Sometimes you’re the artist. Other times you’re the art.

At 31 years old, Swarm a.k.a. J. Wood collects ink like some people collect stamps. The only difference is that this stamp book doesn’t come with extra pages. A natural born artist, Swarm is constantly creating, whether on skin, canvas, paper, skateboards, bowling pins, whathaveyou. And then blasts out his creations on @instagram as darthswarm and on @twitter as @Ninja_Swarm1.

He proudly showed off the newest addition to his collection, Elvis’ T.C.B. Lighting Bolt on his right shoulder, and added that he gets new ink weekly. Real estate is getting hard to come by these days but he’s finding it where he can. A tradition at Studio 21 Tattoo Gallery, first mentioned to me by the shops patriarch, Chas Spencer, when he inked the SINNER logo on me for Issue #1, is to collect art from every artist in the shop AND guest artists that roll through. Swarm guestimated that he has the work of around 30 different artists in his collection and shares tattoos with every person in the shop, including the Shark Week, tat that he designed.

When most people get a tattoo, it’s usually to highlight a story or a significant time in their lives. With each new piece, Swarm’s story just becomes that much more complex. Tattoos also represent who we are on the inside: spiritually, psychologically, metaphysically… and as the art on his body grows so does he as a person and an artist. He noted that his personal style is changing and developing as he is trying to find himself. Once a fan of New Skool, a tattoo style highlighted by bold bright colors and disproportionate images, he now prefers the traditional approach favored by Chas and his son and partner Austin Spencer. When asked about the change, he says it’s due to the “high fives” from his fellow artists, which makes sense. Aren’t we all looking for validation from our peers in everything we do?

Swarm has been tattooing for 10 years, 4 of them at Studio 21. He apprenticed for a year while body piercing at a local tattoo shop and has been making his mark ever since. He grew up on these unforgiving Vegas streets when his family relocated from Downey, CA at the tender age of 6 and over the years developed another addiction: Concerts. Recently going to LA for a day to catch The Casualties. Not surprisingly his favorite Vegas venue is the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. While other Vegas venues, think BIGGER is BETTER, the intimacy of HOB is unmatched. He spent a Summer going to shows at HOB once, listing off the eclectic mix of the bands he saw.

Don’t let his gruff exterior and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle fool you. Swarm has another focus these days; his 2 year old daughter who he says is another artist-in-the-making. Her mother is a painter too and she has her own set of paints to create alongside mom and dad. I won’t be surprised if she’ll be covered in tattoos just like dad.

(L-R) Chris Salcedo, Joey Vegas, Kacie Smith, Reps One, BPSS, Michael Toast, Gray Fuss, Bambu Jessica, Rob Trentacosta, Ru Gardner, Izzy Styles, Samantha Gapp

BASS HEADS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANE ONEAL

Not everyone has let dub step into their lives, but for those that have there is a place of worship. Bass lovers can spend  their Sundays at Dub Church rejoicing to the sound system that was custom built for Prince. Put on your bass face kids, because this feel good party is designed to make you dance and decompress.

The nightclub scene is changing before our eyes.  Las Vegas hosted the Electric Daisy Carnival in Summer 2011. The success of the event, and the number of attendees proved that Electric Dance Music and old skool club kids knew how to throw a party for the masses. Men dressing up in suits and women wearing their little black cocktail dresses to go out and pop bottles is stale and no longer keeping  club goers satisfied.

The style and influence from the EDM community infected Las Vegas as a whole. Wearing the brightest colors, blinging yourself out with glow stick jewelry and over the top couture like tu-tus and furry boots was much cooler to wear to go dance your ass off. The more original, the better!  ‘Come as you are’ is  the new dress code.

George Hernandez was feeding the drums and bass lovers with a weekly underground party called Dub Church started back in Summer 2010 at a small pool hall venue .  Dub Church’s name was influenced by Dub Step, a type of electronic music with aggressive bass lines, and reverberant drum patterns. The party slowly began to grow but poor sound and lack of atmosphere caused George and his crew to seek out a new venue.  They tried The Black Door next to The Double Down Saloon but the rock club did not really understand that type of music. Seeking out the right venue proved to be quite a task.

By the time the Dub Church party was a year old, it didn’t have a home. That’s when George reconnected with friend DJ Michael Toast. Toast told George that The Foundation Room inside of Mandalay Bay might be willing to give Dub Step a try. Wanting to work together again, George & Toast partnered up to bring their crews together and present Dub Church at The Foundation Room. Also joining forces was Loose Cannon’s Gray Fuss. The three of them worked together to make it happen. The location advanced the growth level of Dub Church but the venue was still not quite the right fit. The Foundation Room caters to their members who you wouldn’t necessarily describe as bass heads. It wasn’t going to be easy to find a nightlife management team to take a chance on this newer, aggressive music. But that didn’t stop the Dub Church crew. They continued to seek out a venue that could understand the bigger picture, supplying the demand for new music. Whoever could understand that risk, would reep the benefits and credibility for breaking new ground.

