[View photos from the October 13 event, here: http://tuffsissy.com/blog/event-gallery/. Post-event wrap-up, is below...]

Celebs, Charity & Cheer: October 13 Event, “Boondock Saints Bike Reveal Benefitting Los Angeles Regional Foodbank/Feeding America”, Hosted by “The Boondock Saints” Writer/Director, Troy Duffy

– Melrose Avenue’s “Freak Chic Tattoo” and “Tuff Sissy & Co.” Welcomed Guests at Festive “Boondock Saints” Fan Meet & Greet, and LA Speed Shop Custom-Built “Boondock Saints”-Themed Motorcycle Reveal –

On Thursday, October 13, 2011, “The Boondock Saints” (www.boondocksaints.com) Writer/Director, Troy Duffy, hosted a bevy of the movies’ fans, friends, cast and crew, as he celebrated the reveal of his brand new, “LA Speed Shop” (www.laspeedshop.com) custom-built “Boondock-Saints”-themed motorcycle. The event, officially named “Boondock Saints Bike Reveal Benefitting Los Angeles Regional Foodbank/Feeding America”, was held at Mat Joseph’s Melrose Avenue art venue “Tuff Sissy & Co.” (www.tuffsissy.com) and his neighboring “Freak Chic Tattoo” (www.freakchictattoo.com), and benefited said local charity (www.lafoodbank.org).

“Boondock Saints” cast and crew in attendance – other than Mr. Duffy – included actress Julie Benz, actors Clifton Collins Jr., Daniel DeSanto, David Della Rocco, and Brian Mahoney, as well as additional celebs who came out to support both Mr. Duffy and the cause, actors Jack Rubio, Jonathan Schaech, Paul Alessi, Sam Macaroni, and actress Amie Barsky.

Fans of The Boondock Saints franchise had been following LA Speed Shop’s progress on-line, as owner Chris Richardson and his crew constructed Mr. Duffy’s bike. The event served as the official reveal of the completed machine. Event guests mixed and mingled, eagerly awaiting the actual bike reveal. At the conclusion of a brief announcement by Mr. Duffy, Chris Richardson pulled the cover off of the custom machine, spurring a flurry of flash photography.

The event also featured a Boondock Saints movie memorabilia auction and raffle, a portion of the proceeds of which benefitted Los Angeles Regional Foodbank. The auction included items such as an official “Boondock Saints II” movie prop painting, signed by Mr. Duffy and a number of attending cast members; clothing and accessories from the movies’ wardrobe department, actually worn on-set; and other signed memorabilia.

Inked Magazine (www.inkedmag.com) served as media partner of the October 13 event, where guests enjoyed a hosted bar courtesy of Sailor Jerry Rum (www.sailorjerry.com/the-rum), as well as the hospitality of Sailor Jerry’s fully-outfitted Airstream trailer, which was parked in front of the venue. DJ Ten Foot Rabbit (www.facebook.com/pages/Ten-Foot-Rabbit/129917050417665) entertained the crowd with intricate sound maneuvers like bits of the movies’ dialogue overlapping and intertwined in the evening’s playlist.

O.N.E. Coconut Water (www.onedrinks.com) was also on-site, as well as Magnolia Bakery cupcakes (www.magnoliabakery.com), and delightfully devoured hors d’oeuvres from soon-to-open Marcona (www.marconarestaurant.com), scheduled to open late-October, directly across Melrose Avenue from Tuff Sissy & Co./Freak Chic Tattoo. Marcona’s menu for the evening included sample bites of their Spiced Spanish Tuna, Gyros Espana, and Burlington Red Onion sandwiches, as well as their Ossi de Morti (almond cookies), Cowboy Oatmeal Cookies, and Spiced Marconas (signature bar nut mix).

For more information about the October 13 “Boondock Saints” charity event or to receive photos, please email1316 info [at] stilettomarketing [dot] com.

Frank Ball is a self-taught artist, extremely influenced by the punk rock skater culture of the 80s, and the powerful images of the outlaw biker scene and gang culture that litters the Los Angeles cityscape. 

Frank is also a tattoo artist, and has been tattooing for over 20 years. Frank started his tattoo career as an apprentice to Mark Mahoney, at the early age of 17, and has worked for many of the most famous tattoo artists in the world including Bob Roberts, Corey Miller and Gill Montie, to name just a few. Frank continues to wield his skilled craft to this day (now at Freak Chic Tattoo), and he also continues to paint, with acrylic, water color, pen and ink. 

