magazine

Issue 9

NEWFOR

MA

T

“ “

The original vision for Twisted Ink magazine was an art and culture publication.

Therefore we are changing the format to the vision of exploring aesthetics and culture

from all creative industries.

John Cann

John Cann

Above: Skindeep Below: Elements

Left: What She Said, She Said Below: Otis Jackson

outlaw printmakers

Dennis McNett was born in 1972 and grew up in Virginia Beach, VA. He moved to New York in 2001. He has been carving surly block prints for over 18 years. His encouragement as a kid came from his blind grandfather, who told him over and over again that his drawings were good. Later influences came from the raw high-energy imagery pouring out of the early 80’s skateboard and punk rock scene. His graphic aesthetic and love for narrative work has been translated in many ways. His work ranges from larger than life Viking ship performances/parades in Philly, resurrecting Nordic giants on West Broadway in Manhattan, Dragon slayings in Oklahoma, masks, installations and sculptures to unique hand-carved wood cut pieces, traditional relief prints, and graphics. Participating in both the fine art and design worlds, Dennis has been fortunate enough to create series’ for Anti-Hero skateboards, design shoes for Vans, have work fill the windows of Barneys, NY, and participate in the Deitch Artparade. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Juxtapoz magazine, Thrasher and Complex Magazine. He wants to live until he dies. Breathing is good.Images courtesy of the artist.

“Wolfhead”Hand painted wood carving.

Images courtesy of the artist.

Twisted Ink m

agazine is owned and operated by Tw

isted Ink LTD, w

hich is a fine art and comm

ercial print shop in Norfolk, V

irginia. A

lthough the magazine is a lifestyle publication w

ith a primary focus on tattoo and subculture, it is about art as a w

hole; hence moving the content to include

various artists who influence the pop-sub culture in A

merica.

The Outlaw

Printmakers series includes im

ages and artists’ statements from

various Outlaw

Printmakers in the U

nited States.

“Wolfhead”Hand painted wood carving.

“Snake Goat”Hand colored print on canvas.

ww

w.tw

isted

inkm

agaz

ine.c

om

ma

ga

zin

e

“Pan Wall” Collaged panels; part of installation.

Dennis McNett “Reaping Wave” Installation.

Since the latter part of Jesse’s high school years his art hasabsorbed the inner workings of the urban culture. Jesse’s goal hasalways been to translate his skewed perspective of the world ontopaper, canvas, concrete or skin. In 1995 spray paint became hismedium of choice. He really enjoyed the fact that he could cover amassive amount of space in a short amount of time. The one thing thatattracted him to the graffiti culture was its bent perspectives,tweaked angles and explosive color. As he grew as an artist hisinfluences broadened and he now draws more from inside rather thenfrom reference.

Over the past 8-10 years Jesse has gathered a lot of inspiration fromover analyzing his everyday interactions with people as well astoday’s political chaos. The frustration he gathers from random

situations and present day events have found its way into his art.His overall intent is to produce an analogical mirror of situationsthat we, as individuals and a country, are faced with on a regular

basis. He attempts to do so by putting random, rather innocentlooking, characters into situations that he feels the everyday person

is faced with in one way or another. His intent is to convey aserious message in a creative, rather lighthearted way.

photos by: Michael Bailey

Riding high on their individual new releases, Authority Zero and Ballyhoo! have teamed up this summer to bring us a sonically diverse ticket for the summer season with the Summer Sickness Tour. “It’s been a lot of fun.” says Howi Spangler, guitar/vocals for Baltimore’s Ballyhoo!. Jason Devore of Authority Zero couldn’t agree more; “We just been having a lot of fun, partying...[the] crowd’s been great. Good turnouts.”

Ballyhoo! is definitely feeling the love right now as their new release Pineapple Grenade debuted at #189 on the Billboard charts. “It’s crazy man, we’re on the fucking billboard chart! I wasn’t expecting that at all.” exclaimed Howi. He continues, “It’s been really great reception to the record, people are loving it man, ya know, playing a lot of the songs live which is great since we been playing those other songs forever. [We] still enjoy playing the other songs but it’s just fun to dig in and get into the new ones...and people are actually singing the songs already which is really cool...i’m stoked for that.” The new album was released on Ballyhoo!’s own Right Coast Records on June 25th.

Touring for their new release The Tipping Point, Authority Zero is back in the states fresh off a European tour...which included their first trip to Russia! “It was amazing,” says Devore, “a little sketchy at first, you know? You gotta get into the country...well you don’t know if you’re actually going to get into the country, but we did, and it was fun. [The] kids were nuts man...our first show it was in St. Petersburg, and we played this 500 capacity music hall, and it was a big ass place and...one band into it it was a packed house...apparently we have some fans in russia.” Out on Hardline Entertainment, released April 2nd, The Tipping Point sees a return to the punk and rock roots from Authority Zero’s beginnings while still maintaining their signature eclectic style.

By: Andrew Wolfe

photos by: Michael Bailey

A month down and three weeks left on the tour, both headliners (and supporting act Versus the World) show no signs of slow down or fatigue. Throughout the tour, the co-headliners have been taking turns with who goes on last. Tonight’s line up had Authority Zero in the penultimate spot. Not that that kept them from giving a high-octane, balls-out blistering hot performance. As always Jason DeVore’s hyperkinetic stage presence was inspiring to watch. Like a lone protestor high on his cause charging the police barricades, Jason threw himself into each number. Brandon Landelius’s guitar and new addition Mike Spero’s bass provided the aural background for the spitfire vocals as Sean Sellers kept the pulses pounding with his damn near tribal beats on the drums. With a liberal sprinkling of newer songs off The Tipping Point as well as old favorites like Sirens and Revolution, Authority Zero kept the crowd on its toes. Local favorite Jackmove frontman Dennis Spence even joined Jason on stage for One More Minute at the end of the set. As they left the stage, you could tell the crowd needed a sec to catch their collective breaths.

