Star Wars Celebration: Tattoos, a convention tradition

Eric Vie, left, of Dayton, Ohio, gives the Bay Area’s Alain Bloch a tattoo of the Jedi Code at Star Wars Celebration. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Vinny Romanelli of New York City gives Angela Byrd an angelic R2-D2 tattoo at Star Wars Celebration. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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In tattoo alley at Star Wars Celebration, Damian Cain of Somerset, England, gives David James of Arcadia a Darth Nihilus tattoo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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British tattoo artist Damian Cain shows off his Luke Skywalker tattoo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jon Aragon of Rancho Cucamonga uncovers his “Star Wars” tattoos at Star Wars Celebration (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times).

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Modesto’s Angela Byrd received her second “Star Wars” tattoo at Star Wars Celebration, both by artist Vinny Romanelli. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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“Star Wars” fans, if this weekend’s Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim is any indication, are a patient lot. Thousands camped out Wednesday night to be in the same room as director J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, and lines to buy exclusive convention merchandise could stretch up to three hours.

That’s about how long, for instance, it took me to purchase a wall clock in the shape of Salacious B. Crumb, the rat-like pal of Jabba the Hutt in “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi.” Others waited an hour or so to purchase ornaments. Some waited for love (speed dating sessions for men seeking women were booked by Friday morning, dashing my hopes of a “Star Wars romance) and still others waited hours for a glimpse of new video game “Star Wars: Battlefront” or a chance to have a photo taken in a mock Millennium Falcon.

It isn’t really a surprise that “Star Wars” die-hards would have such endurance. They’ve been waiting 10 years for a new film, and even longer for one that sees the return of beloved characters such as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Much of the four-day Celebration, which concludes Sunday, was dedicated to hyping the upcoming Abrams-directed “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” for which a new trailer was unveiled on Thursday.

The trailer, however, is under 2 minutes long. A tattoo, meanwhile, is forever.

A still-growing tradition of Star Wars Celebration is getting inked, as 45 tattoo artists set up makeshift shops on the convention floor this weekend and engraved “Star Wars”-only designs on the faithful. Getting tattooed, however, however, meant essentially giving up one’s day . For some, that entailed seven or eight hours of missed panels, missed autographs, missed photos and missed networking.

But again, “Star Wars” fans are a patient lot, and coming home from Celebration with a personalized tattoo was worth skipping out on an afternoon of, say, watching droid races.

Vinny Romanelli of New York City gives Angela Byrd an angelic R2-D2 tattoo at Star Wars Celebration. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s totally worth it,” said Angela Byrd, 28, of Modesto.

She was getting a full-color R2-D2 framed with angelic wings along with the phrase “you’re my only hope,” words made famous by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) in “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope.” It’s her second “Star Wars” tattoo, and positioned just below a mini-Millennium Falcon blasting out of a crescent wreath.

“I’ve never gotten a tattoo at a convention,” Byrd said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. There’s so many people out here wanting to get one by an artist who’s coming from another city or another country. I think it’s worth it, totally, even if I’m missing a little bit of the convention.”

Tattoos have had a presence at Star Wars Celebration since 2005, when Shane Turgeon set up a booth to display his archive of “Star Wars” tattoo images. Turgeon has compiled two volumes of his “The Force and the Flesh” books, coffee table-ready collections of “Star Wars” body art, and runs the Edmonton, Canada-based shop Shades of Grey.

Turgeon, along with Marc Draven, began organizing the on-site tattoo pavilion at 2010’s Celebration event in Orlando, Fla. That year, there were 25 artists at the show. Turgeon said about 200 applied to be in Anaheim this weekend, and the 45 chosen were asked to pay a fee to Lucasfilm in order to become officially licensed “Star Wars” artists.

“Here, you get a ‘Star Wars’ tattoo by your fellow ‘Star Wars’ geeks. They understand you. They understand what you want,” said Turgeon, who added that with more films on the way the tattoo pavilion was only likely to grow.

That Lucasfilm stamp of approval is a big deal, said artist Damian Cain. He traveled to Celebration from Somerset, England, and was planning to do one tattoo per day. He said he probably wouldn’t make up the cost of travel, but immediate financial gain wasn’t his incentive for coming to Southern California.