One of the most notorious names in the tattoo business, Frank Ball has found a happy medium in his career, as well as his family life, as a proud father of three. Life couldn’t be more normal for this young, outlaw artist.

– Tuff Sissy & Co. Owner, Mat Joseph, Partners with Goorin Bros. Hat Shop to Host a Trunk Show and Silent Auction, Cocktail Reception and Live Broadcast of “A 1920s Pulp Adventure Radio Serial”, to Benefit Cancer Charity –

On Monday, June 20, 2011, from 7-10 PM, Tuff Sissy & Co., will host a live broadcast of “Tales of the Extraordinary”, a “1920s pulp adventure radio serial” performed by a cast of fully-costumed actors. The ticketed event, which serves as a benefit for Art of the Brain (UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program), will also include a cocktail reception, and trunk show and silent auction featuring the Melrose Avenue outpost of Goorin Bros. Hat Shop.

The Goorin Bros. installation at the June 20 event will reflect the aesthetic of the radio show’s era, as well as the décor of Tuff Sissy & Co.’s interior. The trunk show set-up will be a tangible “scene” in which guests can test-drive various Goorin Bros. hats.

The event will feature a hosted bar including vodka cocktails mixed with Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice, O.N.E. Coconut Water, and sweets from the famous Magnolia Bakery. Those not in attendance at the June 20 event will be able to hear the radio show broadcast streamed live via the Internet.

Tuff Sissy & Co. was created by neighboring “Freak Chic Tattoo” (www.freakchictattoo.com) owner, Mat Joseph, and is meant to serve as a gallery and artist’s lair – a place for local tattoo artists and other talents to showcase their work, as well as mingle and share. Joseph’s motivation for the venue was to revive the Melrose art community and support both the local art movement as well as other community businesses, both old and new.

“We’re excited to host the talented cast of characters at this truly unique event, which will also raise funds for an extremely worthy cause. Our event partnership with the Melrose location of Goorin Bros. solidifies Tuff Sissy & Co.’s purpose, to strengthen the sense of community on the street, and to work together to give something back,” says Mat Joseph, owner and founder of both Freak Chic Tattoo and Tuff Sissy & Co., and tattoo and piercing industry veteran.

Tuff Sissy & Co. is located at 7367 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90046 (between Fuller and Martel Avenues). Showtime is 7:30 PM, and tickets ($10.00 each) will be available for sale at the door. RSVPs/reservations are highly recommended, as space is limited. For more information about the June 20 event or to RSVP, please email1316: info@stilettomarketing.com.

About Tales of the Extraordinary

The year is 1926…and the Roaring twenties are in full swing, filled with excess and adventure. Wondrous new discoveries take place on a daily basis, be they of lost civilizations or miraculous super-science. Anything seems possible. In Tales of the Extraordinary, anything is possible. Ancient mysticism, robotic automatons, masked vigilantes, or a chimp who thinks he’s the Great Gatsby. Tales isn’t the way things were. It’s the way they should have been. For more information, please visit: www.emptysea.net/tote/index.html.

About Goorin Bros.

The legacy of Goorin Brothers is one that follows a timeless approach to the art of hat making. In its fourth generation of leadership Goorin Brothers continues the tradition of authentic family craftsmanship and is supported by a team of individuals who share the same passion for the cultural, artistic and hands on approach to this century old brand. Goorin offers timeless, classic styles with a unique flare and personality – hats that allow you to make a statement without having to say a word. For more information, please visit: www.goorin.com.

About Art of the Brain

Art of the Brain at the UCLA Foundation is a non-profit organization. Under the direction of Dr. Timothy Cloughesy, our mission is to raise money for the UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program’s brain cancer research, to raise public awareness of this deadly disease, and spotlight the talent, strength and courage of our brain cancer patients. Art of the Brain is a patient-driven organization, celebrating art for those who have confronted brain cancer, either through their own experience or through a family member or friend. Since its inception in 2000, Art of the Brain and the UCLA Neuro-Oncology Program has successfully garnered more than $2.1 million for brain cancer research. For more information, please visit: www.artofthebrain.org.

