1968: Born in Rockaway Beach, NYC, to a 16 year old Catholic school girl & a 24 year old car thief.
1984: Begins four years of set design at Pax Amicus Theatre, Budd Lake, NJ. Sets for "Peter Pan" are seen by Greg Hildebrant, who offers an apprenticeship. The offer is declined due to abusive conditions at home.
1986: Graduates West Morris Central High School as a junior.
1988: Was a student of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon & Graphic Arts, Inc, in Dover, NJ. The Kubert Shcool is a boot camp founded by DC Comics legend Joe Kubert, & employs some of the top names in graphics, comics and animation, including Bill Sienkiewicz (New Mutants, Electra Assassin, Stray Toasters), Rick Veitch (Swamp Thing), Mike Chen (Robotech), Milt Neil (Disney Studios Co-Founder), and a who's who of the graphic world.
1989: Gets clean off drugs; works for various screen print houses, learning every facet of the operations from printing to darkroom operations to color separation as well as design & illustration. Clients included Disney, Warner Brothers, MGM, Ron John Surf Shops, Anheiser Busche, Cigarrette Boats, & untold others.
1991: Published "Thieves & Prostitutes" punk rock fanzine, & helped promote independent music in South Florida. Local ordinances against wheatpasting flyers & posters led to the adoption of an anonymous signature on all his art, hence the surname THIEF.
1992: Was Ground Zero for Hurricane Andrew. Volunteered for a month with clean up, then took a job offer in St. Petersburg. Continued to wheatpaste Ybor City, hosted benefit punk & hardcore shows for drug rehabs.
1995: Hired to art direct a staff of ten at Island Screenworks, one of the largest screen printing start ups on the east coast. Working under digital guru Jeff Wood, of Drowning Creek Studios, & alongside Mike Martin, of Engine House 13, the team slaved on branded logo programs & digital art. Clients included Reebok, Vans, Nike, Tommy Hilfiguer, Spin Magazine, The Source, Island Records, & surf wear companies.
1997: Moved home to NYC, built art departments for various graphic firms in Manhattan, managed a large format department, built a digital imaging department, & brought in house prepress to the largest business publisher in the city, his efforts being emulated in 200 centers internationally. His clients ranged from every magazine, TV studio, movie studio, publishing house, & ad firm found in NYC, including doing the sets for Saturday Night Live digitally for NBC. Pre-pressed ten magazines monthly, including "Interior Design" & "Variety".
1998: Low Brow Ink is born when Mike & Jeff hand print the first poster on Jeff's porch. Posters are collaborated on & produced for Social Distortion, Danzig, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Godsmack, Suicidal Tendencies, Murphy's Law, Agnostic Front, The Circle Jerks, The Business, Less Than Jake, New Found Glory, The Wailers, The Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Hatebreed, The Strokes, Nashville Pussy, The Reverend Horton Heat, Insane Clown Posse, Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Jonny Lang, Robert Cray, The Scofflaws, The Lunachicks, The Donnas, Hank Williams 3, & countless indy groups.
1999: Mike Martin throws the first Lo Down Ho Down in Myrtle Beach, featuring nine psychobilly bands, a custom car show, plenty of libations, & a silk screened poster to commemorate the occasion. Johnny puts his first tattoos on a roomful of cats & kittens willing to sacrifice some skin on the alter of the tattoo god.
2000: Hired on at Starlight Tattoo, just over the George Washington Bridge, in New Jersey, owned by Mario Barth, a shop that had taken the Best Shop Award at the National Convention in 1999. Also the same year Johnny & Jeff collaborated on the infamous George Bush cokehead 'High Times' magazine cover.
2001: Johnny & Jeff are billed along with the top American poster artists at the Flying Piston Gallery's Gangbang 2001, in Hamburg, with David Perry, Marco Almera, Emek, Chris Shaw, Lindsay Kuhn, Derek Hess, & Gary Houston. "Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers" by Ariel Gore and Bee Lavender is published, with illustrations by Johnny Thief.
9/ 11, 2001: Screamin' Ink Tattoo opens, unbelievably, only nine miles from Ground Zero. The only artist who stays on with owner Billy Monroe, when he dissolves his partnership with Mario Barth. Tattooed twelve hours straight that day, even though the smell of burnt plastic & flesh was in the air. Designs the entire look & identity of the new shop, surrounded by some of the stiffest competition in the tri-state area. The shop would go on to be known as one of the most prominent new shops on the east coast, being featured on the Discovery Channel's "Tattoo Wars".