Not that the crowd had much time to rest though as Ballyhoo! soon took the stage. From song one, they owned the place. Nothing plays better to a beach crowd than some beach music and that’s just the brand of reggae rock goodness that they deliver. The boys definitely brought their A-game. With a setlist spanning their ever growing discography, Donald Spangler’s impeccable beats and J. R. Gregory’s thundering bass set the sonic backdrop. Howi’s vocals as always were clear and crisp and rang a chord deep into the hearts of the eager crowd. Of course none of it would have been complete without the intricate play of Scott “DJ Blaze” Vandrey’s turntables and keys - the secret weapon in the Ballyhoo! arsenal. I wish I could recall every song I heard that night, but sometimes the show’s so good you just get swept up in the madness.

All in all, a night to remember. Go checkout those new releases on iTunes, you will not be disappointed. And if either one of these bands come around your area, make sure to check ‘em out. You won’t regret it.

And now, on to the show...

By: Andrew Wolfe

Battle of the Best!Twisted Ink is creating a new media project.

Chefs selected by the pubisher will compete in a cooking competion.

We are looking for Hampton Road’s TOP tattooed chef.

Multimedia Co.

COMING SOON BY... ®

Brian Evaldifrom:

vs.

NEW FROM TWisTEd iNk®

Battle of the Best!Twisted Ink is creating a new media project.

Chefs selected by the pubisher will compete in a cooking competion.

We are looking for Hampton Road’s TOP tattooed chef.

Brian Evaldifrom:

vs.530 Winston Salem Avenue,

Virginia Beach, VA 23451(757) 351-0488

www.wharfsidevb.com

NEW FROM TWisTEd iNk®

Meet Dennis Spence aka “Eazy D” from Virginia Beach, Virginia, born and raised...and for all his life, music and art has been a part of it. To quote the man himself, “Whether it’s music or writing or visual arts or making videos or making records...I just want to create”

Dennis is best known for his music from fronting local ska-punk rockers Jackmove to his solo performances as Eazy D, but his talents don’t end there. He is also a prolific painter. According to him, “Music and art go hand in hand...for all their differences there’s more similarities...just being a creative person at the root of the word, just creating something, anything...I would say that’s more where I’ve aligned myself as opposed to being just more of a musician or more of an artist.” If there’s anything creative, he’s interested in the process.

For Dennis it’s the actual creation of the piece more than the end product, unlike his music; “I appreciate the actual creation process of all of them the same...it’s actually making the painting that means so much to me not the painting itself, I intend to sell it for it to go on somebody’s wall that thinks it looks cool somebody that feels that they get some kind of message from it...where as music is totally different, you make a point and it’s there forever, once you record it, it’s there, it’s always yours once you write it.” His songs are more focused in intent, trying to express a specific point and getting people to understand his perspective. “As far as visual art goes it’s something I don’t really have to communicate to anybody I don’t need anybody else to really get my point where as with music you do, if you’re gonna sing a song you want it to be about something you want people to understand your point and cut right to it, with art I don’t necessarily have to worry about that I can just kind of discover the point as it comes.”

In music as well as art, Dennis is self taught. Mostly influenced by artists such as Andy Warhol and Basquiat, he has made his own way. Truly an organic artist he would have turned to any available medium even if he had grown up on a primitive island. His is the same cloth from which the best original artists were cut. He doesn’t see the great works of the old masters and try to emulate them, he sees the canvas and what it could be. “I started painting out of a desire to just paint something, never had anyone else around to swap ideas with, to trade secrets with or something like that as I do with music, with music everyone around is a musician, it’s really to just learn something by having a conversation...with art I don’t know whether it’s art or not, I just know when it’s finished.”

Eazy D: Straight Outta Va Beach

By:Andrew Wolfe

Eazy D: Straight Outta Va Beach

Dennis’s art has created a metaphorical bridge from visual to musical as well...he has begun to make his own custom guitars. Using old non-functioning guitars in a move at once reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat...but with a touch more of the aesthetics you’d associate with a visual artist. “I’ve always had a major affinity for guitars themselves...this instrument becomes your really good friend and you want to know everything about it...I feel even more close to my guitars inside and out...”

In much of his art there is a skeletal motif present. “The skull represents this very important thing that you have to figure out before you drop dead, you have to figure out how to be alive.” And that’s what it’s all about. The further refinement of his art. There are no old favorites here, only the latest and greatest: “For me the music [and art] that I like the most is always the most current, I really feel that it’s about something that just happened to me or something I just realized or something I just identified with so it’s always more current ...the new songs are the ones that I really feel like my point is getting clearer, that i’m getting to a point where I am able to trim the fat from songs and really just get down to the point and give a direct this is my thesis this is my feelings on the subject ending conclusion, thank you good night, the current music, all the new songs are the ones that are closest to my heart.”

If you’d like to see (or hear) more of Eazy D’s works visit Jackmove’s official Facebook page (make sure it says official), their website (jackmove.org), or hit up the man himself via his personal Facebook page under Dennis Spence. He adoes custom paintings for people, so if you have an idea of what you want, contact him and he’ll give you a price range.

Jackmove’s entire discography to date (2001 to 2012) is available on a custom Jackmove USB drive through Duburban Records.

TWISTED INK®Multimedia Company

email: twistedinkads@gmail.com

WANTEDArtists Submissions

Tattoo ArtsPainters

SculptorsMusicians

Performance ArtPoetry

Etc.

TWISTED INK

email: twistedinkads@gmail.com