Westchester, the nook of LA best known for being below Venice, next to Inglewood and above the LAX, isn’t usually known to be a spot for nightlife. But on Saturday, across from the notoriously busiest of the notoriously busy In-N-Out burger joints, Hollywood Stars Tattoo celebrated its’ three-year anniversary in conjunction with Contrashadow PR.
In the last couple years, the Tattoo shop has carved its place into LA’s skin as one of the prime spots for custom inking. “We’re trying to give you what you want, not just what we got,” owner Erik Gutierrez says in the long corridor of his shop. There is an eerily personal, graphic feel to the shop’s guts. Blood red paint covers the hallways with small portals into each artist studio.
“You go places and people are constantly trying to push their artwork on somebody else, whether they want it or not,” Guiterrez says.
A lot of tatteries have their walls plastered with point and ink tattoos. Work samples are available upon request, but Hollywood Star’s artists keep their studios more open in order to encourage their costumers to think more, well, custom.
A few pairs of Van’s sneaks on a shelf above his needles are where Adrian Caro shows off his squabbles with ink. “I just do these in my spare time,” Caro says showing me the kicks. “Let me know if you want a pair.” Caro has only been working at Hollywood Stars for a few days but has already had a taste of the shops celebrity clientele. “They get a lot of big name clients,” Caro says. “We are actually supposed to have Badass from Tha Dogg Pound Gang in here for some work tonight.”
Outside, in the shops proverbial back yard, planes soared literally just above a stage, mini-bar and solitary heat lamp, constantly under siege. The line between the Tatoo and Rap pack was being blurred all night. Tattoo enthusiasts were coming out to the cold to check the MC’s and the Hip-Hoppers went into the shop to watch live inking.
The 15-year-old Meech, who could be en route to becoming the next Soulja/ Hurricane kid, played his song “Thicka Than A Snicka,” complete with Bathin’ Apes. Meech and fellow performers, Jah-Free, and the Dirty Bird, are all affiliated with the Inland Empire camp cohesive, Homeless Nation and the man who brought you “Lean Like a Cholo,” Fingazz. These acts were an interesting juxtaposition to the six-piece Long Beach based band Mulatto, who stole the show.
Mulatto consists of six 17-22 year olds, who have been extensively playing in the LA area for the last year. The group rocks with a nu-jazz, soulful smooth vibe with bracketing rock progressions. “You’re gonna be blown away,” lead singer Diondre Tribble tells me right before they step on stage. It’s safe to say that my eyebrows were definitely raised and Mulatto left the crowd begging for more.
The night winded down soon after Mulatto left the stage. Hoodies were zipped back up as people headed back through the shop towards Sepulveda Blvd. Most of the partiers at this “industry exclusive” took a card to consider heading to Hollywood Stars for their next Tattoo. “I been tattooing since I was 13 years old, I’m 31 now,” Gutierrez says. His experience has taught him that the potential for remarkable artwork is available everytime he puts his needle into someone’s skin. “You see,” he says, “I try to bring out what people don’t realize they got. You can pick a style that hits anywhere and we will do what we can do get you that style.”
Leave A Comment!