NEWS

Some people think tattoo flash is a dying art. Not so with Jasen “Swarm” Wood, staff artist at Studio 21 Tattoo, Las Vegas, Nevada, a.k.a. @darthswarm. This guy has become a virtual flash machine in the last couple years! A while back, Swarm purchased a whole wall of empty picture frames with the intention of gradually filling them up with art for his booth here at the studio. He actually went ahead and hung all these empty frames on the wall in order to inspire him to work harder on honing his artistic skills. Improving skills is a must in the tattoo industry because these days the competition is really intense, especially in Las Vegas where there are around two hundred tattoo parlors to choose from.

After hanging all these empty frames, Swarm became compelled to get the art work done to fill all this empty space. The frames look way better with the flash sheets installed! This was no small task, as he had installed forty of these empty frames. Anyone who does water color art work will know that doing forty sheets is a daunting task!

After only a little over a year, the sheets are about eighty percent complete and the art work and ideas just keep getting better. This guy is an animal! Each sheet is based on a different theme. Some are themed from Swarm’s favorite movies. Some are from bands he enjoys. The images are so much fun!

It’s no wonder that when in Las Vegas to do a show, Dave Navarro @thespreadgroup, lead guitarist for Jane’s Addiction and Judge on Ink Master stops in to get a tattoo by Swarm. Of course, if you are a tattoo expert, you would choose to be tattooed by our flash master, Jasen “Swarm” Wood. Just for the record, he tattooed me last week and will be inking me again in the near future!!

The guys and gals at Studio 21 Tattoo know how to party like a tattoo artist! The holiday season in full swing, the crew decided to pull out all the stops and do a Christmas costume party instead of the old, boring, corporate style holiday party. Charlie @21tat and Becki @tfcmomcame dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause while the rest of the crew were dressed as elves. Austin @onmydong and his beautiful wife, Paige @thepeaser were there along side Mr. and Mrs. Clause as the lead elves.

The party began at Capo’s Restaurant on West Sahara. Amazing Italian cuisine and a full open bar made the gathering super special. Nobody left hungry!! The food and service at this joint were perfect for a tattoo style holiday gathering. Can’t say enough about how well this part of the event went. So much fun! We all spent a few hours stuffing ourselves and enjoying some casual chatter until we were all so full we needed to get up and dance or something. The decision was made to move the party to a Korean Karaoke bar not too far from the dinner joint.

Phase two of this amazing holiday soiree was pretty much the best time all of this crew have had together in a while. Austin arranged a V.I.P. room at the Karaoke Bar and purchased a few buckets of ice cold beer and the festivities continued. Something about a private room and no supervision from the proprietor makes singing and dancing so much fun. Everyone got loose as a goose and sang to the top of our voices. No shy people in this group! Paige Overton with her amazing voice was there to fill in when the rest of us were lost for words. Amazing music, good friends and plenty of alcohol made for a really special party for all who attended! Thanks to the amazing Studio 21 Tattoo crew for making our holiday party better than ever!

Mike Biggs @biggsstudio and I @21tat just got back from our trip to the Calgary Tattoo Convention up in my favorite country, Canada. What an awesome trip! I never get tired of visiting our friends up there. Nicest people in the world!

We flew up there on WestJet Airlines. Just like everything Canadian, I love this airline. Actually the only unfriendly folks I’ve met in Canada are the guys in Immigration. Ha! These guys must think I look like some hardened criminal or something. There’s always a little side trip for me into one of those spooky little interrogation rooms with some big scary dude in a flak jacket. I was standing in line with about twenty women in burkas when this big, scary guys picks me out of the line and says “Come with me”. I, of course, comply with his request. Hopefully this won’t take long, I think to myself, because I really need to pee after that flight and there are no restrooms before you wind up in the interrogation room! This guy asks the usual questions about what my plans are in Canada. Then the surprise question. “Are you straight edge?”, he asks. That one came out of left field! I told him I am about as far from straight edge as a person can get. He hands me my paper work and gives my passport a stamp. Another interesting Canadian experience! At least there was not a full cavity search this time!

My friend, Collin picks us up at the airport and promptly gives us a ride to the Delta Bow Valley Hotel in downtown Calgary. Thanks Collin! We find our room and then walked over to The Palomino for a pulled pork sandwich. Nice! We both had drawings to work on so we decided to hit the sack early to get a good start on the three days of hard core tattooing we had coming.

The Calgary Tattoo Convention is my favorite of all tattoo conventions. In fact, it is the only one I do any more. The fact that it takes place in October in one of my favorite cities, Calgary, makes it hard to resist. The trees are losing their leaves and the air is cool. A nice contrast to the heat that remains this time of year in Las Vegas.

The people are so polite. If you live in Vegas, you are not used to people being polite!

This convention always draws a huge crowd. Mike and I already had all three days booked, so we couldn’t take any walk-ups, but we were able to talk to some of the locals while we worked. Folks from Calgary and Edmonton seem to love Las Vegas, which is why I always go up and represent the studio. Good times!

After three days of hard work, it’s time to rent a car and head west to the Canadian Rockies. We rented a Subaru Outback for about the price of a Canadian hamburger, about twenty bucks a day, unlimited mileage. Kudos to Budget Auto Rentals on the Outback! That little car was awesome!

We had time to go by and visit some friends at Doug Fink’s shop @horihyo, Bushido Tattoo in downtown Calgary. Next we went by to see our friends at Paul Jefferies’ shop, Smiling Buddah, also near downtown. As expected, we were greeted warmly by the folks at these studios. Always good to see these guys.