2002-03: DCS posters appear in dozens of Hard Rock Cafes, AS220 gallery in Rhode Island, the Flatstock Poster Show at Cellspace in San Francisco, The Artifacts of the Improbable show at the Trocadero in Philly, & at the SXSW Conference in Austin. Johnny & Jeff create virtual posters broadcast on MTV2, & attend the first Hell City Tattoo Convention. Tattoos at the NYC Tattoo Convention(s). "Swag: Rock Posters of the 90's" by Spencer Drate and Art Chantry is published featuring Drowning Creek. Illustrates covers for tattoo trade magazines "Pain", & "Headquest". Appears in "Juxtapoz" magazine's Tattoo Feature.
2004: The entire staff of Screamin' Ink Tattoo quits & walks out on September 11th, three years to the day. "The Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion", by Paul Grushkin & Dennis King, is published, the sequel to "The Art of Rock: From Presley to Punk", the book that most influenced Johnny into art for the music scene. Johnny's collaborations with Jeff Wood & Mike Martin are well represented, & Johnny considers his inclusion in the book the high water mark of his career. "Electric Frankenstein!" by Sal Canzonieri is also published this year, with posters by DCS. An ordained minister, Johnny performs a tattoo styled wedding in Philadelphia.
2005: Seppuku Tattoo opens in Savannah, GA, with co-owner & fine artist Matthew Lukesh. Seppuku hosts an in store gallery featuring all the DCS artist & posters. Johnny represents DCS for an all star poster show featuring twenty artists from the Art of Modern Rock, at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in conjunction with the CMJ Music Festival, in Cleveland, OH. Seppuku hosts author Paul Grushkin at the Trustees Theatre, Stainboy, Jason Cooper, & Warped Tour artist Brian Ewing. Seppuku takes it's first award at the Prick Magazine Tattoo Party at the Jinx. Johnny & Jeff are featured in the August issue of Giant magazine. Johnny's art appears in a CBGB's Benefit Art Show in NYC before the landmark venue closes forever.
2006: Seppuku appears at the Jacksonville Tattoo Convention & takes awards for Best Back Piece & Best Color. Seppuku hosts a Halloween art show with Rob Schwager, Jeral Tidwell, Brian Morris, Johny Crap, & Jason Goad. Johnny is featured in a twelve page cover story in the November issue of International Tattoo Arts. Johnny & Jeff's poster art for the All American Rejects appear on the tour DVD. "Rockin' Down the Highway: The Cars and People That Made Rock Roll" by Paul Grushkin and forwarded by Mike Ness, is released, with a two page spread featuring Johnny's 57 Chevy hot rod pick up truck.
2007: Seppuku attends the Gold Coast Tattoo Expo in Miami, & Jacksonville again, taking home more trophies. Seppuku ronin storm troop the Savannah Harley Davidson Haunted Coast run, & take nearly every trophy in the tattoo contest. Johnny & Jeff's work appear in the "Guitar Hero 3" video game, with an offset poster being sold in Hot Topics. "Art of Modern Rock: Mini 1, A-Z" by Dennis King is published, featuring more DCS work. Johnny officiates a Hallowe'en night zombie wedding at Seppuku Tattoo.
2008: Seppuku Tattoo are guests at Hell City: The Respawning, Matt takes a trophy for Most Unusual. "Art of Modern Rock: Mini 2, Poster Girls" by Dennis King is released, Johnny is featured with all new posters, including the Seppuku shop poster. "Vicious Intent: The Art of Stainboy Reinel" is released, Johnny is credited as a photographer, & is a guest artist at the book release party in Orlando with some of his favorite peers. "Fistful of Rock & Roll: 21st Century Rock Poster Art" by Sal Canzonieri is due for release late this year from Dark Horse Comics.
2009: Appears in Garage #18 quoted for an article on Shawn Kerri, new poster book called “Gig Posters Volume I: Rock Show Art of the 21st Century”, Tattoos For Men, #82', a cover story article in 'Tattoo Savage' (November), painted the front cover of the December issue of 'Skin & Ink Magazine', & is interviewed in a ten page article in 'Tattoo Revue #145', & miscellaneous pieces in nearly every tattoo publication. Won Best Color Portrait at the Jacksonville Tattoo Con despite not attending, & attended the The Rock Poster Society show in San Francisco with Jeff Wood.
2010: Featured on the cover 'Skin & Ink's 2010 Yearbook', & 'The Best Of Savage' from June issue of Tattoo Savage. Closes Seppuku in Savannah & relocated 900 miles north in Bloomingdale, NJ. Participates in the Monica Henk Memorial Art Show at the Sacred Gallery in NYC. To be continued!