Now the party is at King’s Room inside the Rio Hotel & Casino, an off shoot of Crown Nightclub. When Prince used to play at 3121 at Crown, a lounge was built with a sound system designed especially for him to play piano while guests would sing to all his classic hits he could not perform because of his Warner Bros. contract. The sound at this venue is perfect for drums & bass. The space is intimate and feels underground because it’s tucked in the back and you have to know that it’s there, similar to the secrecy of the rave scene back in the day.

Michael Toast who has caught a lot of shit for mixing in dub step at more mainstream clubs is truly in his element at Dub Church. “Nobody ever wants to take a chance on trying new music at nightclubs, they want to be safe and play music for people like Paris Hilton. Fuck Paris Hilton. There is a reason that it was harder to find raves back in the day, It was because you wanted to keep that phoniness out.”

Dub Church is giving Rio/King’s Room that legitimate credibility from the people in the underground EDM scene. Every week the party is growing. Dub Church continues to book the most respected people in the scene names like DJ Frankie Bones, known as “The Godfather of US Rave ” & “The Godfather of House Music” played a 2 hour set at Dub Church, two weeks ago. TC Islam, freestyled in the crowd at the intimate venue alongside the most high energy go-go dancers in Sin City like Bambu Jessica and Izzy Styles. Gray has also gotten big acts like A. Skillz, Krafty Kuts. Scratch D and more to hit the stage.

George says “The crowd (at Dub Church) IS Las Vegas’ local Bass Music community and I know I speak for the Dub Church crew when I say we all are grateful and take very seriously that we’re allowed to play such an important role in the scene. The vibe we have is because of the crowd we have and it all feeds back into itself quite naturally and we’re sooo stoked about that”

So as the same nightclub suits that were not willing to take a risk with dub step scratch their heads and wonder why they have passed out glowsticks, played skrillex’ grammy winning album and cannot reach the 200,000 people who attended EDC, the answer is simple: Culture is based on credibility, and credibility is achieved in the underground scene. Without the passionate individuals, who REALLY understand, live and breathe the music, you have a bunch of uninspiring bullshit.

Maybe they need a spiritual awakening,

Dub Church is free. 10PM every Sunday. King’s room. Dance your fucking face off!!!

Here is a mix created by Dub Church Founder George Hernandez aka BPSS especially for SINNER Magazine’s Vice issue.

Like them on facebook here.

Lukas Larson hoists himself up performing this advanced-level suspension.

What do you do to relax? To find inspiration? To re-connect your mind with your body?

There’s a group, nay a family, here in Sin City that are tapping into ancient rituals designed and employed by Shaman and warriors to open doors of consciousness or as a rite of passage. The Las Vegas Suspension Syndicate perpetuates these very practices for modern day witch doctors and those waging small battles every day.

Every Third Thursday, the group holds a potluck get-together to get transcendental. This month sees them celebrate one year of “hanging out” together. The potlucks have been held at different locations around the Valley, mostly in warehouses or in this case a machine-shop right down the street from the Arts Factory. Once it was held in a park underneath a bridge.

Rebecca Davis-Ranniger gets in some hang time while Angel Beau looks on.

Founded in 2011 by Andrew S., Kelvitka the Blade, Danger Robinson, Lukas Larson & Nick Whipple, the events are staunchly Alcohol & Drug Free. In fact if you opted to be suspended, it is asked that you refrain from those pollutants and chemicals for 24 hours prior to the event. The best place to find information on the LVSS is on their facebook page facebook.com/LVSuspension.

The group functions through the generosity of its sponsors Dead Man’s Hand Tattoo Supply, Dissected Art Mfg, H2Ocean, & SwingShiftSideShow

Nick films Lukas after he had severed one set of cords.

Nick Whipple prefers to hang for extended periods of time. He plans to hang for 12 hours in June and that’s just conditioning for a 24 hour attempt. As you can imagine these feats of mind over body require extreme conditioning; including fasting and meditation. We’ll be there to bring you reports, pics and live posts for that.

Nick also explained that he’s got a killer tailor on deck to customize garments for outdoor or cold weather attempts.

Andrew S., a familiar face to SINNER Magazine readers, is the lead tech, or “Suspension Facilitator”, when his Global schedule doesn’t require him to be in Europe or travelling the US.

Shane von Ranniger helps wife Rebecca Davis-Ranniger hold lil Emory for a darling family photo.

In tribute to this month’s theme and my abundantly clear addiction to music, I felt it appropriate to have a genuine conversation about music and try to dissect why it moves, inspires, and drives so many to the point of blissful obsession. But to be able to do that, we have to begin with the prehistoric basis of our infatuation with music. Why have countless people all over the world embraced music in all its forms? Why, throughout history, has music played such an important role of every culture and religion since the dawn of mankind?

