Books Closed: Tattoos and the Internet Collide, Hosted by Andrew Stortz

Latest Episodes:

059 - Who Can Carry the Torch for ED HARDY? ft. Taki & Molly Kitamura, Ethan Dodge Dec 30, 2024

Show notes

Ed Hardy is the most impactful tattooer of our time. Now that he no longer working, does his influence end?

[Watch this episode on YOUTUBE]

Ed's legendary San Francisco shop, Tattoo City, closed its doors for good yesterday. His publishing company, Hardy Marks no longer has him at the helm. Does his influence end now that these two huge vehicles for how he performed and shared his work are in his past?

While the shop is now gone, sadly, Ed handed the book publishing torch to a very capable team, Taki and Molly Kitamura. With the experience of making amazing books of their own, documenting and sharing pieces of tattoo culture and history (in a way reminiscent of Ed himself), I can't imagine Hardy Marks landing in the care of anyone better.

One of their first projects is reintroducing the Tattoo Time series, with new issues to come soon. Taki wanted to introduce their new editor, Ethan Dodge, a great writer among many other things.

Check out more about HARDY MARKS PUBLICATIONS

Find Taki and Molly at STATE OF GRACE TATTOO in San Jose, CA

BOOKS CLOSED Podcast is made by Andrew Stortz

Find Andrew in Portsmouth, NH at Worship Tattoo

058 - Dan Smith Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

Andrew catches up with tattooer and musician, Dan Smith, backstage in Boston before Dan takes the stage with Eighteen Visions.

They talk about the way music and tattooing can feed each other, Dan's experience with being featured on reality TV, and why he is enjoying slowing things down now.

Find Dan at Captured Tattoo in Tustin, CA

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY:

Afterlife Press

Afterlife Press has just released Volume 4 of their flagship Afterlife Volumes series. Volume 4 features powerhouse tattooers Henning Jorgensen and Mike Rubendall.

Subscribers to Afterlife's email newsletter receive early access to ALL new releases as well as exclusive offers for discounts and other goodies. Make sure to head over to afterlifepress.com and sign up now to stay ahead of the game!

Right now, Afterlife is offering an awesome promo for issues of Disintegration: 50% off if you buy all three issues at once!

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BOOKS CLOSED Podcast is made by Andrew Stortz

Find Andrew in Portsmouth, NH at Worship Tattoo

057 - Leo Zulueta Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

The legendary king of tribal tattooing, Leo Zulueta, was tricked into becoming a tattooer by Ed Hardy. Is there another tattooer with an origin story as crazy as that?!

[This episode has a huge visual component, watch here on YouTube]

Leo talks about how the high contrast punk rock show posters he made in his younger years set the stage for the heavy black tribal tattoo style that he hugely brought into the visual vocabulary of western tattooing. Tattooing as we know it today would simply not be the same without Leo's contributions over his decades long career.

His influence and encouragement has been felt by many, and we also hear some anecdotes from Jared Leathers, Adam Shrewsbury and Julian Bast.

Leo's new book, The Black Wave, can be ordered now through:

Belzel Books (US)

Coenen Publishing (EU)

Sydney Tattoo Club (AUS)

Yokozuna Shoten

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THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY:

Afterlife Press

Afterlife Press has just released Volume 4 of their flagship Afterlife Volumes series. Volume 4 features powerhouse tattooers Henning Jorgensen and Mike Rubendall.

Right now, Afterlife is offering an awesome promo for issues of Disintegration: 50% off if you buy all three issues at once!

****************************************************

BOOKS CLOSED Podcast is made by Andrew Stortz

Find Andrew in Portsmouth, NH at Worship Tattoo

056 - Adam Shrewsbury Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

Adam Shrewsbury went all-in on pottery after a hiatus from tattooing, and has never looked back. Andrew visits Adam's pottery studio to see what he has been working on and what's next. Also, Adam discusses the clarity he has gained for his tattooing through taking a break, how tattooing suffers from a lack of outside influence, and a story about the time he got to pick up Thom DeVita from the airport.

See more of Adam's work HERE

(You can WATCH this video on YOUTUBE)

BOOKS CLOSED is produced by Andrew Stortz

Find Andrew at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

055 - Julian Bast Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

Hold on tight, you are about to enter the mind of Julian Bast, and I don't think you are ready.

(You can WATCH this video on YOUTUBE)

Julian is a tattooer and artist who is focused on letting an unstructured process steer the ship. Modeling his approach after the freedom he saw his children have when making art, he keeps the idea of "play" at the forefront.