Sixx Taylor’s fascination with the arts began at the ripe old age of eight years old, when he began painting. He has studied art his entire life, and as his college years approached, his skill and talent landed him a partial scholarship to Otis College of Art and Design. Sixx eschewed school for the art of tattooing, which he began to practice at the age of 21.

In his paintings, Sixx uses mainly water colors as his medium of choice, and prefers traditional tattoo art. He never makes prints of his pieces; every one of his paintings is one-off, a truly unique piece.

Sixx currently holds tattooing court at Freak Chic Tattoo. To view some of his tattoo work, please visit: http://www.freakchictattoo.com/tattoo.php.

Bob Vessells is a very unique artist and person: A true eccentric, and a devout student of psychology, paranormal and all things occult. 

After many complaints by concerned parents who were writing his school administration about fear of “ink poisoning”, Bob was forbidden to draw on his fellow third-grade students. Eventually, he would go on to permanently ink friends in high school. In 1987, after two years of art school, he landed his first professional tattooing gig with world-famous founding father of modern tattooing, Mark “The Shark” Mahoney, at Shamrock Social Club on the infamous Sunset Strip. Bob moved on to open his own tattoo shop and art gallery in 1995, “Funny Farm Tattoo,” in Los Feliz, CA. 

Fueled by ADD and obsessive-compulsive disorder, Bob is an accomplished  mixed-medium artist. Mastering oil painting, pen and ink, he also carves Tikis, sculpts “3D” art and art brushes, and is one of the most fun – and funniest – people you will ever meet. Check out Bob Vessells at www.bobvessells.com or www.funnyfarmtattoo.com.

SEROE:

Angeleno with a lust for paint, grime, booze, and crime.
Started painting graffiti.
Still paints graffiti and other stuff.
Works furiously to silence the inner demons.
Likes long walks on the beach.
Blah Blah Blah…

{We’ll just let his famed art – street or otherwise – speak for itself.}

AXIS (born March 26, 1973 in London, England) is a contemporary illustrator/painter who emerged from Los Angeles’ seminal graffiti scene in the 1980s. He is most noted for his convoluted and hyper-stylized freehand graffiti, which has appeared in Los Angeles, Austin, Seattle, Baltimore, London, Tokyo, and Berlin.

As a child, Axis moved from London to Los Angeles with his family and developed a number of musical and artistic influences including Mozart, Black Sabbath, Rick Griffin, Norman Rockwell, and even Monty Python’s Flying Circus. An early convert to skateboarding and punk rock, Axis began experimenting with graffiti art in 1985. By the mid-90s he had cemented his reputation as one of the most prolific street artists working in Los Angeles. Though his career has largely unfolded outside of the graffiti landscape, his skate-punk origins continue to shape his engorged aesthetic and politicized black humor.

In addition to his artwork, Axis is also widely known as a musician. Having received formal music training (harpsichord, cello, piano) at a young age, Axis formed Los Angeles hard-core/Metal band The Pain (lead guitarist, songwriter) in 2004. He has recorded two full-length albums and has toured Europe and the United States. 

Axis lives in Los Angeles, CA where he continues to paint, skate and play music everyday. For more information about Axis, please visit: www.stylepig.com.

Konstantin Nossachev was born in Caucasus, Russia, where Konstantin’s family placed the utmost importance on his education. Konstantin traveled, studied and lived all over the world, including time in Germany, Canada, France, Switzerland and of course, the U.S., to which Konstantin received his citizenship, in 2005.

In 2007, Konstantin finally had the opportunity to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pilot, and after three years of training, in 2010 he became a licensed pilot. This new accomplishment has allowed Konstantin to also express himself through aerial photography. Konstantin successfully leveraged this new form of self-expression with a hit aerial photography show in 2010, in a “SISTEMA”-backed Moscow gallery.

Tattooing is still Konstantin’s main occupation, as he has recognized within the art, a renaissance in technique, self-expression and most importantly, cultural exchange. For Konstantin, the lines between craft, art, psychology and physiology are blurred, all joining together to stimulate his thought process and vision. Konstantin feels that the high standards set in the tattoo world, make tattooing one of the most creative, contemporary, cultural art forms.

Konstantin’s tattoo art centers around life-like subjects, which help him to understand the cycle of being. To that end, in Konstantin’s down-time, he paints, with friends and lovers as his primary subjects. And with this new-found outlet of aerial photography, Konstantin has discovered that switching between mediums helps him to follow and study the different layers of lifestyle of modern society. For more information about Konstantin, please visit: www.noskos.com.

