Virgin Records Mega Store - Wha Wha Whaaauuttt???!!!

Something very appealing to me (and probably all other tattooers) when I was first learning how to tattoo was the prospect of travel. I've always loved traveling and what better way to meet interesting people and visit interesting places than to do guest spots and conventions. But looking back over the years I feel like I haven't done nearly as much as I thought I would have by now. I guess it's easy to get into a pattern of life and push those plans to hit Europe on the back burner. So this year I've got some trips planned. New Orleans, New York, Paris, Barcelona, Michigan. Hopefully I'll be tattooing in all of those places.

The first guest spot I remember doing was at Electric Ladyland in New Orleans, August of 2003. I was living in Texas at the time and drove there by myself for a week. I didn't know any of the people I was going to be working with or staying with, but in the end everyone was super nice and so very helpful. I remember driving down Hwy 10, on the stretch that's suspended over swamps. It was a bright, warm sunny day, and as still happens to me on a regular basis today, I was about to run out of gas. Great. Traffic was at a near stop. It basically got to a point where I had to turn my engine off and sit there for what seemed like hours. I've never felt so trapped and claustrophobic in my life. Apparently a semi had jack-knifed up ahead and since we were suspended over swamp, there was nowhere for anyone to go.  So we waited. And we waited...

 Wow. I can't believe I found the pictures from this trip.

Apparently it was NOT a bright sunny day.

That was the beginning of my exciting week in New Orleans. I met some great people on that trip and have some pretty awesome memories (one including horseriding with Annette and Ellie, and the other, "awesome" in a funny story sort of way, that included American cheese slice wrappers and midget porn,  - oh, and dear internet, I'm not going to tell you that story).

The location I worked at in 2003 is no longer there...This is the spot I'll be working in this weekend, in the French Quarter.

Insert Soul

There are a lot of pictures of this place. Apparently I had never been inside a Virgin Store before and by all the pictures of cds and tshirts, I guess I was pretty excited to see one. And I had a thing for taking pictures of the word "soul"

I can't wait to revisit New Orleans! I'm such a different person than I was then so I'm excited to experience it today. Plus? I have a way better camera this time.

Well this week I'm headed back and I couldn't be more excited, but that excitement is so bittersweet when I think of how sad it is what's happening in New Orleans right now. It's hard for everyone to not feel helpless in this situation but it's important to keep talking about it, ask questions, be angry.


I'll be tattooing at Electric Ladyland on Friday (June 4) and Saturday (June 5) and then taking a few days to enjoy New Orleans with my xoxo.  Hopefully I'll get better pictures this time. In the meantime I'll leave you with this little gem I found while looking for the New Orleans pictures:

Have a great week!

Holls Balls