Those who can communicate a spectrum of emotions via aural vibrations to others (create music) have long been respected and given special privileges in any society. We feel these vibrations not just in our ears, but in our hearts, minds and bodies. These unique individuals are able to transcend the physical and take the audience with them, sometimes long term and sometimes only briefly, to the purest essence of the artist’s soul, finally arriving and filling everyone around them to the brim with the emotion the artist is conveying at that time and place.

Which brings me to the end of all the “since the dawn of time” crap and why I’m writing this article: one very special musician, born in Germany by the name of Elvis Lederer. Recently, I had the privilege of seeing Lederer plug in with some of the best musicians in Las Vegas and proceed to blow the roof off the joint for the next number of hours. It was supreme culmination of constantly evolving musicianship, not one person not directly connected to another, but achieving the inspiration and emotional build needed for good improvisational music to become unforgettable.

Elvis is a man who has groomed himself musically as well as mentally to be able to adapt to countless players and styles, all while directing the jam, yet letting the music go where the culmination of diverse artists takes it. This is what I would consider a musician of true professional caliber.

What lures someone like Lederer to Las Vegas? The major reason we have guys like Elvis coming in and setting up projects and impromptu gigs around town is because Las Vegas has a wealth of fabulous artistic shows on the Strip that require professional orchestration with live music. And what do we get out of it? Only some of the best musicians in the world, creating an unparalleled local musical culture. Because of that, these seasoned musicians often join together to create and express their own styles during free time outside of any paid gig.

Does anyone else get how incredibly lucky we are to have people like Elvis expanding our musical culture even more!?!?! Well I certainly do, and had the fortunate pleasure of interviewing Lederer. Here is what he had to say.

You were born in Munich, Germany. At what age did you come to the States? What brought you here?

I was 26; I went to study film scoring at Berklee College of Music, but secretly I was hoping to play with Frank Zappa. But then he died on me…

How long have you been playing music?

37 years!? Whoa I’m getting old

Do you play any other instruments than the guitar?

Well I dabble in bass, drums, keys and vocals just enough to demo my own songs.

Who were your favorite bands when you were a teenager?

It ranged from early Elvis (sun session), Queen, and Frank Zappa to Miles Davis, Paco de Lucia (flamenco).

What was your first paying gig ever? In Vegas?

Ever, I don’t remember, but I still have $10.00 (of $50.00 total) framed from my first paying gig in the US. It was with Clearance Thompson and the New Spirits, a gospel band I toured and recorded with. A great experience that taught me a lot of the roots of American music. In Vegas it was the Blue Man Group I moved with from Chicago.

How did you get your first gig in Vegas? What was it like?

As I mentioned, I moved here with Blue Man Group, so it was a pretty sweet situation. But having done the show in other cities, I knew I had to do something outside that “golden cage.” Right away I scoped out places near UNLV and I had coffee at the then Café Espresso Roma. They had a small stage, and I asked if they had bands. After chatting with the manager he offered me a night, and although I didn’t have a band I took it. That evening I told my guys at Blue Man that I had a gig next week and asked who wanted to play. They all said yes and that’s how Überschall started…

Obviously music is important to you, how has being a pro musician affected your life?

It is so important to me that I asked myself at around 22: do I really want to do this professionally? I had more established friends and saw them do a lot of cheesy, shitty stuff just to get by, and lose their love and enthusiasm for music. But there were others that had a good balance and the outlook that you can learn from any situation. And always do your best because you never know who hears or sees you, and they might just call you for the cool stuff finally.

What part do you think that music plays in the society and the world as a whole?

O.K.!? Do you have space for a book in this article? I’ll make it short: Music is the universal language. It ties all of human kind together and breaks down differences and boundaries. I think there is no culture without music! It is extremely powerful and shows the beauty, ugliness, joy and despair of the human spirit, everybody can understand and relate to, if you listen…

One of the projects you have is Unique Massive, which is basically a jam session with some incredible local musicians. How did this start and what do you think the value of such a project is?

My friend Leo asked me if I wanted to start another project at the bar he was working at (then the Capri on Flamingo and Paradise). But I was so busy that I first declined. Then I said, okay, if it is totally low maintenance, I’ll do it. So no rehearsals, no cover songs, just fun with cool cats after our regular gigs. It is invaluable, because it’s like driving your Porsche on the Autobahn which you usually can’t do on your regular I-15 gig, and it’s such a great meeting place where all of us got great gigs out of. Also the uncountable touring musicians that jammed with us, ranging from Bad Brains to Steely Dan.

Another of your side projects is Uberschall. This is a band that focuses on drumming. How long has the group been around and where did the idea come from?

