Text: Denise Nelson-Prieto
The most carnal of festivals is back to celebrate its sixth year. The Texas Showdown has grown into an El Paso tradition and has become a veritable Garden of Earthly Delights, with such epicurean pleasures as major national bands, award-winning tattoo artists, great food, liquor, and of course, freaks.
“It’s like a big bowl of gumbo, with a little bit of everything for everybody,” said George Galindo, festival producer and owner of House of Pain Tattoo Studio.
Billed as the largest tattoo festival in Texas, the event will take place July 17—19th at the El Paso County Coliseum. Galindo describes it as a family festival that has more to offer than just body modification, moshing and headbanging. Other means of entertainment will be in the form of dunking booths, magic and sideshows, and festival newbies, BMX bike stunts.
“This event gives somebody a chance to spend a really cool weekend at the Coliseum and see stuff for the whole family,” Galindo said.
Business man extraordinaire that he is, Galindo has staked his claim in the festival arena through a lot of networking, preparation, and prayers. He and his family have grown the event from being labeled as just a tattoo expo to a major festival that helps boost the local economy. The festival employs over 100 people to help with the event. In addition, hotels and rental car agencies have reported a surge in bookings in the weeks leading up to the Showdown.
Galindo has termed his event a “lifestyle” festival, with music making up a large portion of it. This year’s lineup includes a fair representation of major genres such as hip hop, reggae, metal, and punk. On Friday, July 17th, revelers can get their rap and hip hop fix with such acts as El Paso-bred artists Rare Individuals, Yelawolf, who is the mastermind behind such anthems as “I Just Wanna Party” and the kinetic psycho-rap hit “Push Em,” on which he collaborated with ink-laden Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker. Indie rappers Atmosphere and rapper/rockers Hollywood Undead are also slated to perform. To finish off the evening, the legendary godfather of hip hop, Ice Cube, will perform. He is currently promoting the N.W.A. biopic he is co-producing, Straight Outta Compton. Galindo said Cube has an N.W.A-related surprise in store for his Showdown audience.
“I can’t say who he’s going to bring onstage with him, but it’s going to be awesome,” Galindo said.
Saturday’s musical offerings will be an auditory monument to the gods of nu metal. Bands like chick-fronted Otep, Hollywood Undead, Buckcherry, Dance Gavin Dance, and others will perform. And the nookie lovers themselves, Limp Bizkit will hit the stage as the day’s headliner.
Sunday’s lineup is a little more diverse with acts such as reggae-infused rock bands Pepper and Iration. Also performing will be the Chilean electronica/ alternative rockers The ReAktion. Another Southamerican band, Contracorriente, is a Peru-based straight up rock/punk band, with very Iron Maidenish guitar arrangements. Punk/alternative veterans, The Offspring will be laying it down as that evening’s headliners.
Galindo said a major aspect he takes into consideration when deciding on which bands to book has a lot to do with what’s hot in Chihuahua, as a huge part of Showdown tickets are sold to people from the Mexican state.
“We did our homework and looked into various bands, including The Offspring and Limpbizkit, which are huge draws in Chihuahua. This year they won’t be playing anywhere near Chihuahua, so we’re bringing them here,” Galindo said. “Also the band members have ties to the lifestyle we promote at the festival.”
Another major attraction at the Showdown through the years has been the celebrity tattoo artists that grace the event. Artists from reality TV shows such as Ink Master, Best Ink, Tattoo Nightmares Miami, NY Ink, and others are key figures at the festival. They will be on hand again this year to do tattoos and sign autographs.
Big Ceeze is a tattoo artist based in Anaheim, California. He has been a part of the festival since the beginning. He was first invited to the show by his mentor, black and grey tattoo master, Johnny Quntana. He is a current contestant on reality show “Ink Master.” He had this to say about the Texas Showdown festival:
“George throws really good shows. He’s put it together really well. He fills the Coliseum with a lot of sick artists who are known throughout the world. It’s hard because as a promoter you have to have a lot of respect from people in the industry, and I think George has that, and everybody’s willing to participate in the Texas Showdown.”
Ceeze said the world of tattooing is unique and often part of a somewhat underground lifestyle. He sees the festival as a way to celebrate the culture and bring together people who are passionate about their work.
Another guest artist and former “Ink Master” contestant, Sarah Miller, will also be at the show. She is a 10-year tattoo veteran and this will be her third trip to the Showdown.
“The festival gets bigger and bigger every single year, and this year has one of the most amazing lineups yet, just some really amazing talent,” Miller said “It’s not just for people attending concerts. The whole experience is what sets it apart from other conventions.’
Miller said events like this are important not just for festival goers, but for the entire tattoo industry. It is a way for artists to showcase their skill and work and to get a look at what their peers are creating. This helps create a synergy, with artists feeding off the creative energy that’s in full swing at the show.
“I like the fact that the music’s outside, and all of the artists have their own separate booths, so not so many distractions. It’s really nice to have the bands and other entertainment happening, and that gives people something do while they’re waiting for their appointments. Because of the arrangement, people can look in on what the artists are doing. We have a lot of celebrities walking around, so everyone’s happy,” Milller said.
