BODY-ART ROCKERS TURN OUT FOR NEW SUPER TATTOO PARLOR
It was a night I’d never seen before in Vegas, and it belonged to the ink-stained tattoo-loving artists and rockers who all love and think ink. Tattooed rockers such as Dave Navarro, Tommy Lee and Spiderz’ front-man Evan Seinfeld with porn-princess gal-pal Tera Patrick joined with rappers Lordz of Brooklyn, the appropriately named Tattooed Millionaires and the tattooed porn-prom-girls of Burning Angels, to pay homage to world-renowned artist Mario Barth.
He, along with wife Carol and their three-year-old son Tyler, opened their sixth worldwide store and their first in Vegas as part of the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.
“Vegas has now become the tattoo capitol of the world,” he told me. “Instead of it just being a blue-collar fad, it has spread to every white-collar industry person. It’s become acceptable now that people know it’s not only on a person who may have jumped from a cell. Tattooing is no different than any other form of makeup except it’s permanent. It’s a human thing to want to be individual. Look around and you will see both animals and humans with different markings. Tattooing only reflects that to make people different from one another.”
Mario told me he did his first tattoo art when he was just 12 and he has worked himself to the status of “tattoo royalty.”
“Tattooing has been my art, my business and life-force for over 20-years. Opening in Vegas is a dream come true. We are more than a studio. I have great reverence for the masters of this ancient art form and that’s reflected in our staff and the atmosphere and artifacts exclusive to us.”
Check out Ben Lattanzio’s incredible custom-made guitars from fins of antique automobiles and all beautifully mounted in stunning cases.
Starlight Tattoo offers three rare different styles—traditional hand-tool Japanese, traditional hand-tool Samoan and the modern techniques of Western-style. A monk tattooist flew in from Thailand for the ceremonial opening tattoos. I watched in amazement as one man underwent a full body art tattooing!
“An artist gets the same thrill when he works on a canvas, except with my art there is no room for error. If Picasso did wrong you could put his canvas in the closet. If I did wrong you’d be walking around with it forever, so I can’t ever make a mistake,” he continued.
Mario pointed out he was the first in the nation to utilize sterile ink, and emphasized the need for people who want tattoos to thoroughly research their potential artist.
“There maybe 10,000 artists in the USA, of which 98% are only just OK and 2% are incredibly good.”
I met up on the red carpet with Lorenzo Lamas’ former wife, blonde bombshell TV personality Shauna Sand, who told me she has nine different tattoos on her body, including their pre-divorce wedding band still inked on her fourth finger.
She also pulled down a little of her teeny-weeny miniskirt to show me the French fleur de Lys symbol tattooed strategically just above her tiny tush!
“I studied in France for several years and speak French fluently, so I always wanted to remember my happy days there,” she explained.
Just when I thought I couldn’t be shocked, stunned or surprised any more, I discovered that the night’s entertainment featured tattooed male acrobats suspended by meat hooks pierced through their shoulder flesh.
But it was the chatty fellow I met with tiny metallic horns screwed into his forehead and chin that really flummoxed me. I asked him what happens when he goes through the TSA screening device at the airport, and he showed me—by simply unscrewing them! The thread was recessed in his skin, and he proudly told me, “I take them out every night, too so I get a good night’s sleep!”
I promptly went to the nearest bar for a good strong shot of Patron! And then another! I might wear Spandex for the fun of it, but you can bet your last dollar the metal thing is something you won’t catch me ever doing!