Tucson's tattoo community will take center stage when the History Channel comes to film in the Old Pueblo next weekend.
Indigo Films, an independent film company working with the channel, will be in town to attend the "Tucson Tattoos and Blues" expo at Hotel Arizona, documenting American tattoo culture for a special scheduled to air later this year.
The film will examine the history of body art and look into the role tattooing has played in cultures around the world.
Dara Horenblas, an associate producer on the project, said the Tucson expo was recommended to them by Bob Baxter, editor in chief of Skin & Ink magazine.
Baxter has had a longstanding friendship with expo coordinator Bert Rodriguez, a Tucson artist. This is Rodriguez's first show in town, but he put together 15 Tattoos and Blues shows during his time in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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"We are pretty critical of tattoo shows in our magazine," Baxter said. "Bert's events have always stood the test of time. His is definitely one of the top five or six in the country."
Baxter said the special is one of five tattoo-themed documentaries he knows of due out this year.
These are in addition to programs like "Miami Ink," "London Ink" and realism artist Kat Von D's "L.A. Ink," which started its new season Jan. 8 on The Learning Channel.
In the next couple of months, Horenblas said, crews will also film in the Maricopa County jail system, examining tattoos behind bars.
Read more about the expo, Bob Baxter and Tucson's tattoo culture in Thursday's Caliente.
Make 'em laugh
Think you're a comedian? You'll have a chance to prove it when NBC comes through Arizona with auditions for its latest installment of "Last Comic Standing."
Talent scouts are coming back to the Tempe Improv, 930 E. University Ave., on Feb. 26, plenty of time for you to work on some jokes, buy a nice suit for TV and nail down your act in front of the bedroom mirror.
Comedians need to be at least 18 years old and have two minutes of material prepared for the audition.
If you're busy that day, you can hop a plane for auditions in Los Angeles (Jan. 28), Houston (Feb. 22), Nashville (March 3) or any of the five other cities across the United States and in Canada.
Find out more about the audition process at www.nbc.com/ Last_Comic_Standing/.