– Freak Chic Tattoo and Tuff Sissy & Co. Owner, Mat Joseph, Joins Forces with Daniel Creadon and “Factory13 experimental skateboard manufacturing” to Raise Funds for Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Victims –

On Thursday, June 16, 2011, from 8-11 PM, Melrose Avenue art duo, “Tuff Sissy & Co.” (www.tuffsissy.com) and neighboring “Freak Chic Tattoo” (www.freakchictattoo.com), will host a Japan benefit and opening artists’ reception for what will be a month-long exhibit of works by eight local artists. The June 16 benefit and art show, entitled “Tuff Sissy & Co. ♥ Japan”, is in partnership with Daniel Creadon and his company, Los Angeles-based “Factory13 experimental skateboard manufacturing”. The exhibit will be housed at Tuff Sissy & Co. and Freak Chic Tattoo June 12–July 7, 2011, and at the conclusion of the exhibit, a portion of the proceeds from sales of the artwork will be donated to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami victims through the Japan America Society of Southern California.

“Tuff Sissy & Co. ♥ Japan”, curated by Ten Terrell, will include works by Daniel Creadon/Factory13; Los Angeles street art pioneer, AXIS; street/graffiti artist SEROE; Baku Watanabe, a traditional Japanese tattoo and visual artist; Konstantin; Bob Vessells, owner of Los Feliz shop, “Funny Farm Tattoo”; Freak Chic’s own Sixx Taylor, and Frank Ball. Daniel Creadon’s section of the show will be a creative installation of Factory13 skateboards.

“At Tuff Sissy & Co., we’re all about art, community and giving back…this exhibit allows us to support our local artist community, as well as help the Japan earthquake victims, through art,” says Mat Joseph, owner and founder of both Freak Chic Tattoo and Tuff Sissy & Co., and tattoo and piercing industry veteran.

Guests at the June 16 Japan benefit and exhibit opening will enjoy a hosted vodka bar courtesy of Absolut, cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery, and O.N.E. Coconut Water. More event sponsors will be announced over the next two weeks. A photographer will be on-hand to shoot the art on the walls, as well as the art on event guests.

Tuff Sissy & Co. and Freak Chic Tattoo are located at 7367 and 7365 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90046 (between Fuller and Martel Avenues). Tattoo and piercing appointments at Freak Chic can be made by calling 323.951.1501. Tuff Sissy & Co. hosts regular art exhibits and art auctions/benefits, as well as figurative and open drawing nights, and other related events (more details TBA). For more information or to RSVP for the June 16 art opening, please email1316: info@stilettomarketing.com.

About Daniel Creadon/Factory13

Daniel Creadon is originally from Mentor, OH, where he founded Factory13 in 1999, out of his garage. Danny has been skateboarding for as long as he can remember, and at an early age, he became frustrated with the same cookie-cutter shapes and graphics being sold on skateboards. Soon after, he began building the press and molds to make his own skateboards – often out of scraps from the factories he worked in as a welder. In just a few short years, he had taught himself how to build the innovative and functional skateboards he had been seeking for so long.

Danny now lives in Venice, CA, and works out of his Factory13 workshop in downtown Los Angeles. In addition to skateboards, he also designs innovative structures as a professional Architectural and Mechanical Engineer.

Factory13 experimental skateboard manufacturing is an independent skateboard company. At Factory13 they design, manufacture, print and ride the most unique and aggressive skateboards on the market. They give skateboarders the opportunity to make every design decision, providing customization at every level. All boards are handmade and screen-printed by skateboarders themselves, in the Factory13 workshop. For more information, please visit: www.factory13.org.

About Japan America Society of Southern California

The Japan America Society of Southern California was founded in 1909 to build economic, cultural, governmental and personal relationships between the people of Japan and America.

We are a non-profit, charitable and educational organization consisting of individuals and corporations with an interest in Japan and in United States-Japan relations. Our membership is open to the general public and currently includes 130 Corporate, and over 2,000 individual members.

We offer unique opportunities to become involved in the business and cultural relationship between the two countries. Our active calendar of events includes breakfast and luncheon programs, business networking mixers, weekend family events, and programs highlighting art, music, fashion, film, performing arts and other special activities. For more information, please visit: www.jas-socal.org.