Überschall is in it’s 12th year and it doesn’t really focus on drumming just because we have 3 drummers. My original idea was to do things opposite to a regular band. Have the drummer in front, the strings in the back, no solos, do things with your instrument you usually don’t do, focus on the timbre of one note and explore all it’s possibilities instead of driving your Porsche on the Autobahn. The “songs” are up to 50 minutes long; think like a DJ doing his set.

Back in ’86 when Techno came out in Germany I always wanted to combine the aesthetic of electronica with a live band and Überschall is the answer to it.

In both of these projects, there seems to be a revolving door of musicians. Do you think that helps or hinders the music?

It’s not as revolving as one might think! Überschall is the best rehearsed band ever, since we all played over 1000 Blue Man shows together in different constellations and know each other’s idiosyncrasies inside out. And Unique Massive has a very steady core with bass, drums, guitar, keys and trumpet for years and the musicians that sub have jammed with us a lot. But it’s great for the band members and the audience because the variations create a different chemistry and you never know what to expect. Keeps it fresh!

This issue is about addiction and vices. We picked you to cover for music. Do you feel the choice is appropriate and if not, who would be someone in town that you would cover?

I got hooked on music from a very early age and it gives me a trance-like experience which I keep seeking and can’t live without. So it is an appropriate metaphor and thanks for choosing me, though I know plenty of others I would cover; it’s sort of an epidemic…

What are some words of advice for a musician starting out?

Learn your skill! But don’t only practice. Live life, have other interests so you have a story to tell. There is nothing more boring than an overpracticed technical player that has nothing to talk about.

Who are the musicians you admire most?

I won’t name names ‘cause there are too many. What I admire the most is an artist that has concept, depth, emotions and individuality.

Related to the last one, if you could play with anyone, who would it be and why?

Hmm, haven’t thought about this in a while! Mike Patton, David Bowie, Zappa plays Zappa, Amon Tobin, Kraftwerk??? As I mentioned, I admire and would like to collaborate with artists that reinvent themselves. That are taking risks and challenge the listener…

In my opinion, these are the kind of words that should inspire all of us to take the risks we need in life to achieve our full potential, whether it be in music or any other area interesting enough to explore. As a proud born and raised Las Vegas local, I have seen some very trying years involving the local live music scene. But in the last decade I have seen and felt a change in the air. And with projects like Uberschall and Unique Massive playing regularly in our backyard, I truly now believe the transition is closer than we thought. But as in everything, go decide for yourself at uberschallvegas.com. I hope to see every one of you at the next show.

Till then, go out and kick life’s ass, Vegas!

Here are our 7 picks for our favorite divebars.

Dino’s Lounge
Double Down Saloon
Moondoggie’s
Money Plays
The Cellar
Champagne’s
Mr. D’s

Perhaps the criteria behind what it takes to be on this elite list is more important. Below are the factors we considered to qualify into the Divebar Hall of Fame.

• No dress code. Dive bars have a come as you are policy. Whether you’re a blue collar union worker or a female stripper who comes in on her off day in her valor sweat suit. No judgement. All customers are treated equally and you will never have to be dressed a certain way to fit in. You’re considered a drunk like everyone else in a dive bar.
• Seedy Element. Each dive bar has to have a hint of danger.  If a bar lacks a shady environment, It’s just a pub or tavern, A dive bar needs the feeling that anything can happen.
• Disgusting Bathrooms. A true characteristic of a dive is that the bathrooms are pretty gross. Using the restroom is always precautionary. If a girl will not come near a toilet seat without hovering a foot above the toilet, it’s truly not a dive bar. The whole could be completely but a true dive doesn’t look clean no matter how much you clean it. Some dives even have single bathrooms, with only one toilet, one door, and one lock to allow for debaucherous activities.
• Heritage. Believe it or not, a bar has to earn the dive bar title. A shitty new bar is just a shitty new bar. However a shitty old bar becomes a favorite dive. Years of stories and regular customers all play as décor for dive bar status.
• Snack Menus. Divebars do not offer a food menu, what they do offer is salty snacks that keep you drinking. Popcorn, peanuts and chips are commonly found free or for sale at a dive. Because they don’t offer real food, a good dive bartender will have a file full of delivery menus so that you can stay and continue to drink and have the food brought in to you.
• Cigarette Machines. Cigarette machines are for the drunk and vulnerable. After a few too many, nobody is above smoking even the non-smokers. A cigarette machine full of overpriced cigarettes is true dive bar criteria.
• To go Alcohol. Not every single bar offers to go alcohol, but the ones that rank high in the seedy element category are often the same ones that carry to go alcohol. Dives have packaged liquor behind the bar for purchase on departure, you can buy a fifth of Jack Daniels for cheap but you have to leave once you purchase it.
• Cheap Drinks. No divebar should have $7 beers. In fact the reason people can stay and waste their lives in a dive bar is because dives make it affordable. Dives have cheap drinks, and always have some kind of drink special incentive to keep the patrons drinking.