“This is a massive opportunity,” he said. “To be  a Lucasfilm-licensed artist is a dream come true. I’ve been obsessed with ‘Star Wars’ since I was tiny, so to grow up and get into tattooing and be almost officially validated is, like, ‘Wow.’”

British tattoo artist Damian Cain shows off his Luke Skywalker tattoo at Star Wars Celebration. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The Bay Area’s Alain Bloch has wanted a “Star Wars” tattoo for a number of years and jumped at the chance to get one done at Celebration. His tattoo, a heavily detailed rendition of the script for the Jedi Code, was likely to take a full afternoon.

“I definitely want to get tattooed by someone who loves the culture and is willing to come out and dedicate their time,” said Bloch, 34. “I feel like there’s a strong connection there. I also feel just the significance of Celebration. What better place to get a ‘Star Wars’ tattoo to remind myself of this time, this place, these people.”

As for why he choose the Jedi Code, Bloch said flatly, “I’m a Jedi.” He isn’t kidding, as Bloch is a member of the Saber Guild, which puts on lightsaber demonstrations and was hosting a number of performances throughout the weekend.

Byrd is working on a full half-sleeve of “Star Wars” artwork, and has had both of her pieces done by the same artist, the first in New York and the second this weekend. “I’m girly, obviously, so I wanted it to be girly,” she said, explaining the inspiration behind the angel wings. “I didn’t want it to be super manly looking.”

This was the second Celebration for Vinny Romanelli, who was tattooing Byrd.

In tattoo alley at Star Wars Celebration, Damian Cain of Somerset, England, gives David James of Arcadia a Darth Nihilus tattoo. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“I don’t really do conventions anymore,” said Romanelli. “They’re kind of hectic and we’re out of our comfort zone with the set-up and everything. But I’ve always loved ‘Star Wars’ and to be able to do what I love, tattooing, in the middle of something else that I’ve always loved, it’s, like, the best combination ever.”

David James of Arcadia would agree. He was getting a portrait of Darth Nihilus on his upper arm, a tattoo that will compliment his portrait of Boba Fett. He has non-“Star Wars” tattoos, including those that honor rock acts the Misfits and Pantera, but the 33-year-old said his “Star Wars” ink bridges generations. He recalled the reaction of his parents when he got his first “Star Wars” tattoo at age 19.

“My parents don’t like tattoos at all,” he said, “but they saw it and they were like, ‘Oh, it’s ‘Star Wars,’ it’s cool.’ I was kind of scared to show them when I first got it. I thought they were going to kill me. But they were like, ‘OK, that’s really cool. It’s ‘Star Wars.’ We like it.’”

–Todd Martens | @toddmartens |@LATHeroComplex

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Star Wars Celebration: Tattoos, a convention tradition

Blink-182's Travis Barker returns to curate Musink, a celebration of music and tattooing in Costa Mesa

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker is curator of the eighth annual Musink Tattoo Convention and Music Festival set for Friday-Sunday in Costa Mesa.

With: More than 300 international, national and local tattoo artists, with performances by Rancid, Bad Religion, Blink-182 with Matt Skiba, Sick of It All, OFF!, Ignite, Yelawolf and more.

When: 3 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday and March 22

Tickets: $30-$40 one-day general admission; $75-$85 three-day general admission; $90-$100 one-day VIP admission;

Travis Barker’s entire life revolves around creating music, getting tattooed and being immersed in Southern California’s classic car culture. All of which are why the 39-year-old, heavily inked drummer is the ideal curator for the Musink Tattoo Convention and Music Festival in Orange County.

Held each year at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, Musink, which returns for its eighth installment Friday-Sunday, will feature more than 300 local, national and world-renowned tattoo artists, a classic car show with a variety of models 70 years or older, and concerts each night. Headlining acts this year include Rancid, Bad Religion and Barker’s main band, Blink-182, performing with Alkaline Trio guitarist Matt Skiba.

When the show’s lineup and official event poster was revealed in late January, controversy overshadowed the announcement. Music and social media sites erupted over Blink-182’s decision to perform without founding guitarist Tom DeLonge. After numerous he-said-they-said interviews, the end result is that DeLonge is out, at least for now, and Barker, along with Blink bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, will headline the final evening of Musink.