First we drove out to Canmore and got a room for Sunday night. Didn’t make it to the Canmore after party at Jesse James’ shop, New World Samurai, Karma Studios. Heard it was awesome! We also stopped by to see Damian Robertson at his shop, Perfect Image Studio. After a really great breakfast at “The Wood Restaurant and Lounge”, we headed out for the next leg of our adventure.

Hopped back in the Subaru and headed on up to Lake Louise. This is still one of my favorite spots on earth. Unparalleled scenery on the hike around this amazing lake.

Mike had never been there, so we had to make it part of our trip. We had lunch at The Chateau Lake Louise Hotel which has an amazing view of the lake and some serious fine dining!

Next, we took the scenic route on our way to Jasper, Alberta where we had planned to spend the next night in a B & B arranged by my friends Andrew and Lynn who co-own Coco’s Cafe there in Jasper. Don’t really know how it happened, but we took a wrong turn and wound up driving several hours in to British Columbia. Wrong Province boys!!

It was such a scenic drive, and the Outback handled the road so nicely, we just had to turn around and head back to Lake Louise for the night! Awesome!

I contacted my friends back in Jasper and told them what had happened. Just wanted to let them know we wouldn’t make it for the night. As expected, they said “no worries”, just glad we had a nice time getting lost. Can’t think of a better place to be lost than British Columbia. Wow! What a place. Aquamarine rivers and snow capped mountains everywhere you look.

The next morning it’s up for breakfast and back in to Calgary for a quick flight back to Vegas. The guys at customs were much nicer to me on the way in to America! Can’t wait ’til next year. Thanks Canada for another great tattoo adventure!

Chas. T. Spencer @21tat

Owner/Artist

Studio 21 Tattoo, Las Vegas

It’s another beautiful day to tattoo in Las Vegas, Nevada! As usual, I went on a long bicycle ride to get some fresh air and a little exercise. Exercise is not something a tattoo artist gets during the work day. There is a lot of sitting involved in the tattoo process.

As I was rolling around in this perfect weather, I couldn’t help but feel very fortunate to be where I am on the earth doing what I do. The dry, desert breeze never fails to appeal to a desert rat such as myself. Having grown up on the gulf coast of Texas, mostly in the Houston area, I have developed an appreciation for the desert. Humidity, what’s that? We just don’t get a lot of that damp, muggy air around these parts. In fact, it’s really hard to work up a sweat on a day like today. Awesome!

The desert flora are in bloom and the mountain backdrop is amazing!  As I head west on parts of my ride, I can see the Spring Mountain range and the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area. No matter how many times I’ve looked at this view, I never get tired of it. It is absolutely gorgeous.  On the flip side, as I head east, I have a view of the fabulous Las Vegas Strip and the Stratosphere Tower. Another view that just doesn’t get old. My family has been in Las Vegas for twenty-five years now. How time flies. Austin and Courtney were just little farts when we moved here. A move that we have never regretted!

As I begin my day trying to make sure all of our amazing tattoo artists are busy. I feel lucky to be here tattooing in Las Vegas. I feel lucky to have a staff of hard working artists with loads of talent to spend my days with. How could you not like this job?

I have to thank my lucky stars for this life. Now lets get to work!

Chas T. Spencer @21tat

Owner/Artist

Studio 21 Tattoo

Las Vegas, Nevada

Here at the studio, we have the opportunity to meet and tattoo folks from all over the world every day. Guess that’s one of the advantages of tattooing in Las Vegas. We have a tremendous clientele from Alberta. Mostly from Calgary and Edmonton, but many from British Columbia, primarily Vancouver. It seems Canadians like getting their commemorative tattoos for their holidays in Las Vegas. Most of them return every year for one or two sessions, sometimes more.

The attitude of Canadian people who get tattooed is what always stands out to me. These guys really know how to have a good time. It’s a very rare occasion when we meet an unfriendly or rude Canadian. Always smiling and having a great time telling stories of home.

When the recession hit Las Vegas back in 2008, the Canadian tattoo enthusiasts along with the European clientele were the ones who kept us afloat through the tough times. When locals here in Vegas couldn’t fit the tattoos in their budgets, the Canadians just kept coming.

I do a tattoo convention in Calgary, Alberta every October. It’s called Alberta Bound tattoo and Arts Festival. It’s put together by a very nice guy named Steve Peace. He owns Immaculate Concept Tattoo up there in Calgary. You couldn’t find a nicer guy to work with. He’s got the best tattoo convention going right now. It’s always buzzing with activity from beginning to end. Steve provides great entertainment at a really nice venue. The convention is always held at the Calgary Stampede Grounds which is a perfect spot in downtown Calgary. Looking forward to making the trip real soon! Love tattooing Canadians!

I always take a couple extra days to go sight seeing when the convention is done. It’s always great to drive west out of Calgary toward the Rockies! The scenery can’t be beat.The traffic is not bad. Occasionally, you’ll run across a tour bus full of Japanese people who don’t know how to behave in public, but, what the hell, they’re just trying to snap as many photos as possible with their iPads and yell at the top of their lungs in the most pristine, quiet places. That brings me to Lake Louise. this is possibly one of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever seen. Amazing!

Canada eh? Love it!!!

Chas. T. Spencer @21tat

Owner/ Artist

Studio 21 Tattoo

Las Vegas