LA Ink

{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252 {\fonttbl\f0\fswiss\fcharset0 Helvetica;} {\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;\red0\green0\blue0;\red255\green255\blue255;} \deftab720 \pard\pardeftab720\sl320\partightenfactor0

\f0\fs22 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0 \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2 \{\{for|the design firm|LA ink\}\}\ \ \{\{Infobox television\ \}\}\ \ LA Ink is an American reality show on TLC that followed the events of the High Voltage Tattoo (and, later in the series, American Electric) tattoo studios in Los Angeles, California. The spin-off of TLC's Miami Ink, it premiered on August 7, 2007. \ \ In August 2011, TLC announced that the show will end production, with Season 4 being its last and that the series is cancelled. \ \
 * show_name = LA Ink\
 * image = LA Ink Logo.jpg\
 * caption = Logo of the show\
 * format = Reality television\
 * picture_format = PDTV\
 * runtime = 45-48 minutes\
 * rating = \{\{TV-PG\}\} \
 * location = Los Angeles, California, West Hollywood, Upland\
 * creator = \
 * developer = \
 * starring = Kat Von D Corey Miller (Season 1\'964) Hannah Aitchison (Season 1\'962) Kim Saigh (Season 1\'962) Pixie Acia (Season 1) Dan Smith (Season 3\'964) Amy Nicoletto (Season 3\'964)\
 * opentheme = "Dancing With Myself" by Nouvelle Vague (Season 1)\
 * executive_producer =\
 * country = United States\
 * network = TLC\
 * first_aired = \{\{Start date|2007|08|07\}\}\
 * last_aired = \{\{End date|2011|09|15\}\}\
 * num_episodes = 84 (Episode list)\
 * num_seasons = 4\
 * related = Miami Ink London Ink NY Ink\
 * website = http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/la-ink/la-ink.html\

Background
\ \{\{See also|List of LA Ink episodes\}\}\ \ \ \ After leaving the hit program Miami Ink because of a dispute with her fellow cast members, Kat Von D moved back to Los Angeles to open her own tattoo shop and was offered a spin off show. Initially, she hired her close friend Amber "Pixie" Acia to be the shop manager, and her good friend Corey Miller as the tattoo artist. After considering many more artists for the job, Von D hired Hannah Aitchison and Kim Saigh to work for her as well. The cameras follow her as she opens the shop, while capturing everything that unfolds in between. \ \ Each customer coming into the shop usually has a story or reason behind their tattoo. On occasion, even known celebrities make an appearance to get tattooed by Kat or one of the other artists. \ \ Inevitably, as the show progressed, changes occurred. Von D fired Acia during the second part of Season 1. Saigh and Aitchison left the show after the Season 2 finale. Season 3 premiered with a new shop manager, former Rock of Love competitor Aubry Fisher, but she was fired by Von D in the Mid-Season 3 premiere after getting into a lot of trouble with most of the people at the shop. \ \ Tattoo artist Amy Nicoletto was hired on a trial basis, but left to work at American Electric, owned by Craig Jackman. Tattoo artist Paulie Tattoo was also hired and quit to go to American Electric, because of lack of work. Fisher soon joined them as a "shop helper" at American Electric after she got fired from High Voltage. Fisher left to pursue her dream of becoming a make-up artist without telling Craig and was later fired from American Electric, but does make an appearance for two episodes in the fourth season when she appeared at the shop's 11th Anniversary as a guest.\ \ Von D broke a Guinness world record on the show, tattooing 400 people with the "LA" part of the LA Ink logo in 24 hours, giving the money raised to charity. The record was broken in June, 2008 by Kat's ex-husband Oliver Peck who tattooed 415 tattoos of the number "13". \ \ During Season 3, Nikko Hurtado appears as a guest artist on the show several times while Von D's sister Karoline and her brother Michael also make appearances on the show.\ \ American Electric was the competitor tattoo shop to High Voltage during Season 3 and the first half of Season 4.\ \

Ratings
\ LA Ink premiered on August 7, 2007, averaging 2.9 million total viewers at its time slot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the number makes the show the most-watched series debut for the cable channel since the premiere of the US version of What Not to Wear in January 2003. This is also the highest-rated series premiere in the history of TLC among adults 18-34, with a rating of 2.6 and a viewer count of 1.5 million. The premiere was also the highest-rated basic cable primetime program August 7th among several major adult demographics, including 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. \ \

Main cast
\ \{\{multicol\}\}\ Shop owner\ \ Shop managers\ \ Merchandising\ \ Kat's Personal Assistant\ \ \{\{multicol-break\}\}\ Tattoo artists\ \{\{multicol-end\}\}\ \
 * Kat Von D (High Voltage Tattoo)\
 * Craig Jackman (American Electric) (Season 3\'964)\
 * Pixie Acia (Season 1)\
 * Naheed Simjee (Season 2)\
 * Liz Friedman (Season 3)\
 * Adrienne Ironside (Season 3\'964)\
 * Aubry Fisher (Season 3)\
 * Michael Drachenberg (Season 3\'964)\
 * Karoline Drachenberg\
 * Corey Miller (Season 1\'964)\
 * Hannah Aitchison (Season 1\'962)\
 * Kim Saigh (Season 1\'962)\
 * Dan Smith (Season 3\'964)\
 * Nikko Hurtado (Season 3\'964)\
 * Amy Nicoletto (Season 3\'964)\
 * Paulie Tattoo (Season 3)\
 * Ruth Pineda (Season 3-4)\
 * Jeff Ward (Season 4)\
 * Khoi Nguyen (Season 4)\
 * Adam Forman (Season 4)\