STILL MAKING HIS MARK

In late 2013, Barker was approached with the idea of curating Musink, working alongside promoters Bill Hardie and Goldenvoice, during a meeting at his Famous Stars and Straps clothing company. It was a real “no duh” moment, he recalled as we sat in the dining room of his Los Angeles home last month.

Though he came in late to the project that year, Barker managed to pull it off by commissioning some of his favorite tattoo artists and inviting some of his music idols to perform, including punk rockers the Descendents and the Vandals, hardcore acts the Gorilla Biscuits, Strife and H20 and hip-hop acts like Tech N9ne and Rittz alongside Barker’s rap/punk super group, the Transplants.

“It just makes sense … look at me,” he continued sarcastically, shrugging. “It’s music. It’s tattoos. It’s all the things I love anyway. When they asked me, I was like, ‘Are you serious? No, that idea is absurd!’ Come on! This whole thing was easy to say yes to. Last year, I kind of just did it for the love of it, but I’m fully committed to it now because it’s such a cool opportunity.”

Orange County is the ideal place, Barker said, to host the annual fest, which debuted in 2008 with tattoo artist and TV personality Kat Von D as the curator. Barker was born and raised in Fontana and grew up with an appreciation for classic cars, hip-hop and punk rock music and elaborate body art. He got his first tattoo at 16.

After high school, he joined the band Feeble and moved to Laguna Beach, taking a job as a trash man and living in a studio apartment off Pacific Coast Highway with three friends. In 1996, he joined O.C. superhero ska band the Aquabats under the pseudonym the Baron von Tito, and just two years later, he was anchoring pop punk trio Blink-182.

His love of music, however, is equaled by his love of ink. He’s covered most of his body, including areas on his legs where he underwent painful skin grafts after surviving a Learjet crash in 2008. The accident burned off his very first tattoo, but it hasn’t deterred him from getting new artwork or touching up some of the damage. He recently got the words “Live & Learn” redone on his hands, something he had originally finished a week before the plane crash.

One of his most ambitious collections is his head, minus most of his face, which was done over several sittings and totaled about 35 hours by three of his favorite artists: Mister Cartoon (Mark Machado), Franco Vescovi and Chuey Quintanar. Barker might even leave the fairgrounds with a brand new tattoo on whatever square inch of space he has left.

“I’m always down to get tattooed real quick,” he said with a grin. “I never say never to that kind of stuff. I might get a tattoo (at Musink), but I hate getting one and then sweating like a dog and being gross on stage. I like to take care of them and I’m always cutting my hands open or something when we play. But, if I get the itch, I’ll just do it.”

LOOKING AHEAD

There’s no such thing as downtime in Barker’s world. When he’s not hanging out with his two young kids, son Landon and daughter Alabama, he’s working on new projects. Topping his to-do list is the follow-up to his 2011 solo album, “Give the Drummer Some,” which he’s been working on with Wiz Khalifa, Kid Ink, Ty Dolla Sign, Tyga and Run the Jewels. However, he’s in no hurry to rush the release. But when it finally drops, he promises: “It’s going to be … awesome.”

There’s plenty on his plate in the meantime. He’ll soon be releasing an album of covers with the Transplants. He also produced San Diego-based “cholo gothic” duo Prayers’ forthcoming EP, “Young Gods,” and collaborated with Yelawolf on his album “Love Story,” which will be out next month.

As for Blink-182, the future is still murky. Barker said the rehearsals leading into Musink with Skiba have been refreshing and that the guys have been giddy, reluctantly refraining from recording new song ideas or covers at this point and instead trying to focus on nailing down a solid 25-song set for the upcoming show.

“There’s an energy in the rehearsal space that we haven’t had in forever,” he said. “Matt is just killing it, and I was sweetly surprised. When everything happened, when the (Musink) show was booked and we were about to announce, Mark and I were like ‘How the (heck) are we going to do this without Tom?’ In that same breath though, I said, ‘Matt Skiba’ and Mark said, ‘You’re absolutely right.’”

“Everything right now is positive and I’m excited for this and I think when kids hear it, they’re going to trip out. There’s honestly no bad blood here. I wish the best for Tom and obviously the best for us, too.”

Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com

Blink-182"s Travis Barker returns to curate Musink, a celebration of music and tattooing in Costa Mesa