Mike Shield’s pussy worship confession to the Sex God.

I love women. They are the great inspiration of my life, and I thank them for that. Show me a bleach blonde with a blue vein running down her ample bosom, and I will write a novel to fuck her. Put a tiny brunette with a baby tush in my line of sight. I will drip the sweetest honey from my Irish lips to lay in her lap. Every woman is like a marshmallow in an oat-boat filled sea of milk. There are never enough of you, you’re the luckiest of charms, and I like the way you taste in my mouth. I like to drink, I smoke a pack and a half a day, and I enjoy the rush of the occasional prescription opiate. I love bad food, good pot, and a bump of coke on a spring day, but I would give it all up forever if it meant being inside of a new woman every night for the rest of my life. I’d sell my soul to buzz around your hive, honey bees. I swim around in your honey. I am addicted to pussy.

There’s nothing that equals the high of banging a girl out and banging her into love with you. I live for stolen glances in crowded bars, unsheathed coitus in the confines of her bed, and pillow talk where she unburdens her deepest secrets like a Catholic behind the confession screen. Mad at your Dad? Want to talk shit about your boyfriend? I’m all ears after I’ve expelled my hallelujah over your cute little tummy. Confess yours sins, and as soon as you’re ready, I’m good to go again. I may not believe in love as our parents depicted it, but I’m in love with you for the duration of your orgasm. Making a woman cum is like being married for 25 years in 3 to 8 seconds, but when it’s over, there’s no divorce. You are left with the wonder of two people heavy breathing in unison, exhausted and wet with honey. That is matrimony that delights my soul. I’ll say those nuptials.

Like any addiction, banging gorgeous women is a way of forgetting the pangs of adult life. It allows you to revel in the blissful indifference of youth. Every Wendy that lets me in her window keeps me in Neverland for just one more day. I am Peter Pan – puffing pot, popping pills and pleasing pussy. It sounds heavenly, but you always have to take Wendy back home. Neverland is a fun place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live there. Sometimes you drown in the honey. Sometimes the honey don’t taste so sweet. Every once and awhile your little honeybee will sting. More often than not, you will be the stinger. You’ll beat down her hive causing accidental damage for everyone, and the ruckus of the buzz will make you regret ever coming around in the first place. Still, you would never take it back. Why would you take away one of the hard earned notches scratched by her fingernails on your bedpost?

Indeed, there is a harsh downside to the perpetual pursuit of pussy. We carry the gentle wounds of our lovers. The more partners you take, the more scar tissue you adorn. You bang crazy, you get crazy. I’ve been punched, choked, bent and bruised. I’ve been rejected, infected and dejected. I’ve been heart broken, and I’ve broken hearts. I am far passed the concept of good guys and bad guys. Everyone hurts, and everyone has been hurt. Promiscuity blurs the lines, stifles the heart, and reiterates a refrain we’d rather not have repeated – life is hard and people are careless.

Perhaps the biggest pitfall of the pursuit of pussy is the perception that it’s never enough. Like a drunk or a tweaker, you forever need another fix because you’re going down. Neverland is always on the line. If I don’t have another bottom lip between mine, I will cease to be who I am. If I don’t glide my hands over the s-shaped curve of one more woman, I wont be Peter Pan anymore. If I don’t make your honeycomb rumble exactly the way you want, I’m not a king bee. I’m selfish enough to change, but too enamored by the form, function, and flawless construction of a woman to stop. I am an addict living the dream of his addiction, but the honey is so thick I’m choking.

Story by Mike Shields

The Beat Coffeehouse in DTF (Downtown Fremont St.) is jumping any day of the week, but the scene can change greatly depending on the day and time you pick up you daily caffeine fix. Most coffee shops offer a fairly predictable environment depending on their location; You may see a multitude of cabbies or students or bellhops convening nightly at a particular spot, but at the Beat its all about timing. As the poet troupe makes it’s way out, a bicycle brigade may be coming through the door. It’s important to know what your getting into when you perform your coffee ritual. Here’s what you might expect on a few nights each week at the Beat.

Photography by Kris Mayeshiro
Clothing designed by Amanda Wesselman, Makeshift Apparel
Styling by Dee Rubio
Makeup by Stacey Kerby-Torres
Hair by Sara Bryan & Gina Atkinson

Models: Gerra Bella & Amanda Wesselman

Check out a video behind the scenes of our fashion photo shoot.

Special thanks to Med Jast, Alberto Triana and Sean Jackson for this video.

The Faces Inside
In a city where so much is based on looks, it’s easy to forget what beauty really is. For many it creates an obsessive quest toward an unrealistic standard. How far will some go for the perfect mirror image?

