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Back in September, my band, Mean Venus was asked to play a benefit show to remember the late Anthony DiGrigorio over at Tiki Stadium in Keansburg, NJ. This is where I met Tattoo Tony, who was one of the organizers of the very successful event. Who is Tattoo Tony you might be asking yourself? Well, if you’re a reality TV junkie like myself, and you’ve watched a season or two of VH-1’s Rock Of Love With Bret Michaels, you would know that Tattoo Tony is Bret Michaels’ personal tattoo artist and one of his best friends. One of Tony’s most memorable moments on the show was when he tattooed the name “Bret” on the back of one of girl’s necks. Anyway, I mentioned to Tattoo Tony that I was in the market for a new tattoo and that I also happened to write a tattoo column for The Aquarian, and he quickly gave me his card and said, “Give me a call, bro!” So, I did exactly what he asked and took a ride over to Tattoo Tony’s Under My Skin Tattoo in Atlantic Highlands, NJ.
I have to say that on the way over to the shop, I ended up missing my turn because I was distracted by all of the Beverly Hills style mansions along the water. What was I in for? What kind of neighborhood was Tony’s shop in? Was I underdressed? I finally made it to the shop after getting lost and was greeted by Tattoo Tony who was sitting behind his desk fighting a cold. I was not underdressed. In fact, I was dressed just right. The shop was a nice little clean spot with red walls adorned with a wall of autographed celebrity photos that Tattoo Tony had collected through the years. Of course, there was a wall of “flash art” portfolios also underneath the wall of fame.
Interview with Penn And Teller
There are people you interview and you know immediately why they’re famous (or should be). As art is communication, the artists who are usually best known are the ones with the most to say in their medium.
Penn Jillette, the half of Penn & Teller who does all the talking, has a hell of a lot to say.
And that’s his art, that’s his bag, that’s his side of the Penn & Teller coin. To talk. And so he has through their 35 years together as a magic act that somehow started an entertaining, investigative and critical television documentary show called Bullshit!, now in its seventh season.
But as the conversation went into that and well beyond. David Letterman, Balloon Boy (which happened while we were talking), Glenn Beck, television news, touring, Michael Moore, politics, god knows what else. We were just supposed to talk about the duo’s upcoming appearance in New York—the proceeds of which will go to PS/MS 161 in New York via the Bill Graham Memorial Foundation in conjunction with VH1’s Save The Music. Eh. These things happen.
As the conversation went in so many different directions, and I feel is worth reprinting in some fluid manner, we’re cut the tape on the print version and this is the full edition. Print’s dead anyway, right?