She will be one of three official judges for the tattoo competitions that are scheduled to take place all three days. There are different events with various categories, such as American Traditional, New School, Asian, Floral, and others.
Miller is no novice to the world of competition. Her experience on “Ink Master” has helped develop a set of high standards that serve to separate the cream of the crop from the mediocre.
“It takes a lot to impress me and you have to be able to prove why you’re work is the very best,” she said.
The aesthetic extravaganza gets even more thrilling with the sideshow acts. Performers from groups like Coney Island Circus Sideshow and FreakShow Deluxe will be at the Coliseum to defy the laws of medical science and thrill audiences with some amazing, albeit squirm-inducing, shows.
Galindo admits the performers have toned down their acts a bit to help keep it PG-13, since the festival is a family friendly event. Magic acts will be sprinkled in, complete with campy humor, balloons, and other kid approved spectacles.
“The sideshow performers will do their typical acts, but they’ll throw in some other stuff too for the kids and get them involved in parts of the shows,” Galindo said. “It’s really cool to see all the kids lined up waiting to check it out.”
The Rev. Tommy Gunn, founder of Hollywood-based FreakShow Deluxe, and performer of all things bizarre, anomalous, and divergent, will make his sixth appearance at the Showdown, along with two other company performers.
Gunn’s show offers an alternative to the tattoo and music aspects of the event. It is a display of human oddities, ostensibly impossible acts, and a foray into the marvelous and uncanny.
“We do a different show each year. We specialize in all the classic carnival sideshow acts—sword swallowing, human blockhead, bed of nails, knife throwing, fire swallowing. There are a lot of laughs and comedy. We use the comedy to help people with the parts that make them squeamish,” Gunn said.” We also specialize in human wonders. What makes our act exciting is to see somebody do something amazing or risky, but not bleed or get hurt; it’s about overcoming pain.”
Gunn is excited to bring back Brianna Belladonna to perform at the Showdown. She has performed at the event in the past, but not in the last several years. Belladonna, who holds the title of the “World’s Sexiest Sword Swallower” is truly a modern marvel and has been featured in the Las Vegas show “Freaks,” as well as the AMC program “Freakshow.”
“We travel around a lot doing shows, but we don’t do too many tattoo shows. This is a big deal that we come to the Texas Showdown,” said Gunn. “It’s one of the best in the country for sure, hands down.”
Galindo said the Texas Showdown Festival was the progenitor of Ink Life, a national touring music and tattoo festival. The event takes place in various Texas cities, Oklahoma, Florida, and Wisconsin. Galindo saw a need to fill in some of the tour destinations and decided to expand the scope of his flagship show.
“We pick cities that are hungry for this kind of entertainment. We stay away from places that have everything, like Austin. I pick cities that are similar to El Paso, a place with cool people, potential for growth, and located where we can draw from the surrounding areas,” he said.
The impetus for creating the Texas Showdown was similar. A noticeable dearth of events that celebrate and showcase the art of tattooing and its attendant culture is what sparked Galindo’s desire to create the event. Originally formed as a tattoo-centered show, he saw the need to place the music facet on an equal standing, creating a more all-inclusive event. He also saw it as a way to make sure festival goers didn’t succumb to boredom.
“How long can you walk around [the festival] before you say ‘ok I’ve had enough’? We realized the entertainment was just as important as the tattooing, and they go hand in hand,” he said. “So we started growing the entertainment side to equal the side of the tattooing, and now they’re neck and neck.”
A self-proclaimed modern day Ringling Brothers, Galindo continues to try to make the show more entertaining and riveting as the one before it. To that end he looks at what other provocative, captivating and amusing events are happening throughout the world, and then considers if that would be something that would appeal to an El Paso crowd. The tireless search for the ‘wow’ factor plays a big part in planning for each year’s Showdown. This year’s BMX stunt event will not only serve as another attraction,but also as a litmus test to determine if he can up the amusement ante.
“Next year we want to try and take it up a notch and bring the Motorcross guys out,” Galindo said. “We’re always trying to upgrade.”
Another thing Galindo has to done to set his event apart from others in the city is limit the amount of sponsors in the Showdown. He sees this as a way to maintain some control over certain aspects of it, particularly pricing. He is able to charge vendors a reasonable fee to set up their booths, as well as cap the price some of the vendors charge for merchandise, food, and drinks. This control has even extended to ticket prices for the festival. Galindo has tried to eliminate unnecessary, exorbitant fees that are often tacked on under a ” V.I.P.” designation.
“My event’s up close and personal and I know a lot of the artists and musicians are going to be walking amongst the crowds and in the merch tent signing autographs, so I don’t feel right about charging more for a ‘meet and greet,’” he said.
texastattooshowdownfestival.com
Friday—Sunday, July 17-19, 2015
El Paso County Coliseum, 4100 E. Paisano Dr.
All ages festival, kids under 12, free
Tickets: One-day pass, $55.50; Weekend pass- $130—150
Tickets available at the Coliseum box office or at www.ticketmaster.com