Pool season is afoot, and Las Vegans are in panic mode. Strict diets, two gym sessions a day, starvation, bulimia, whatever it takes to be pool ready. Pool season is six months out of the year, and although the other six months are not as vanity intensive, the need to be attractive in “The Industry” still exists.

Karen Brannan is a bartender at a popular nightclub. She is required to weigh in every month to monitor her weight. If she gains a few pounds, she will have to be addressed and possibly suspended. Unfortunately Karen does not have 20/20 vision so she has to wear glasses. She’s still very pretty, but recently she was approached by management about switching to contact lenses. Karen makes a good living. She makes about $200-$300 a night, 4 days a week. It’s enough to support her. So she doesn’t want to rock the boat by not complying with these ridiculous requirements.

The fact is Karen has to take a substantial percentage of that income and put it right back in to her appearance.  She has a beauty bill. Here are some of the costs she has to pay just to maintain her job: $40 a month for her gym membership, $100 per month on hair maintenance, $40 per month on manicures, $50 per month on contact lenses, $30 a month on waxing, $50 per month on tanning, $85 on lash dipping. $400 later, her job is satisfied with her appearance.

Ryan Sawyer has been out of a job for 3 months. He was working as a line cook for the past 2 years at a restaurant that closed their doors. He assumed that with his restaurant experience it would be easy to find a job in the hospitality capital of the world. The opportunities for line cooks were few and far between so he decided that he would try to get a job as a waiter or bartender.  Finally a response from a restaurant in town square for a bartender position. He received an email from the general manager with an appointment time to interview, the email said “Please bring a headshot.”

Ryan was confused, he had never been asked to bring in a headshot before. He didn’t even have a head shot to bring in. Why were they asking for a photo when they were going to see him in person?  Ryan’s wife took out her point and shoot camera, put him against a blank wall in the hallway of their home and took a photo. Ryan brought the photo and resume with him to the interview. He felt the interview went well. He never received a call back. Was it because his looks weren’t up to snuff? Was it because he didn’t have a professional headshot? To most women, Ryan is an above average looking man, an attractive 35 year old. Maybe that was a little too old for their tastes. Since the incident Ryan has developed a complex about whether or not he is too old or attractive enough to continue to work in an industry that he has been in for years.

Linda Burgess is the Director of Nursing at a plastic surgery clinic here in Las Vegas. Monday through Friday Linda spends her time preparing patients for cosmetic surgeries. Her day is full of people who come in and hate the way they look. While the patients are in pre-op they often discuss their anxieties and insecurities before going under the knife. “There are many people that come in that are addicted to cosmetic surgery. We have a lot of repeat customers. An attractive lady will come in for a breast augmentation, a few weeks later she will come in for a butt lift. The next thing you know she’ll come in every week for collagen injections. I think once a patient knows that a doctor can modify anything they want, they become even more critical and want to change everything. She was pretty before, but she could never see it. You have to wonder what these people see in the mirror.”

This city is very honest about what they expect from people in “the industry”. Obsession with vanity is common and accepted here. Mandatory weigh-ins, headshots and plastic surgery to make sure one stays pleasing to the eye is more important than the competency to serve professionally and hospitably, here, in The Twilight Zone.

Story by: Ginah Lasta
Photography by: Shane O’neal
Hair by: Erin Brennan
Special Effects Makeup by: Rick Bishop
Beauty Makeup: Jackee Garcia

REALITY BYTES

There is a drug coursing through your veins as this article is being written.  Without this drug, your life would cease to be.  Everything around you and your day-to-day aspects would be lost amongst the world.  Technology.  It spans from your everyday calendar events to communicating with anyone connected in your life.  Losing a cell phone, your computer’s hard drive crashing, your XBOX getting the red ring of death; these are all intermittent problems that could drastically alter your life for the worse.  It wasn’t a mere 10 years ago that the human race wasn’t so dependent on technology.  There was a paradigm shift that disallowed people from communicating via spoken words.  We resorted to email and texting to get a message conveyed to each other.  People started reducing their cellular minute plans and boosting their data plans, not to mention abandoning a hard line home phone.  Now this is mainly the addiction to mobile and within the past year the addiction has become slightly mutated to location based social media via mobile.  APP’s like Facebook, Foursquare, and Path all implement the capabilities of ensuring people in your social network know where you are and what you are doing.  This is also a very good tool for businesses to create “check-in” specials.  The addiction to mobile has become such a detrimental shift that it has spawned to law enforcement.  As of January 1, 2012, the Nevada Law Enforcement passed a law that when operating a motorized vehicle, it is unlawful to utilize your mobile device.  Does this mean that since it is illegal, this stops people from doing it?  Absolutely not.  When people have an addiction it is psychologically dependency that the person must interact with their addiction as much as possible.

