Scott Alderman, one of the creators and organizers of the Tattoo the Earth Festival has told antiMUSIC that a European promoter is using a slightly altered version of their name to stage a European rip off of the successful U.S. festival tour of last summer that brought the world of Rock and Ink together. 

Scott gave us a little background on what has transpired, so that fans will know that the European Tattoo the Planet tour is not in any way sanctioned by the organizers of the original Tattoo the Earth Festival. Here is what Scott Alderman had to say: 

�In the Spring of 2000, the organizers of Tattoo the Earth were talking with a promoter in the U.K. about bringing TTE over to Europe. Nothing transpired from the talks and TTE continued working on the 2000 US Summer tour, as well as a future European tour."

�Now this same promoter is launching Tattoo the Planet in Europe, a trademark he first registered in Europe on September 11, 2000.  Tattoo the Earth was registered as a trademark in the US on March 9, 1999, and the web address for tattootheplanet.com was registered by TTE on October 8, 1999."

�Now we know we weren't the first ones to bring music and tattoos together, but we were the first ones to officially call it Tattoo the Earth. There are only a couple of synonyms for earth, and with all the different ways to express the tattoo/music connection, this promoter chose Tattoo the Planet. We feel this is wrong"

�More importantly, TTE and the tattoo artists associated with it are on a mission to bring quality tattoo art to the mainstream and we, as a community, are very serious about the way this art is represented. Tattoo the Planet is simply trying to exploit the word 'tattoo' to sell tickets. This is completely unacceptable to the tattoo community and we don't support it." 

"This tour has nothing to do with Tattoo the Earth, its organizers or artists. We're working on some International shows right now, so hold on for the real thing.�

Scott Alderman and the others who worked hard to make the Tattoo the Earth Festival possible and are upset over the launching of Tattoo the Planet. �It has been a crusade to get this launched, a lot of blood (literally and figuratively), so that's why this situation in Europe is particularly insulting.� Said Alderman in an email to antiMUSIC, � I spoke to the guy over there yesterday and he told me to choose my words very carefully. I chose three words very carefully and he took all of them. The fans and people in the industry need to know what is going on with this, and that this s**** is unacceptable at this or any level. �

The Tattoo the Planet tour will take place this fall and will include Slayer, Pantera, Sepultura, Cradle of Filth and others.  antiMUSIC was unable to obtain a comment from the European organizers at press time. 

Will the real Tattoo the Earth please stand up? 

Fans of the original tour can rest assured that the Tattoo the Earth tour will return, bigger and better than ever. Scott told us about future plans for the tour. �We're working on our shows right now. This summer it was impossible for us to take out the kind of show we wanted: a real emphasis on tattooing with a lot of artists, reasonable ticket prices, no seats, and new emerging bands. We're working on a couple of scenarios right now that include tours, as well as individual festivals in key cities. We should have some info soon.� 

Scott did not tell antiMUSIC if TTE organizers are contemplating legal action against the European promoter who is organizing Tattoo the Planet. antiMUSIC will keep you up to date on developments concerning the �official� tour and festivals.