That's right. Slim. Motherfucking. Brown! Back on NLJBS, talkin' with Nick for a few hours and it's non-stop, man. Slim goes hard and there's not a millisecond of dead air to be found. This episode is super special, not only to have the privilege of the wisdom and whim of Slim, but you can hear throughout the sounds of a tattoo being executed by the one and only Mike Wilson. It's a great time with freakin' great stories with a killer tattoo shop filled with close friends and good times and you can feel the vibe throughout the episode, so y'all will definitely enjoy this one. There ain't no shop talk on here yet, but you won't need it after absorbing all the awesomeness of this one. Check it out.
Beau returns for another absolutely awesome episode. Nick travelled down to Richmond to Absolute Art and recorded a farewell podcast with Beau Beau so you won't wanna miss it. That's right he's kickin' down to the deep south, way past the borders of this country and a few more. Listen in to hear all about it, as well as some Avail tales and discussions that don't hold back on a ton of bands and all kinds of other shit in the punk rock universe that exists around these two dudes.
There's no Shop Talk quite yet, but you can hear a fun guest appearance early on by the one and only Timothy Hoyer as well as a side discussion featuring Keith Harper. Ignore the occasional audio problem whenever Beau gets excited and animated and enjoy this killer bullshit session.
Mrs. Diane Laws is one of those mentors who had an impact on so many young people it would be impossible to count. Well, if you've ever wondered how Nick got to be the charismatic host of your favorite podcast, this is definitely one of those guests who influenced him the most. Sit back and listen to some of those tales as you get to know a wonderful human being and amazing teacher. There's plenty of Clifton Forge talk and all kinds of stories from the past that just need to be shared and enjoyed, and there are no shortage of people who were influenced by Mrs. Laws who will love this opportunity to hear from her again.
Joey Knuckles made the journey back down to Alley Cat Tattoo and this time things get a bit out of this world. Lots of great stories throughout the episode, but more importantly are some crazy topics that will free your mind into thinking the way it was supposed to. Three or four of his homies are hangin' at the same time. No Shop Talk this week, so this'll have to do. But Porter and Andrew will return soon!
It's the return of Rob Kinzel from the Body Gallery in Leesburg, VA. He and his piercer, Lucy, travel down to the NLJBS studios to hang out with Nick and when these two get together you know the stories just don't end. There's a ton of industry talk and excellent tales in this one, so definitely check it out.
Nick sits down with Australian tattooer Will Brown and they shoot the shit for a good long while. He's been tattooing at some of the greatest shops all over our country, along with his wife who also appears on this episode. Check this out and you'll hear some excellent tales about a lot of people you already know.
The Thirty Year Reaper himself, Chris "Big Tats" Porter has a hell of a hangout session with Nick with a whole ton o' stories and memories from over the years of Alley Cat Tattoo. Richie stops by for the last hour and receives much love and listens to some wild tales up close and personal with the perpetrators themselves.
If you missed the first one a couple weeks ago, check it out. Mark Bell of Main St. Tattoo in Salem, VA is back to talk a whole lotta shit with Nick about their time working together in Roanoke and so much more. The Alley Cat crew comes back in off and on throughout just like last time. Mark is a long time friend of everyone involved in the shop and the podcast so the conversation comes naturally.
As things slowly wind down and back to normal and folks begin to do a bit of traveling once again, guests will often arrive at Alley Cat Tattoo in Harrisonburg, VA to see for themselves the legendary collection of art and artists and they are never disappointed. Often times, as is the case here, those travelers are great friends both new and old. This was Wrath's first visit to Rocktown, but Scott Sterling and JD Crowe are past guests of NLJBS and great friends of the shop and the show. You're gonna love this short but sweet bit of tattoo history, storytellin' and bullshittin'. Several other voices can be heard throughout, but these guys bring the heat.
After a bit of a hiatus, Mary Jane returns to the show. And whenever that happens, you know there's gonna be some storytellin' about the old days and whatever these two decide to talk about. Well, in this episode, it's a lot of Mary Jane asking Nick all kinds of questions about some of the characters that populate Nick's years growin' up in Clifton Forge. All that and more.
The founders of Key City Tattoo in Frederick, MD have a bullshit session with Nick for this episode and it's a great one. John Rippey and Gary Gerhardt are both MD natives who worked at local Frederick shops and other regional shops with a lot of history before opening Key City together. Now they have a yearly mini-convention and are regular Shop Talk mentions and friends of your favorite podcast on the planet.
