(left: Cameran, middle bottom: Cameran and her dragon)
Denver has had a rocky history with tattoo conventions and Robin and Maria Hanson from Midwest Tattoo Tour, with help from Billy the Kid from Scarred for Life Tattoo in Boulder, hoped to change that with the first annual Sky High Tattoo Jamboree at the John Q Hammons, Holiday Inn in Denver on March 31 to April 2, 2006.
I drove out to the hotel, which was located at the outskirts of the city near the airport, making it easy for the artists who were flying in from around the country to get there, and walked into a huge room filled with the familiar buzzing of a whole bunch of tattoo machines. Friday night was fairly mellow as the artists began to trickle in from around Denver and around the country. Old friends hooked up and new ones were made. Almost everyone took to the hotel bar for drinks.
Saturday night started mellow, but as the day went on, things got pretty crazy with some big crowds and great tattoos. Larry Brogan from Tattoo City Skin Art Studio in Lockport, Illinois, didn't have any appointments scheduled, but had a bunch of people waiting at his booth. "I like Denver. It's smaller than Chicago," he said, "but it's still a really cool city. I was worried that I didn't have anything booked, but it doesn't seem to matter--a bunch of people have talked to me already about getting tattooed today." When I checked in with him at the end of the weekend he ended up taking home a number of awards including a First Place Best of Show award.
Tobe Drew from On The Edge Tattoo in Bowling Green, Ohio, saw it a little differently. "We're out here supporting Billy the Kid; he used to work for me. I think it's a pretty good turn out, but I'd like to see it a little busier. We all love coming out to Denver because it's a great city and the scenery is great." I wasn't sure if he was talking about all the tattooed women walking around the hotel, or the majestic Rocky Mountains making up the backdrop of the parking lot.
As the day wore down I could still hear the buzzing over the blaring music, a good sign that told me something must be going right. I spoke to a bunch of people from up and down the Front Range, all of whom came to get work done by the collection of fine artists from around the state and around the country gathered in Denver.
I was eagerly anticipating the convention since I first got word of it and I wasn't let down. It's been a while since we've had a decent show in Denver and I always hoped someone would get it together enough to out on a good one. "The show so far has been a real success and I'm really excited about the turnout; we hope to make it an annual event," said Billy the Kid.
Denver needs a strong convention that garners support form the entire tattoo community, both locally and nationally, to be successful. Hopefully, the Sky High Tattoo Jamboree sticks around to fill the void.
For more information you can visit Midwest Tattoo Tour online on their Web site at www.TattooShow.com.
-Chad Williams
(bottom right: Tobe's hands)