Digressing to another aspect of technological addiction, consider video games.  There has always been some organization attempting to destroy the video game industry.  Mainly MAVAV.org (Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence).  They are constantly lobbying politicians and political groups hoping to get a bill in their favor.  The high school tragedy at Colombine is still the most poignant event that rings true where this organization attempted to pin the blame on video games.  Now consider this for a moment, the United States of America is NOT the leader in technological advancements and consumer electronic production.  In the realm of Military and Armed Forces technology, yes.  With that said, when was the last time you heard of school shooting overseas and some radical group attempting to put the blame on video games?  The addiction of video games runs deep in America.  According to a 2008 study, gamers in just the U.S. use enough energy to power San Diego.  Assuming the industry hasn’t lessened (in fact, it has more than tripled since 2008), the amount of energy consumed is insurmountable.

With the addition of Social Media (which is now more than ever accessible on mobile devices) the human race is demonstrating their vain needs more than ever.  People are constantly discussing their new Facebook posts, or discovering the newest posts by their friends in alarming rates.  How many times do you check your Facebook on a daily, hourly, minute basis?  These are questions everyone must ask themselves to truly determine if they are addicted or not.  The likely answer is, yes you are.  It’s not just Facebook either.  As much as people joke about Myspace, people still use it very frequently.  Myspace has shifted more towards the music industry where bands can upload their songs and albums that can be listened to and purchased via iTunes.  Alongside Myspace there is a technological addiction to digital music and for awhile Pandora was the only place to get free streaming music to your desktop, and now mobile.  However, with Pandora’s success, other companies like Slacker Radio, and Spotify have put their own two cents in.  Allowing the same ideas as Pandora but merely attempting to expound upon the already successful business model including options to purchase tracks and albums.

Has the human condition really been reduced to how many likes, follows, +1’s, diggs, fans, or circles we are in?  Has this addiction become such a pandemic driven by vanity that this is the world we will be subjected to?  And what can we conclude for the future?  At what point is this going to come to a head or what will our lives be like another 10 years from now?  Clearly technology is an awesome power that has taken all of us by storm.  The future will hold some incredible feats and hopefully this will be something to better mankind.  But understanding the “all about me” fascination of now can only reinforce the arrogance of tomorrow.

Technology is a love that will never die.

READY FOR BATTLE

Gil Guardado is addicted. Addicted to the competition and addicted to the blood and sweat that goes into that one moment where he looks into his opponent’s eyes, ready to put to use months of intense training. It’s an adrenaline rush for him to come out on top, while putting on a great show. He’s also addicted to the constant improvement of mind and body.  So much, in fact, that he decided to become a personal trainer and mixed martial artist.
He began wrestling under the coaches Donnie and Shirley Stephens. By the time Guardado left High School he had begun to practice other martial arts, in particular Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, eventually making his MMA debut in 2007. After only one fight, in 2008 he moved to Las Vegas to train at Xtreme Couture.

“I started (personal training) about 8 months before my first fight. I spend a lot of time at the gym anyway; I’d read books and…  it sort of seemed like the piece just fit. I know how to get myself in shape, and if I’m going to spend all my time in the gym anyway I might as well be in there helping other people too! I’m always in the gym I don’t ever have an excuse to not work out. I felt like becoming a personal training was just another step towards becoming a fighter.”
Leaving his family and friends behind wasn’t easy for Guardado, but addictions have a tendency of doing that. It’s not just about staying in shape and living an active lifestyle, as Guardado points out, it’s ultimately about winning.
“Number one I want to win, but number two I want to put on a show. I want people leaving either saying it was one of the most exiting fights they saw, or one of the most vicious…I want people talking about my fight when it’s over.”
Guardado recently won his first amateur title fight, and is now set to make his professional debut on March 16th at Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA.

“At 8-0, it seemed like the perfect time for me to go pro after that. We started shopping around and found BAMMA USA. That’s what we’re getting ready for now. BAMMA USA is perfect because Commerce, CA is 20 minutes outside of my hometown, so it’s an opportunity to fight in front of my hometown back in California.”
Guardado is a regular guy looking to make a difference through the charity itaintchemo.com. A great way to give back to the community, Guardado takes pride in the role that he plays.

“We help kids try and beat cancer by providing them with comfort, advice, care supplies, We’ll take them to the fights, take them paintballing, or to the Las Vegas speedway. We’re a boots on the ground organization where we don’t raise money for research we raise money to give back to these cancer warriors.”

Whether he’s in the gym for a personal training workout, preparing for his next fight or spending time with kids on behalf of itaintchemo.com, one thing is clear about Guardado’s addiction. He won’t stop anytime soon.

Story by Shawn Porter
Photography by Casey Ball

THE HIGH GOODBYE:

The high goodbye happens after smoking weed with your friends. You say you have to go home but it takes twenty minutes to leave because you keep getting caught up with stoner stories. If you have somewhere to be, give yourself a grace period for the high goodbye.