New Melrose Avenue Art Venue, “Tuff Sissy & Co.”, Hosts April 30 Art Opening: “3D glasses NOT required | The art of FLiP” 

– “Freak Chic Tattoo” and “Tuff Sissy & Co.” Owner, Mat Joseph, Welcomes Guests as FLiP Takes His Work from Skin to Glass –

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, from 8-11 PM, new Melrose Avenue art venue, “Tuff Sissy & Co.” (www.tuffsissy.com), will host an opening artists’ reception for what will be a month-long exhibit of 3D art, called “3D glasses NOT required | The art of FLiP”. The exhibit, which will include about 100 pieces by Santa Barbara native and artist, FLiP, features dimensional art depicting subjects familiar to tattoo aficionados, such as Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth-style monster cars complete with monsters, traditional Japanese nature scenes with serenely falling cherry blossoms, and ghostly pirate ships riding rough seas in lightning-torn skies. The exhibit will be housed at Tuff Sissy & Co. through May 31, 2011.

Tuff Sissy & Co., located at 7367 Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, was created by neighboring “Freak Chic Tattoo” (www.freakchictattoo.com) owner, Mat Joseph, and is meant to serve as a gallery and artist’s lair – a place for local tattoo artists and other artists to showcase their work, as well as mingle and share. Joseph’s motivation for the venue was to revive the Melrose art community and support both the local art movement as well as other community businesses, both old and new.

“FLiP’s an extremely talented artist. I’m proud to host his show, and with his art opening and exhibit, we get to demonstrate to the community Tuff Sissy & Co.’s ultimate reason for being,” says Mat Joseph, owner and founder of both Freak Chic Tattoo and Tuff Sissy & Co., and tattoo and piercing industry veteran.

Guests at the April 30 exhibit opening will enjoy a dirty martini bar featuring Dirty Sue Premium Olive Juice, and celebrity Chef Eric Greenspan’s award-winning grilled cheese sandwiches, courtesy of his nearby restaurant, The Foundry on Melrose. Other food and beverage options for the April 30 event guests include cupcakes courtesy of the famous Magnolia Bakery, and O.N.E. Coconut Water. Media sponsorship of the event will be provided by Inked Magazine, and a photographer will be on-hand to shoot the art on the walls, as well as the art on event guests.

Tuff Sissy & Co. and Freak Chic Tattoo are located at 7367 and 7365 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90046 (between Fuller and Martel Avenues). Tattoo and piercing appointments at Freak Chic can be made by calling 323.951.1501. Tuff Sissy & Co. will host regular art exhibits and art auctions/benefits, as well as figurative and open drawing nights, and other related events (more details TBA). For more information or to RSVP for the April 30 art opening, please email1316: info@stilettomarketing.com.

About the Artist, FLiP

FLiP officially entered the tattoo art world when he landed his first tattoo shop gig in 1991. He had unofficially entered that world by tattooing friends while still in high school, in his hometown of Santa Barbara. FLiP has always had an outsider’s attitude, and with his beautifully rendered, dimensional visual art aimed at the mainstream art world, he has found a new way to defy convention.

For FLiP, art has been a life-long obsession, beginning with a childhood spent replicating on paper the classic cars that populated automotive magazines. His current pieces of dimensional art are a melding of a lifetime of exposure to, and involvement in, traditional American art forms coupled with a desire to learn and synthesize various elements. FLiP’s 3D pieces are painted in vividly arresting palates which draw the eye, but it is their distinctive depth and aura of layering which holds the gaze.

When FLiP is not painting and creating, he is leaving his permanent mark on clients who visit his Santa Cruz tattoo studio, “Eights & Aces Tattoo” (www.eightsandacestattoo.com), which he opened in 2008. This is the second of FLiP’s two shops, the first being the much-lauded “True Art”, also in Santa Cruz. FLiP has tattooed up and down the California coast, and still tattoos five days a week at Eights & Aces. Not content with his impressive – and lengthy – tattooing resume, in 2007 FLiP also launched his own design company, DeadFast Design – the same year that he tied the knot with his wife, Trish.

About Inked Magazine

Inked Magazine is a men’s lifestyle magazine that is published 10 times a year by Quadra Media, LLC. Inked is an upscale lifestyle and fashion magazine with a focus on tattoo culture and rebellious luxury. For more information, please visit: www.inkedmag.com.