Musink showcases tattoo culture’s diverse talent and fans
Artist Dan Smith, with Captured Tattoo in Tustin, tattoos a tiger head on the back of Derick Durbin, of West Covina, during the 9th annual Musink Tattoo Convention and Music Festival at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa on Friday.
For the past three days, Dan Smith has traded the comfort of tattooing from his own shop in Tustin for a makeshift booth alongside hundreds of local and national artists.
While a makeshift booth means limited space and equipment for Smith and his three colleagues from Captured Tattoo, it’s an easy decision made almost every year for the quartet.
“Conventions have happened all over the world for decades — it isn’t anything new,” Smith said while working on a giant black and white tiger tattoo for longtime client Derick Durbin. “But there aren’t many conventions where bands are playing at the same time.”
Brooke Bothwell of Oceanside grimaces while she squeezes the hand of her friend Ellyssa Aquino, also from Oceanside, as artist Caleb Stone, of from Sherman, Texas, tattoos her leg.
Hundreds of music fans and tattoo enthusiasts congregated at the Orange County Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa for Travis Barker’s ninth annual Musink Tattoo Convention and Music Festival. The all-ages event featured tattoo artists from throughout the United States, live music from artists like Snoop Dogg and tattoo-inspired clothing and accessories.
Attendees trickled into venues inundated with sounds of buzzing tattoo guns, stopping often to watch others get elaborate, colorful tattoos such as Murrieta resident Kyle Phares.
Phares’ body and face showcased a variety of Irish and Viking artwork. While Phares received a Thor tattoo on his leg, a group had congregated near him and some even posed for photos with him.
Artist Melissa Daye works on a piece for Cameron Lester of Costa Mesa.
“I’m working on a full body suit,” Phares said. “My upper body is basically finished. I just need a couple of sessions left.”
The Murrieta resident said it’s only his second time attending the convention but believes it’s a great opportunity for the community to come together.
“People in the tattoo community are friendly,” he said. “It isn’t a negative thing as it was perceived in the past and an individual doesn’t have to have any tattoos to be interested in the community, but it’s always good to get a small one and experience it.”
Costa Mesa resident Cameron Lester said Friday he was surprised to see how many products and accessories were part of the tattoo culture.
Kyle Phares of Murrieta gets a tattoo by artist Mario Guerrero.
It was Lester’s first time attending Musink and it was the first time getting inked.
His first tattoo featured a mix of images — a Tijuana, surfing monkey, a Volkswagen bus, the Newport Beach lifeguard tower and a rooster doing the hula.
“It’s all stuff that makes me happy,” the Costa Mesa resident said. “My mom isn’t happy with it, she thinks tattoos are all about sexualized girls or vulgar tattoos, but I’m getting what suits me and I’m a very silly guy.”
With the variety of artists and live music Musink has to offer, Smith said the best part of working in a makeshift booth is getting to see old friends and make new ones.
“The good thing of a convention is the people — you meet cool, new people and run into a lot of new and old friends,” Smith said. “The people behind it all help make it stay unique and special.”
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IF YOU GO
What: Musink
When: Sunday is the final day of the three-day festival. Hours are noon to 9 p.m. Concerts are Face to Face at 5 p.m., Atreyu at 6:05 and Circa Survive at 7:35.
Where: OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa
Tickets: $51.47 to $319.44
Information: musink.org