Speakin' of Shop Talk: it's the triumphant return this episode! Nick will let you know what took so long in the intro, but we're all just glad the boys are back. And yes we get both Andrew and Porter for this one, so strap in and get wild and enjoy all your favorite bullshit artists.
Southern Legend Rodney Raines of Ace Custom Tattoo in Charlotte, NC and the excellent Darcey Nutt of Chalice Tattoo in Boise, ID were up above VA and Nick was on the road, so they met up and discussed tons of kickass tattoo past as well as pondered the future of conventions and shops moving forward past these fucked up times. It's a killer conversation that fans of the show will definitely enjoy.
Though these crazy times appear to be winding down, it's still not a simple task to create full episodes every week. We're all figuring it out and soldiering on. So we're not quite at the point of getting the new Shop Talks out, but hold on and hang in and we'll get the boys together once again to discuss killer work.
It has been a while since Joey Knuckles was on the show, and this time he comes to the NLJBS studios to hang out with Nick and the Alley Cat crew. He's got a book about Stoney St. Clair that showcases much of Joey's collection of Stoney's stuff back at his shop High Street Tattoo in Columbus, OH. There's a ton of tattoo history talk and some never before heard Stoney stories on this episode and just an all around good time. So check out this episode and get yourself a copy of the book if you are at all into tattoo history and information.
Roanoke, V-A, late nineties... early 2000's. This is where a bunch of folks in the history of Alley Cat and now NLJBS came up. Mark Bell was at the center of it all and has been friends with Nick from the moment your loyal host arrived on the scene. The tales woven throughout this episode go back to the beginning of the renowned Time Machine & Ancient Art getting deep into the game and all of the shenanigans that led to in Roanoke, Blacksburg, Harrisonburg. These are the stories we love to share and never get tired of hearing.
There's a bit of a hi-jacking about 3/4's through when the Alley Cat killers get done with a day's worth of customers and start rollin' in. Add to that a bit of a celebration of our very own Thirty-Year Reaper, Master P - Chrissy "Big Tats" - the recently absent host of our beloved Shop Talks himself: Mr. Chris Porter, and there's a bit of a train wreck that I kindly chopped down as it got out of control. So you'll hear a few transitions as our host falls further and further into the warm embrace of inebriation, so hold on tight but get comfortable since it's another long one.
Almost twenty years ago, Nick helped put Alley Cat Tattoo together for the owners Troy & Griz. Ever since the podcast began, Nick has been trying to get these guys on an episode. Well NLJBS veteran Dustin Golden flew in to Roanoke, down the road from Alley Cat, and got his dad Mike "Griz" Golden to join in on a bullshit session. Multi-episode veteran Nate Hall of Old Heavy Hands and Legacy Irons Tattoo fame was around as well, in addition to girlfriends, wives, apprentices and dogs all packed in to The Golden Building which is home to Skin Thrills Tattoo in Roanoke, VA. It's a long, wild ride and it has been a long time comin'. Stick around for the entire thing to make sure you hear all the wild tales told by Griz and everyone else involved. Yeah, there's some talkin' over each other, and some background noise, but most importantly there's some kickass storytelling. You're gonna dig it.
Roger LaDuceur has been tattooing in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia since before the millenium. Nick met Roger around the time of both of them working at Skin Thrills, a shop you've definitely heard stories from if you're a fan of the show. Now Roger runs Star City Tattoos in Roanoke and has several excellent artists working for him as well.
This week we've got a Richmond original from Heroes and Ghosts tattoo down in Carytown: Mr. Nick Barnett. He traveled up the road a ways to come and see Alley Cat in Rocktown V-A and check out how it has evolved since his last visit. While there, Nick Swartz, your weekly wizard of hosting the bullshit, laid down a great podcast full of great tattoo stories and industry talk. It's a real fun conversation and the first in a barrage of excellent tattoo heavy podcast we have lined up for the next few weeks. No Shop Talk yet, but you'll enjoy the hell out of this one.
What we do have is a little surprise in the form of thirty intensely interesting, oddly curious and unsuspectingly kickass minutes of the one and only Shane Enholm. That's right, an NLJBS legend calls in and crams an hour's worth of words about his new book coming out in under 30 minutes and it's entertaining as hell and good to hear from him again and you're gonna want to buy this book. As a matter of fact, head over to tribalbooks.net to order yours right fuckin' now.
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