• About piercing. by Keith Alexander
• About branding. by Keith Alexander
• Nipple piercing at Modern American BodyArts

"I have a recording studio in my home and record all types of stuff. At the moment I am working with `found' sounds. Using all manner of wireless transmissions. Just pulling shit out of the air. Very spontaneous."

Many years ago, after reading about the great sensations a PA adds and speaking with a number of people who had PA's, Keith Alexander drove 100 miles to Pat's Tats in Woodstock NY and had his penis punctured for a Prince Albert. Shortly afterwards he self-pierced both his nipples. Then a frenum. Then an ampallang. Then a guiche (which rapidly stretched to a 4ga, but is now gone), septum, labret, and multiple nostril piercings. He currently wears seven frenum barbells ranging from 0ga to 10ga and 8ga nipples (which were once at 2ga). At this point Keith was working as a sound engineer at a NYC nightclub, mixing all types of music -- he has been a commercial artist and has released records with Carnivore and Primal Scream NYC, both of whom he toured with, along with Savage Grave. He currently plays with Dee Snider's Sick Motherfuckers doing all Twisted Sister songs.

By this time Keith was getting pierced regularly at Gauntlet in NYC, and was spending thousands of dollars on jewelry and publications, both for himself and as gifts for family and friends. One day, the manager asked to speak to him privately. He thought that they were about to offer him a wholesale account, but instead of the wholesale account, he was offered an apprenticeship.

"When the actual apprenticeship took some time coming, I jumped ship and applied for and received a job at Venus Bodyarts. After three weeks working there, Gauntlet called again and asked me to return. I did so after explaining my reasoning to the owners of Venus."

"I had been supervised on practically every procedure I had done. I had gone so far as to single-handedly paint all three Piercing rooms. I would come in early and clean all the piercing rooms. Any time a request to do a piercing clinic (Piercing at another location) came in, I volunteered. No matter how far away or sparsely attended, I was there. It wasn't long till I began handling most of the Media that requested our time. I loved it then and I love it now. It is of vital importance to correct the general public's misconceptions. I put in my time and then some. Above and beyond the call of duty as they say. I avoided all the political bullshit inherent in those types of situations. My teachers were wonderful, if a little different in styles. Compensating for their differing requirements was the most difficult part."

"Each piercing session was an exercise in patience. Here's how it worked: There are at least thirty different safe places to pierce the body. Aside from some basic procedures, each piercing has its own tricks and techniques. You qualify on a per piercing basis. When the senior piercer feels you can perform that particular piercing from start to finish. Prep, pierce and insert, then you are permitted to perform that particular piercing unsupervised."

"After fully understanding sterile techniques, proper placement and appropriate jewelry types and sizes, you proceed to actually piercing people. The client is given a choice between a fully qualified piercer or a supervised apprentice at a substantial discount. Apprentice piercings differ only in the amount of discussion between Senior Piercer and apprentice. This can be a learning experience for the piercee as well. Subtle differences that would not be explained to a piercee are fully explained to the apprentice."

"When someone walks into my shop, I already feel a great affinity with them. It means they are interested in adorning their bodies. A good sign. A pursuit close to my heart."

"95% of my clients ask about the (supposed) pain factor. No matter how much reassuring I or their friends give them, they usually remain unconvinced, at least for the moment."

When I asked Keith what differentiates a great piercer from a good piercer, he replied, "Experience with all possible problems. Smoothness. A caring heart. Foresight. Discretion. Love of Life. Training. Education. Passion. Confidence. An inquisitive mind. LOVE AND LIGHT."

"My shop is designed to induce a deep state of relaxation. Enchanting music, soft colors, candles and well placed lighting help. A small altar beckons the spiritually aware. Already half the battle is won. In almost all instances, the actual piercing takes one quarter of a second. That is no exaggeration."

"When a client looks up and laughs, that is the greatest reward a piercer can ask for. You have helped a person cross a threshold. They will never be the same. One hopes the piercing experience will teach them a lesson about confronting fears and unknown situations with courage and confidence."

I spoke briefly with Keith about some of the new, more extreme, and in the eyes of some, even experimental piercings which have attracted recent media attention. While he feels that in general those piercings are not worth the risk, he does concede that "If you only do these piercings on clients who understand what to look for in healing it, that of course helps. I'll tell you though, Jon Cobb is a dear friend of mine and having seen the video of how he does the Uvula piercing, it's pretty flawless. I'm all for extreme mods, but I look forward to the day when surgeons are cool enough to provide us with what we want. I just don't want to see Piercers experimenting on anybody but themselves."

"We are limited by the anatomy of the human body. I prefer to work out multiple piercings. I think genital piercing is really where my heart lies. They really do add an incredible amount of new sensation to sex. I think a row of 5 to 10 8gauge frenum piercings, topped off by an ampallang, apadravya or PA is as good as it gets. Throw a guiche in for good measure! The same rationale applies to female piercings. Nipples without rings look naked!"

As well as being a piercer, Keith Alexander is also an accomplished branding and scarification artist. When he started, he was getting so many requests to work on people that he was honored, so he read and practiced, and practiced and now he has a good body of work behind him, and a lot to look forward to.

"I don't really charge any money for those services. I only work on people I feel can share their soul with me. It gets pretty intense. Alex Binnie said "when you open the flesh you let something in." I try to let in my good wishes for that person - for them to get from life what they seek. I try to associate with people who can help me with my Journey.

A great example is the man whose spiral cutting we are working on. I didn't know him one month ago, but now he is one of dearest friends. He comes from an authentic Warrior Tradition, and it is a true honor to work with him. I learn so much about life every time we meet, which isn't often enough. He travels to a very special place when we work together. He tells me he projects to a clearing in a village in the bush, and watches me teach young children languages and religion as he sits on a rock. I become the blade. Sometimes when every thing is right, the mood, lighting, scents and music I feel like I am painting him with Red Ochre. Deep Black skin with swirls and swirls of Red."

Being a proud APP member (whose role in piercing he says is to raise awareness and set minimum standards), I asked him what role he saw them (or another organization) playing in the scarification industry.

"We all have businesses to protect so anything that might cause undue scrutiny is shunned. There are definitely issues to address if you pierce and brand in the same space. Air-borne pathogens are released with a brand. Proper ventilation, HEPA filters, covering your work station, and wearing masks all help. I wouldn't want this to happen, but if we decided not to allow branding on the premises of APP shops, I would comply fully. Cutting is not an issue. If you use universal precautions and proper disposal of biohazardous waste, there is very little risk. But I emphasize, you must understand cross contamination prevention and blood-borne pathogens."

What were the most common misconceptions you found yourself correcting (while you were at Gauntlet)?
That anybody who is "into" this is dirty. Amoral and unintelligent.

How have the public's conceptions and misconceptions changed over the time you have been involved?
The people who didn't get it then, don't get it now. It does seem however, that everybody knows someone who has recently been pierced. Usually they have horror stories. I have a list of clients who allow me to give out their phone number to any body that wants to ask about my skills.

Where do you see the piercing industry going over the next, say, twenty years?
It will be as accepted as ear piercing is now. I'd like peaple to realize this whole phenomenon is basically due to a small, small group of people. Jim Ward being the most visible. Sometimes after piercing a navel I say to myself "If they only knew".