Drawing from diverse musical influences ranging from punk rock, to country, to folk, to blues, to good old fashioned hell raising barroom rock, Spitshiner is bare-knuckle acoustic rock and roll.

Secondly..

Dave Wells’ acoustic project has the energy of classic punk rock, carried out through catchy choruses, replacing gang vocals with the harmonies of an alt-country band. Accompanied by Matt Charette on Accordian, Mandolin, Harmonica, Guitar, and Vocals, the duo are not afraid to fill a room with sound and emotion.

Booths continue to sell fast, so artists and vendors, make sure you reserve yours ASAP.

BTC attendees, you can buy your tickets right here. August is coming up fast!

That’s right kids, Dan Stewart is coming back to the BTC this year, this time with a color realism seminar created just for us (and that’s the sort of thing that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside). Seminar details below, and you can find more info right here as well.

This is a seminar used to teach attendees in great detail all of the nuances of working in color to create realistic tattoos.

Tips, secrets, and strategies to take your color realism to the next level including: maximum info stencil making, making a smooth portrait, color selections, shadows, adding dimension, freehand layout & design, needle options, machine set up and much, much more. No matter where you’re at in your career, you will be inspired and equipped to step it up.

This is a very thorough 2 hour seminar – Attendees will be given something “extra” from Dan’s sponsors.

Dan has been featured in Skin Deep Magazine’s “Secrets of a Great Portrait”. Don’t let this one pass you by!

Seating is limited. Click here to pre-register.

Firstly, we welcome back Lenny Lashley’s Gang of One! Lenny Lashley’s Gang of One performed at last year’s BTC, and to say that they were a big hit would be an understatement! Lenny Lashley is the former lead singer and guitar player from the long standing Boston-based punk rock ska band “Darkbuster.”

Secondly, we have Jason Bennett and the Resistance! How to describe them? The New York Times says that the music “feels a lot like Joe Strummer or Johnny Cash is writing from the grave.”

Of course, we’re plotting a lot more entertainment, but we can’t tell you ALL of our secrets at once, can we?

We still have some booths left for artists and vendors, so check out our registration page.
And secure your tickets early right over here.

So what’s in it for you if you join our email list? We’ll keep you up to date on news, blog posts, convention artists, and any other All Important Updates that occur between now and August 31st. You’ll be the first to hear about contests, entertainment, call for volunteers, and more! And all without constantly bothering you and your inbox. Promise.

All you have to do is enter your email address below to get started!

The largest and warmest thanks goes out to: Ruben, Sky, and Ellen of Chameleon Body Arts. Mary Kaplan, Wayne, Katie Shea, Luke Welling, Abbey O’Brien, Jon Blass, Christopher Smith, Tia Cunha, Jason Henriquez, David Lopez, Natan of Witch City Ink & Lightwave Tattoos, the wonderful Jack Mosher, and Jebb of Lightwave Tattoos. And each and every individual who has donated or bought a tee. You are all amazing!

HOPE+ tees are still available at Witch City Ink (186-3 Essex St, Salem, MA). Shirts are $25 each, and 90% of the proceeds go towards Japan disaster relief, and the remaining 10% goes towards disaster relief in the United States. They feature a phoenix design on the front, and a small Boston Tattoo Convention logo on the back.

Happy January! In an effort to help get everyone’s metaphorical ducks in a row, we here at the Boston Tattoo Convention are taking care of business at a rapid pace! For artist, vendor, and attendee’s convenience, we have made it possible for you to reserve your booth, hotel room (at a discounted rate!), AND buy your BTC tickets already.

What’s that, you say? It’s only January, so why you should be concerned about an event that’s happening over Labor Day weekend? Because booths and hotel rooms sold out last year, and we want to give you a chance to reserve yours as soon as possible, without having to worry and scramble at the last minute. And we always recommend buying tickets in advance, as it’s nice to not have to worry about buying at the window.

Here are all the links you need!:

-Click here to purchase your tickets securely online.

-Here is where you can find artist/vendor registration information. Don’t forget to download your registration form too!

-And you can reserve your hotel room at the Boston Back Bay Sheraton right here (you’re going to want to click that if you’re staying in the city for the convention — through this link is the discounted rate for BTC-goers).

If you haven’t had a booth at the BTC before, or if you need a little reminder as to how it works, don’t worry! The registration form explains things thoroughly, and you are more than welcome to contact us with any questions that you may have about the process at info@bostontattooconvention.com, or 978.744.9393.

You can find our registration page right here, and click the image below to download the registration form!

The official dates for the 2012 Boston Tattoo Convention have been set for some time now, and booth and ticket sales will begin very soon!

Artist/Vendor early booth registration begins on December 26th, 2011.
Early booth registration ends June 30th, 2012. We advise reserving your booth in advance as they sold out in 2011. The registration form will be available for download soon, and must be completed and sent to us with your license and info as soon as possible after making your payment. Temporary licenses must be purchased for all attending artists.

Regular booth registration begins July 1st and ends July 31st.

BTC ticket sales will begin on January 1st, 2012. As always, we recommend buying your tickets in advance as well.

Below we have a sneak peak of some faces you will be seeing throughout the convention.

Vanessa DiNapoli, Make Up Artist
Vanessa hails from New Jersey and has tackled many faces over the years from Philadelphia to Boston.  She specializes in photo shoots and fashion shows.  As a new Bostonian, she is excited to be part of the Boston Tattoo Convention and  will be painting the faces of the models in the BTC Fashion Show.  Her creative and classic, yet eccentric style shows distinctively on each face. She believes in tattoos as fine art and has several large pieces on her body.

Tia, Emcee/Tattoo Judge
Tia will be emceeing the Boston Tattoo Convention, as well as stepping in to judge the Tattoo Contest. Tia is from California and has been in the tattoo industry for many years.

Emilee Fitzpatrick, Emcee
This reality TV star is stepping off camera and hitting the Boston Tattoo Convention to emcee the Suck Yeah Clothing bikini contest and fashion show on Saturday and Sunday. Emilee was on MTV’s Real World Cancun and will be on MTV’s Cut Throat, premiering October 6th.

Gillian Maffeo, PR
Gillian is running the media relations for the Boston Tattoo Convention. She has been in the public relations profession for over five years and has secured many media opportunities with national and local television, magazines and online media. Gillian owns her own company LuckySeven PR, which is based out of Boston, MA.

Debbie, Highwave Hair Design
Debbie has over 20 years of hair dressing experience and will be the master behind the hair for the Suck Yeah Clothing fashion show on Saturday, September 4th. Debbie has worked in Boston hairdressing, as well as doing the hair for fashion shows in NYC and Boston. She owns Highwave Hair Design in Essex, MA.