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THE
NATIONALS IN SEATTLE
The annual National Tattoo Association Convention, as I'm sure you know, is a members-only event held for the last twenty-eight years at a constantly rotating menu of cities across America. In fact, the membership voted recently on whether or not to settle down, establish a permanent venue and celebrate only in Reno, Nevada. Early returns showed a positive swing toward "The Biggest Little City in the World," but change does not come easily to the NTA, and they opted to keep on travelin'. This, along with a decision to advertise (which the NTA never does), would help make the event more competitive. Bigger crowds (the general public is allowed in on Saturday and Sunday) would generate important revenue and bring in lots of customers wanting tattoos. However, the Nationals charges only a paltry ten bucks to get in (most shows charge twice that). I guess this is just another, shall we say characteristic, perplexity that seems to attach itself to the way the NTA often runs things. Stacked up against the slick, lets-get-as-many-people-as-we-can-through-the-door mentality of the giant, mega-shows sprouting up around the country, the dear folks at the NTA seem downright old-fashioned. Like the way they mark off tattoos with masking tape (so the judges won't get confused), frown on facial ink, fill entire days with meetings and make the complex judging process as long and drawn out as a cricket match. The positives, of course, outweigh the negatives, because winning an award at the NTA contest is akin to grabbing a statuette at Oscar time.
C'mon, you other tattoo promoters, take a lesson here and use the vast industry talent pool to teach us about the art form and its techniques. The NTA gets an A+ on this one. With so many great artists in attendance, it reminded me of the old days, when folks visited tattoo conventions to ogle the legends and swap stories with old friends. Everywhere I looked was a familiar face, from Jack Rudy and Brian Everett, to Mike Wilson and Tony Olivas. From Kate Hellenbrand to Madama Lazonga. Where else would you find miniature collector's portraits, complete with a lock of Hellenbrand's hair? At Judy Parker's booth, that's where. Then of course were the Canadians, the nattily-dressed Thomas Lockheart and last year's tattoo roast victim, charismatic artist and raconteur Paul Jeffries.
There's so many names and faces I missed, but I'm sure you get the idea. The NTA convention is the heart and soul of the tattoo industry and just being among this enthusiastic, supportive and talented crowd is worth the trip, no matter where you come from. Along with the seminars, the schedule included a six-hour welcoming party with uniformed servers slicing away at roast beefs and turkeys, plus a very good on-site restaurant. There was also some wiggle room over the four days, so we could slip away and visit the truly rewarding Experience Music Project rock & roll museum created by ex-Microsoft bigwig Paul Allen. With two floors of vintage instruments, some mesmerizing film clips of famous guitarists from Merle Travis to Son House, Jeff Beck to Les Paul, outlandish stage costumes and memorabilia of all kinds (in the Jimi Hendrix exhibit were his personal diary and hand-written letters to his father), the memory-filled visit made for a truly unforgettable afternoon. Rounding out the four days was a Sunday night roast of Don Ed Hardy. It was Hardy who brought Japanese tattoo consciousness to thousands of eager followers and introduced the world to a true legend, Leo Zulueta, through Ed's Tattoo Time magazine. Hardy, a former SKIN&INK "Tattoo Beat" columnist, was roasted by several cronies and, although I was on the road and missed the event, I gathered a few quotes, taken earlier, that attempt to offset the predicted Don Rickles'-style barbs tossed at the man many consider the godfather of modern tattooing. An afterthought: Isn't it interesting that when the star of the show is Don Ed Hardy, one of the greatest innovators in the history of tattoo, we see him and a couple friends quietly chatting in their ten-by-ten booth, sitting on folding chairs as a well-wisher or two stops by to say hello; while, at a convention where relative newcomer and Miami Ink personality Kat Von D is in the house, a couple thousand people stand in line for her autograph and special security guards are required to stand between her and the throng of autograph hounds? The power of television is not to be underestimated. As Bob Dylan so wisely said, "The times they are a-changin'." In any case, the National Tattoo Convention is still the model for all other tattoo events. See ya in Reno.