Celebrity clients
\ \{\{unreferenced|section|date=January 2011\}\}\ The following celebrities have appeared on LA Ink:\ \{\{columns-list|3|\ \ \}\}\ \
 * Joanna Angel, pornstar and owner of alt porn company Burning Angel\
 * Sebastian Bach, former lead vocalist of Skid Row and actor\
 * Stephen Baldwin, actor\
 * Eric Balfour, actor\
 * Nick Barnett, NFL linebacker for the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills\
 * Amanda Beard, Olympic swimmer and seven-time gold medalist\
 * Wes Borland, guitarist of Limp Bizkit \
 * Matt Bradley, Northwestern deckhand on Deadliest Catch\
 * Eddie Bravo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and musician\
 * Kimberly Caldwell, American Idol Season 2 finalist\
 * Margaret Cho, actress and comedian\
 * Chantal Claret, former vocalist for Morningwood and solo artist\
 * Phil Collen, guitarist of Def Leppard\
 * Crispin Earl, lead vocalist of The Veer Union\
 * Dr. Chud, former drummer of Misfits\
 * Emerson Drive, Canadian country band\
 * Eve, rapper\
 * Shelly Fairchild, singer/songwriter\
 * Lady Gaga, singer\
 * The Game, rapper\
 * Bobcat Goldthwait, actor and comedian\
 * Tom Green, actor and comedian\
 * Toryn Green, former lead vocalist of Fuel\
 * Rita Haney, widow of Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell\
 * Derek Hess, artist\
 * Jeph Howard, bassist of The Used\
 * Jesse Hughes, lead vocalist and guitarist of Eagles of Death Metal\
 * Scott Ian, guitarist of Anthrax\
 * Frank Iero, guitarist of My Chemical Romance\
 * Ja Rule, rapper\
 * Darnell Jackson, basketball player for Sacramento Kings\
 * Jenna Jameson, porn star\
 * Luke Johnson, drummer of Lostprophets\
 * Natasha Kai, professional soccer player and Olympic gold medalist\
 * Trever Keith, lead vocalist and guitarist of Face To Face\
 * Tim Lambesis, lead vocalist of As I Lay Dying\
 * Lemmy Kilmister, lead vocalist and bassist of Mot\'f6rhead\
 * Jared Leto, actor and lead vocalist of Thirty Seconds to Mars\
 * Blake Lewis, American Idol Season 6 runner-up\
 * Tim Lopez, guitarist of Plain White T's\
 * Bam Margera, professional skateboarder, actor and prankster\
 * Travis McCoy, singer/songwriter and rapper of Gym Class Heroes\
 * Jesse Metcalfe, actor\
 * Candice Michelle, model, former WWE Diva and Go Daddy spokesperson\
 * Dominic Monaghan, actor\
 * Jason Mraz, singer/songwriter\
 * Johnette Napolitano, lead singer of Concrete Blonde\
 * Dave Navarro, guitarist of Jane's Addiction\
 * Lamar Odom, forward for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks\
 * Yolanda Perez, singer\
 * Christina Perri, singer/songwriter\
 * Phil Plait, astronomer and author\
 * Ronnie Radke, lead vocalist for Falling in Reverse and former lead vocalist for Escape the Fate\
 * Felix Rodriguez, guitarist of The Sounds\
 * Ralph Saenz, lead vocalist of Steel Panther\
 * Patty Schemel, former drummer of Hole\
 * Otep Shamaya, lead vocalist of Otep, poet and actress\
 * Shontelle, singer/songwriter\
 * Lucas Silveira, lead vocalist and guitarist of The Cliks\
 * Nikki Sixx, bassist of M\'f6tley Cr\'fce\
 * Matt Skiba, lead vocalist and guitarist of Alkaline Trio\
 * Matt Sorum, drummer of Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver\
 * Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, rapper and producer\
 * Kristoff St. John, actor\
 * Jeffree Star, MySpace celebrity and singer\
 * Steve-O, stunt performer and television personality on Jackass\
 * Tr\'e9 Cool, drummer of Green Day\
 * Jimmy Urine, lead vocalist of Mindless Self Indulgence and husband of Chantal Claret\
 * Mike Vallely, professional skateboarder\
 * Vains Of Jenna, rock band from Sweden performed.\
 * Ville Valo, lead vocalist of HIM\
 * Andrew W.K., musician\
 * Brian "Head" Welch, guitarist of Korn\
 * Nick Wheeler, guitarist of The All-American Rejects\
 * Robin Wilson, lead vocalist of Gin Blossoms\
 * Pastor Fred Zariczny (Pastor Z), founder of Bikers for Christ\
 * Anthony Green, lead vocalist of Circa Survive\

Related Shows
\ \
 * London Ink\
 * NY Ink\
 * Miami Ink\
 * Madrid Ink\
 * Inked\
 * Black Ink Crew\
 * Ink Master\
 * Best Ink\
 * Tattoo Nightmares\