (Daddy-O magazine is written, designed and published by myself.)

Devil Doll "The Queen of Pain"

Daddy-O knows that its readers only want the very best and that’s what we’re here for, to give you the very best. We traveled the country with our team of experts to bring you the next big thing in Rockabilly, test it out, and bring it straight to the people. Here it is, Daddy-O’s pick of the month! This month we’ll be taking a closer look at Devil Doll’s new album, “Queen of Pain.”
From the first notes of “St. Christopher,” to the last notes of “Union Square,” Devil Doll’s sultry voice entices the listener and puts them under a spell making them feel high than any drug could take them. Devil Doll combines her intoxicatingly ingenious brew of a silk soft voice with the gently plucking of her upright bass to bring back the rhythm and feel of lounge singers of the 1940’s. Ella would be proud.
Her voice grows and swells from a seductive growl in “Heart Sized Crush,” to a smooth, soothing purr in “Walk with Me,” to a seductively angry snarl in “King of Brooklyn” all the while remaining smooth, sultry, controlled and precise. She is all a lounge singer should be and so, so much more.
Devil Doll, born Charleen, has been wowing intoxicated crowds for years with her confident eyes, well sculpted body, piercing green eyes, soothing yet energizing voice and the power of her upright bass. With the help from one of her hopelessly devoted fans Devil Doll has moved her sultry swooning from the bar to the recording studio to great her demo masterpiece that is available to you, my lucky readers, to listen to as much as you want whenever you want in the comfort of your own home. Yes my friends, you are free to drool and some monkey of a bouncer will not kick you out for it.
When asked what she thought of her new album Devil Doll replied, “You know, I’m really happy about the way it turned out. I was a little skeptical going in because the producers wanted to use more instruments than just me and my bass and that’s what I’m used to. I mean, I’ve been doing shows with just myself and the bass for years. But in all honesty, I think that everyone did a great job maintaining my personal style for the songs and enhancing my stylizing on the bass with the other instruments rather than drowning it out. I would defiantly bring these bad boys on tour with me.”
You can catch Devil Doll at Taylor’s Lounge in Redlands, CA on December 11th (see calendar section for more details.) You can also find out more about this luscious lady and her new album by visiting her website at www.devil-doll.com. Album also available at www.cdbaby.com.
So the votes are in and it’s unanimous two thumbs way, way up all across the board. Kids, get on the internet now and buy this album for anyone you know. This album is great for anyone from your grandma who listens to Ella Fitzgerald, to your 12 year old nephew who listens to Brian Setzer and thinks he started it all. It’s all the pleasure of a lounge without the lounge itself. Go, Daddy-O!

Songs to check out: “Heart Sized Crush,” “King of Brooklyn,” “16 Days"

originally published May 2004 for Daddy-O magazine (magazine written, designed and published by myself)

Catching up with 7-40-7

Daddy-O: Defiantly. I think energy is definitely essential to make any good band. And when we write a song we have never had any difficulties. We work well in that sense. Someone brings a riff or a general idea and we jam it out and make a structure that makes sense to us all. “My Space” is helpful in getting your name out there or is the turn out at your shows about the same?
Rob: Our turn outs have gotten better not only due to “My Space,” but also due to us getting our more making more contacts with bands. “My Space” has helped a great deal as far as getting out of town gigs. For instance, in January we will be playing in Vegas at the Cooler Lounge with a burlesque troupe. It's also fun and good for moral to hear feed back on our music from people not only in LA but outside too. People tend to appreciate bands more.
Daddy-O: With modern technology the way it is, it defiantly seems easier to get connections and become friends with other bands. What's your favorite song to play live?
Rob: oh yeah way easier. For local bands trying to get their names out there. That’s the way to go. You hear about bands just flooding their songs to record labels they throw those away. You have to make ripples in the pond to get noticed.
My favorite song to play live has to be “Wreckingball”. It's a more rockabilly/psychobilly-ish song. Starting kinda slow, then it gets hard and the lyrics are pretty good. Girls like it a lot. Well, maybe I like to play it just 'cause the girls like the song. *laughs*
Daddy-O: Any bras onstage?
Rob: no not yet *laughs* but there’s always girls trying to be cute to get free shirts and cds. Although [a girl came] on stage in g strings and pole danced on the mic stand. That was pretty sexy.
Daddy-O: Alright since this is also a car magazine. What do you drive?
Rob: *laughs* Well, I am currently working on a get around car. It's a 1990 mustang 5.0 v8. I got it for 500 bucks and I'm putting a cold air intake and performance exhaust. My baby is my 1969 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors. I worked on it my self. Rebuilt the engine. 462 7.5 liter monster. So yeah, I'm more into the old lead sleds. The other guys in the band have modern cars except for Dan who has a V.W. bus. [I’m] not sure what year but he's also working on it himself.
Daddy-O: Very nice! You've got some nice toys there. But what's your dream car?
Rob: My dream car would be a 59 Bonneville with all the chrome interior. I love those cars. They’re so classic. You'd think a guy like me would want a hot rod. *laughs* Nah, I like the nice sleek luxury cars. The kind you see old guys on discovery channel cherrying out. They’re pretty nice. As far as hot rods go, I guess I'd like a Model A with a big Lincoln motor in it. That would haul ass. [I want one] that’s red. I'd make mine look like the car from the “Munsters.”
Daddy-O: I think the red paint makes it go faster.
Rob: Yeah, paint is important to performance.
Daddy-O: I always thought it was.

Originally published May 2004 in Daddy-O magazine (a magazine written, designed and published by myself.)