I remember how I actually met Ed. I got tattooed in Chicago from Cliff Raven. He knew I was coming west to San Francisco, and he told me I should look up Ed Hardy. That was literally the first time I ever heard the name. Cliff said he was a good tattooer. So, when I got to California, found a job and got settled in, I thought about getting tattooed, because I had some money. So, I was an Pinky Yun's shop in Alameda-Pinky had tattooed me in Hong Kong, when I was in the Navy-when this couple, a man and a woman, came through the door. From the way Pinky talked with them, I figured they knew each other, and, from the conversation, I could tell the man was a tattooer. After a while, Pinky called me over to show off my new Cliff Raven tattoo. I was glad to do that, because it was the best tattoo I had at the time. I don't even know why I said it, but I mentioned to the couple that Cliff told me I should come to San Francisco and meet this guy called Ed Hardy. Come to find out, that was Ed who had come into the shop with Fran. Of course, I went on later to work and travel with Ed and be significantly influenced by him.
Here's a very curious thing concerning Ed Hardy, because at the second convention ever, the first one I ever attended, he approached Jack Rudy and me and said, "I just can't believe this," and began ranting and raving about the workmanship on this big, heavy guy that both of us had worked on. And, lo and behold, when he said, "Would it be okay if I come and visit you at your shop?" I'm thinking, Here's a guy that was just voted Tattoo Artist of the World, and he's asking me if it's okay to check out the shop. I just thought how ironic that really is. I said, "We just crank that stuff out daily. Why wouldn't you be welcome to come down there?"
I've tattooed Ed, but he hasn't tattooed me. Ed is a serious guy and a serious artist. He's done very well for himself, I guess, but those contracts they want to neuter you. They do. I've had two of them offered to me with big advance money. The contract was a neutering device, and nobody's neutering me. Ed has made a mark in the community and has an art vocabulary that is very big. That's what you learn in art school, a big vocabulary.
Ed, of course, started me in the business many years ago. He encouraged me to start tattooing my friends. He actually tricked me into the business. I had an art show at a local tattoo shop in San Francisco, and he said, "Leo, do you want to do one of those on yourself?" I said, "Yeah, that looks like a novel idea," but I didn't really look at it as a start toward tattooing. So, I did a Borneo scorpion on my right, rear calf, and then, shortly thereafter, he says, "Why don't you do some of those on your friends?" and I'm like, "Okay," and then I did. That's how I got into the business. Ed's been very good to me, that's for sure. I wouldn't be here without Ed.
I don't think anybody has set a standard higher than Ed Hardy. He completely renovated and innovated a style of horimono that Sailor Jerry Collins started, and Ed, with his extreme enthusiasm and intelligence, investigated Japanese art and brought it into the mainstream. He did incredible work in the '70s and '80s. One of the biggest lessons I ever learned from Ed was when I was working at Tattoo City for a short period of time in the mid-'70s in San Francisco. One day, one of the whackos came in and wanted a tattoo. He was really out there, but, even though everyone else wanted him out of the shop, Ed found out what the guy wanted and did the work. It took a lot out of Ed, but the guy went out of the shop happy. Ed taught me that the boss steps up. You simply do the work and satisfy the client. That's the way you keep your business integrity intact. It may be an enormous drain on you sometimes, but that's what you do.
I've know Ed for a long, long time. He's been a big inspiration for me and the tattoo industry. He's been an innovator, a leader, somebody that we've all looked up to over the years. I do, fortunately enough, have an Ed Hardy tiger that he did for me on my right arm. It's probably one of the most positive experiences I've ever had is to get tattooed by Ed Hardy and to watch him work. I got it in '92 at his San Francisco studio on Columbus Boulevard.
When I first came into this business and first met Ed Hardy, he was very warm and welcoming. He shared information with me. I was really impressed with his being a nice guy. Sometimes, when people reach a certain level of success, they have this big head and they're inaccessible. That's not the case with Ed Hardy.
I really admire Ed Hardy for what he has given to the world of tattooing, regardless of what these youngsters who come into the trade think. A lot of them don't even know who he is. But he was always my icon and my hero. He put on shows, wrote books and educated the public, and now he's still educating the public. Now, in his retirement, he's able to make a little bit of money, and I admire that, too. He's a great businessperson, and I think we should all look up to him for doing that, for inspiring us all to get some business smarts.
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