I have admired everything he does for years, and was excited to finally meet him and spend some time getting tattooed and having the conversations you will see in this episode. We talk about how family and work have started to blend more seamlessly for him, the benefits of automatic drawing, and he tells a story about how he almost lost his mind while painting a mural...but just for a split second.

Julian works at Name Brand Tattoo in Ann Arbor, MI.

BOOKS CLOSED is produced by Andrew Stortz

Find Andrew at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

054 - Is This The Tattoo Apocalpyse? Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

Kicking off the new season with a Q+A addressing all of your important questions. Is tattooing dead? Are there too many shops? Is it a time for a new career?

Nothing like doom and gloom to get back into the groove with the show!

Andrew discusses listener submitted questions with his crew at Worship Tattoo. Bill Rocha, Kayleigh Rae, Kenley Darling and Mijo all sit in this week to try to answer all of tattooing's toughest questions.

Stay tuned in until the end of the episode for some bonus unreleased footage from last year's Filip Leu episodes!

BOOKS CLOSED is made by Andrew Stortz

Find him, along with everyone else on this episode at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

Watch this episode on YOUTUBE

053 - Zack Spurlock Dec 04, 2023

Show notes

Andrew heads to Savannah, Georgia to sit down with tattooer Zack Spurlock to discuss how he ruined his life for tattooing, which bands your favorite tattoos sound like, and why he strives for individuality in his work. Andrew also shares the story about his close encounter with his dream guest, Fred Durst.

Watch THIS EPISODE on YouTube

Find Zack at Kudzu Tattoo in Savannah, GA
Find Andrew at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

BOOKS CLOSED is hosted by Andrew Stortz (@andrewstortz)
Music by Epidemic Sound

***This episode is sponsored by:***

EQUAL VISION RECORDS
Quality records since 1990

Use code BOOKSCLOSED for 20% off you order (excluding pre-order items)

TATTOO DREAM
Procreate stamp brushes, digital flash, downloadable books and online seminars for tattooers by some of the world's leading tattooers.

BLACK DAGGER BOOKS
A collection of art books from some of the hardest working tattooers in the game, released monthly. Sign up today for a subscription so you don't miss a single edition!
DOS-M
Digital Optimizations For Tattoo Artists
Head to digitaltattooers.com to get your FREE consultation setup today!

052 - Filip Leu (Part 2) Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Legendary tattoo artist, Filip Leu, sits down to discuss why he is excited to share his work with friends without seeking validation from social media, why no one is a “natural artist,” AI’s impact on making art, and why tattooing done with care is what it’s all about.

This is part 2 of this conversation. Part 1 can be found on Ep 051.

Watch THIS EPISODE on YouTube
Watch the BEHIND THE SCENES of this episode

Find Filip at The Leu Family's Family Iron in Bullet, Switzerland
Find Andrew at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

BOOKS CLOSED is hosted by Andrew Stortz (@andrewstortz)
Music by Epidemic Sound

***This episode is sponsored by:***

EQUAL VISION RECORDS
Quality records since 1990

Use code BOOKSCLOSED for 20% off you order (excluding pre-order items)

TATTOO NECTAR

An all natural skin cream, infused with CBD, for use on healing and healed tattoos.

Use code BOOKSCLOSED for 20% off your order of Tattoo Nectar today!

TATTOO DREAM
Procreate stamp brushes, digital flash, downloadable books and online seminars for tattooers by some of the world's leading tattooers.

051 - Filip Leu (Part 1) Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

Legendary tattoo artist, Filip Leu, sits down to discuss what a lifetime of tattooing can do to a person, the lessons his tattooer parents, Felix and Loretta, gave him over the years, and how tattooing is getting too darn detailed.

Watch THIS EPISODE on YouTube
Watch the BEHIND THE SCENES of this episode

Find Filip at The Leu Family's Family Iron in Bullet, Switzerland
Find Andrew at Worship Tattoo in Portsmouth, NH

BOOKS CLOSED is hosted by Andrew Stortz (@andrewstortz)
Music by Epidemic Sound

***This episode is sponsored by:***

TATTOO NECTAR

An all natural skin cream, infused with CBD, for use on healing and healed tattoos.

Use code BOOKSCLOSED for 20% off your order of Tattoo Nectar today!

TATTOO DREAM
Procreate stamp brushes, digital flash, downloadable books and online seminars for tattooers by some of the world's leading tattooers.

050 - Kati Vaughn Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

NYC tattooer, Kati Vaughn, joins Andrew along with his first and only tattoo apprentice, Kenley, to discuss what it looks like to learn how to tattoo today. Then they dive down the rabbit hole of AI tattoos, getting large scale work done while under anesthesia, and TATTOOGATE. What a world!

You can watch this episode on YOUTUBE