SHOWERBAITER

Some people like to curl up with a good porno and make love to themselves. Others are showerbaiters. These people prefer to rub-a-dub one out and then get on with their day.

Boneless Thursday

Boneless Thursday derives from a wing promotion at Buffalo Wild Wings. But does anybody really want to have a boneless Thusday? If you find yourself hanging out with a bunch of people who have no potential intercourse leads, chances are it’s going to be a boneless Thursday for you too.

The Rebang

The rebang occurs when two previous partners come together again for some good ol’ fashion casual sex. Consider it like being grandfathered into the friends with benefits program. It doesn’t add another notch on the headboard but, like the song  says, “Reunited and it feels so good!”

Google Guilt

Surfing porn on the web is all fine and dandy until climax. Then, the Google guilt sets in. Knowing that Google has a record of everything you just looked at, you compensate with a few non-deviant searches like cars or cameras just for good measure.

DOWNTOWN ISSUE, SINNER SAYS

SHADY SPEWER:

A shady spewer is someone that you are hanging out with who mysteriously disappears to go throw up. Upon return, the perpetrator acts like nothing happened.

The Cartender

The cartender is the person elected to bartend out of his or her trunk because nobody can afford to catch a buzz inside the bar. A good cartender will have cups, booze, mixers and ice. Why buy at the bar when you can head to the car?

SPANK BANK

A spank bank is your porn collection. It used to consist of video tapes, magazines and DVDs, but these days a digital spank bank is much more convenient and discreet. Example: “Send me that photo of that chick you work with, I want to put it in my spank bank.”

The Walk of Fame

Getting laid is pretty cool, so need to be ashamed as you leave the scene of a booty call. Maybe it wasn’t your finest hour, but smile, you just got some!

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club is that certain circle of friends that you know dabble in the “booger sugar.” Hang with them, you’ll be partying until the sun comes up. Not everybody is cool with hitting the slopes so it’s also a good way to speak in code. Example: “Don’t worry, he’s down with The Breakfast Club.”

THE GEEK ISSUE, SINNER SAYS

TEXTHOLE:

Everybody knows a texthole! Shit, you’re probably a texthole. A texthole is somebody that is texting on their phone instead of listening to whomever they are with.

Illustrations by Skizo Fa2hq

TOASTY POSTER:
Somebody who updates a play by play of what they are doing to their social media anytime they are drunk, A toasty poster is notorious for posting things that don’t make sense.

TREADMILL HUSTLER:
A treadmill hustler is a drug dealer who only sells drugs because they need drugs. They don’t really make money off of it, it’s just a way to support their habit, but the chase never stops.

DTF:
The DTF phrase originated from Jersey Shore wich stands for Down To Fuck. The SINNER saying came about because this girl texted Ponte that she was DT. (Downtown) We told him to ask her is she was DTF, and if she got offended he could just play it off and say he was just wondering if she was in Downtown Fremont. The saying stuck. We’re always DTF.

SORE BOOZER:
A sore boozer is somebody who is cool, until they get drunk. Sore boozers are not fun to hang out with because they get drunk, get depressed and bring everybody down with them. Don’t be a sore boozer, aka a buzzkiller.

ONIOMANIA, Addiction to shopping

My name is Teray Dragun, and I’m a shopaholic. I’m not afraid to admit that I have the need for need. But it’s more than a need, it’s an obsession. The thought of buying something gives me butterflies, in a good way. I can spot amazing finds anywhere; from the shopping mall to a cart on the side of the road. People refer to themselves as shopaholics all the time, but few deserve the title. They may buy a lot of stuff or enjoy shopping as a hobby, but for me,  it’s an art form.

THE ORIGIN OF MY ADDICTION:
My oniomania, or addiction to shopping, began when I was a toddler. My mom would take me to Toys R Us to buy a new My Little Pony or Barbie every week (children of the 80’s will remember these hot commodities). At one point I had every My Little Pony and Barbie on the shelf. I remember, even as a young gal, how exciting it was.

Like any addiction, there are always symptoms and side effects. Shopaholics experience these as well. Side effects include buyer’s remorse, massive credit card debt, disappearing savings accounts, starring in the TV show “Hoarders” and last but not least, being called materialistic. Shrug it off; the rush from shopping makes up for these side effects!

Where I Get High on Shopping
The following places are where I get my shopping fix: Patty’s Closet, Sparkle by Patty’s Closet, Ulta, New York and Company, Victoria’s Secret, MAC, Home Goods, Petco, Forever 21, Nordstrom, Amazon.com, and amiclubwear.com. If I ever go missing, contact these stores.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with a quote of a true shopaholic, Carrie Bradshaw, “I like my money where I can see it, hanging in my closet.” Or in my case, my closet, my pantry, all over my house, and on my pets!

Story by Teray Dragun
Illustration by Tara Thompson