Just got back from vending at the Eyecon Twilight Convention in Orlando, Florida. I have much face time to make up for with my 2 year old son so this post will be a bit short, but I wanted to get in the story of Jackson Rathbone getting a tattoo.Eyecon Twilight Convention in Orlando, Florida was Taken By Twilight's first out of state event. All in all it was a really good trip. We met tons of Twilight fans, a couple of vendor friends and Kimbra Hickey (hands of Twilight) from the last Twilight Con we attended, a few of brick and mortar stores who were interested in carrying Taken By Twilight jewelry, and some behind the scenes look at the stars of Twilight movie.
One of the most exciting parts of the weekend was watching Jackson Rathbone get a tattoo. Jackson Rathbone plays Jasper in the Twilight movie and is a lot better looking in person. He also is in a band called 100 Monkeys. 100 Monkeys played on Saturday night at the convention and also played a after-party at Ruby Tuesday.
So here's the behind the scenes peek at the convention:
Sunday was amazingly slow and I really mean SSSLLLOOOWWW! There were a few fans that flocked the vendor room when the place opened but otherwise most fans had already shopped on Friday and Saturday. Around lunch time an Eyecon representative came by and told us that there were planning on closing the doors to the vendor room for an hour or so because Jackson Rathbone was coming in to get a tattoo around 2pm. I was a bit weary on weather on not that would happen because COME ON, who gets a tattoo at a convention?
Draven's City Limits Tattoo had a booth just diagonal from our booth. My sister and I had been talking with Marc Draven off and on all weekend. He was a great guy and his art was amazing. We made a pretty good connections with him and even planned to try and vend on one of his upcoming events this fall. He had confessed to us that he really wasn't planning on coming to the Twilight Convention but was doing it as a favor for a friend. I had heard people who worked for Eyecon say that he was getting a tattoo of MOM. It was Mother's Day, so that seemed appropriate but a bit trite to me. I didn't really think that was what he was getting, I'm sure they were kidding.
I guess the other vendors complained about closing the doors to the room because a little after 2pm Jackson walked in with his entourage and the doors remained open. He had a few friends with him and a few handlers/body guards. I don't think they were really body guards just people that worked for Eyecon to help keep the stars from being mauled by the fans. He was dressed in a black button down long sleeve shirt with the top button unbuttoned and had a fuzzy black, grey, and white fedora on. I have to say he was quite a hottie. He seemed a bit shorter in person than he looked in the movie. His style was very "white-stripes/hipster/psychobilly" and he seemed amazingly relaxed. He waited patiently for Marc to set up his gear. Marc Draven had already put all his tattoo equipment away before he was notified that Jackson wanted to get a tattoo.
A few fans milled around the area, most of the con guests were in the Q&A session with Kellan Lutz. Some fans walked up to try and talk to Jackson while he was waiting, his handlers quickly intercepted them and were told "this is Jackson's personal time, please respect that" or "this is Jackson's private time, he needs to relax." A woman and her little boy did manage to get a picture with Jackson. He was very gracious and even bent down next to the little boy for the picture. I think they knew some of the Eyecon people. A couple of the other vendors did go up and talk to Jackson. One gave him a cuff that she had made out of leather that had vampire fangs on it. She had told me earlier that she made one for Kellan, Edi, Jackson, Peter, and Kimbra (hands of Twilight). Kimbra Hickey came over and talked with Jackson for a while as well. Jackson talked with a couple of his friends and Eyecon employees. One person I saw with him often through the weekend was an beautiful young African American chick who was dressed in skinny black jeans and altered t-shirt which was sleeveless and multicolored on white. She also donned a very stylish hat and looked like quite the "hipster". She was tall and had a Kate Moss body build. I couldn't tell she was his girlfriend, just a friend, or maybe someone who worked for him. Ben Graupner, fellow 100 Monkeys band member and actor, came in dressed in a white button down shirt and a very loose red and black skinny tie. Ben joked with Jackson and talked some business. He hung around a bit and then left.
When Marc Draven was ready, Jackson talked with him a bit. I can only assume they were talking about what he wanted to get tattooed and where. After a bit he sat down on a chair under a very bright light with his right arm. He was facing toward me which gave me a perfect view of what was going on. He unbuttoned his shirt and slipped his right arm out. He left his left arm in his shirt and so only half his chest was exposed. He sat very still as Marc cleaned his arm with wipes an prepped his upper arm. He was so relaxed, he did flinch a slight bit when Marc started but other that that he talked with is friends and held very still. Often he would stare in my direction for long periods of time. I did try and wave "Hi" and yelled that it'll only hurt a bit but I don't think he could hear me over the constant buzz of the tattoo pen. A few fans would enter the room and just be shocked by his presence. Some tried to take a pictures. I tried to snap a few shots from where I sat but the light in the room was so poor that even with flash they turned out pretty blurry.
After a while, Edi Gathegi came in with his handlers. He walked in the main doors and yelled at Jackson "Don't you know your NEVER supposed to get a tattoo?" Jackson yelled back "You should have told me that a half an hour ago, your too late!". Edi quickly made his way over to the booth. He joked around with Jackson from the other side of the table. Saying that getting a tattoo was a "NO, NO". Edi then talked with some of the Eyecon people and some of Jackson's friends including the girl in the skinny jeans and hat. After a while he made his way behind the table to get a better look at the tattoo. He ribbed Jackson some more and the exchanged friendly banter.
Edi than talked with a vendor who was an artist. She was only a teenager and did beautiful charcoal drawings. I think he signed one for her and made his way over to another booth. He was making his way to our booth when his handlers notified him that he had to go. They quickly escorted him to the other side of the room. The Q & A session was letting out and the room would quickly be flooded with fans. Jackson's handlers moved some table around to make a barrier between the fans and Jackson who was still getting work done. Marc worked diligently and Jackson remained calm and joked with his friends. Ben Graupner returned to see the work in progress. He talked with Jackson a bit but kept it light.When Marc was done, he showed Jackson a mirror so he could fully appreciate his work. Jackson seemed really happy with the tattoo. He stood up and gingerly put his arm back in his shirt and buttoned it up. One of his handlers let him know that they were running late and that they had to go for the signing session. His handlers surrounded him and he left out the doors to my left. I heard a bunch of screaming in the hallway and when he entered the hall. I was told later that the announcer made a joke and said that "while all of you were talking with Kellan I was watching Jackson half naked getting a tattoo."
I also heard that when Jackson was introduced he fessed up to just getting another tattoo. I can't imagine having to sit there with a long sleeve shirt on singing a million autographs after getting at a tattoo on my right arm. What a trooper. Oh yeah and a hottie. Turns out the tattoo did say MOM. Someone who worked at Draven's City Limits Tattoo confirmed it.
This picture is from the 100 Monkeys Roadtrip Facebook page. I did not take this photo. You can check out more images on the 100 Monkeys Roadtrip facebook page.I have more stories from behind the scenes at the Orlando, Fl Twilight Convention (including where Jackson got his hat and vampire detained by TSA at airport.) But I'm so tired, so check my update tomorrow.
