nailed v5

Yep, It’s me again. Your old pal SideShow Bennie with more news and updates. I sure hope all is well with each and every one of you fine folks and that life is treating you much better than you deserve.
I have been a busy, interesting time in Bennieville since the last Nailed update. So settle in, grab yourself the tasty treat of your choice and prepare to enter my world...

I was approached by a group of artists to do a performance at their Knoxville sculpture studio. Being artists, of course they were broke and had no do-rei-mi for Bennie. They did offer, however, to hook me up with a stack of custom made, hand printed SSB posters. That certainly sweetened the pot and since it is only a 3 hour drive and they were feeding me and putting me up for the night, I did the show. It turned out to be a ton of fun. They did an iron pour, which involved smelting iron into a molten, lava-like liquid and pouring it into sculpture molds. The event was filled with University of TN art students in leather and those groovy silver fire suits pouring molten iron out of a big ass iron bucket with sparks flying and flames licking. It was incredibly cool and something you don’t see every day.

The Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus was in town and their train was parked next to the studio, so many of the clowns and roustabouts were in attendance. Some stuck around for my performance, but more on that later. The food was great and the event was well attended with probably 200 folks showing up. And that is not counting the police!!
I performed my act, which the crowd ate up. I was the belle of the ball. Folks were offering me drinks (I enjoyed a post performance beer or two), drugs (SSB says “don’t do drugs kids!”) and sex (I told that guy thanks but, in spite of the fact that he was kinda cute, no thanks.)

One of the Ringling guys was there through the entire performance. He came up to me after the show and told me that, “you have the best act I have ever seen.” He could have been being polite; he could have really meant it. I choose the latter.
After the show I witnessed a UT grad student urinate in his own mouth, saw a bottle rocket battle royale and hid from the police when they showed up to quell the fireworks and to find out what the hell was going on. Any time the police show up at a gig and no one gets arrested, it is a successful gig! Check out additional photos on the photo page.

Since my dad lives near Knoxville, I stopped for a visit. We ended up at a lovely little strip mall in Lenoir City, TN. My dad and I were standing in the parking lot, waiting for my step-mom to finish ‘getting her hair done’ when I spotted this vehicle pulling into the parking lot.

This big strapping biker looking feller rolled out of said vehicle and went into the discount tobacco store. I told my dad that I had to grab a photo of this vehicle. He reluctantly strolled over with me to grab the shot. Just then, the biker looking feller came out of the tobacco store, this time, with who I assumed to be his significant other in tow. I asked if he was Bubba and when he replied in the affirmative, I asked if I could get a photo of him with his ride. He was thrilled to pose. As I was snapping the shot, he looked at me in an odd way and asked me my name. I told him, “SideShow Bennie” and he leaped up and said, “I knew that was you!! I seen you at Bike Week in Daytona.

We talked and you said your dad lived here.” He looked at his significant other and said, “This is that crazy sombitch I was telling you about who hammers nails in his nose and swings shit from his nipples. Wait 'til i tell Charlie I saw you!!” (yeah, I get that a lot. Well, not the Charlie part) Bubba is really running for city council on the platform of legalizing liquor by the drink and prostitution and he is serious about the liquor issue. If you are a SideShow fan living in Lenoir City,

Ben and Amy Dixon and Lone Wolf Tattoo Studio put on another classy tattoo show at the Nashville Airport Marriott. I was a featured performer and this year I got to perform as a lead in to a KISS cover band called The KISS Army. They were basically, KISS. Costumes, Blood pellets, fire balls and all KISS all the time. I also had the webmistress onstage with me for the first time doing the new Electric Girl act I have been working on. I, unfortunately, forgot that I shouldn’t do that while holding the microphone and, well, the photo tells the story. It was a shocking experience for both of us for sure. Sorry Lynn. Remember Kids, don’t try any of this stuff at home!! Check out more photos from the Full Moon Tattoo Festival in the photo section.