Meet Jymi Zez Shores

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jymi Zez Shores a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jymi Zez , we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?

My grandmother midge always taught me to be the best I can be and to be kind to others. She was the most generous with her time and her wisdom. Most everything good I have in my soul I have gotten from her. I took that wisdom and raised two amazing kids and the taught me how to use the wisdom my grandmother shared. If it wasn’t for her I would have not been the parent I am. My kids rule and I wish they could have met her.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I make tattoos at my shop Sincerley tattoo on East Colfax avenue. I paint traditional tattoo flash and folk art imagery. I’m also a musician and I play folk music on the standup bass and the banjo. I really love and respect the history of American folk music and telling those old stories with art and music. I grew up riding skateboards and bmx bikes and art from these two subcultures have been a huge part of my story in this journey. You’ll see a lot of that influence in everything I do. Im currently working on my 3rd folk album with my friend Charles Jones and our band The Rye Pushers. We’ve been playing together over 10 years and we still have a lot of fun making string music. I’m always working on something either in my shop, my studio, or my garage. My current art project is recreating some folk art images that were featured on Mastro and Carnival toys first plastic ukulele’s, guitars, and banjos in the early 60’s. These images could be lost forever if I didn’t represent them in a new way. Putting them on paper and getting them in front of people again brings me great joy. The same with these old folk songs we sing that are sometimes overlooked to make way for more modern sounds. Taking new songs and making them sound old is super fun too! Being a father and a husband take up any time I have between my projects and my family shares in all of my endeavors. I’m grateful to show my kids what it’s like to live your dreams and be happy.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

My interests in skateboarding and bmx led me to find the artists who made the graphics on skateboards and bicycles in the late 80’s and early 90’s that lead me to anime and then graffiti and hip-hop those pop arts captivated me and since then music, art and skateboarding have encompassed everything I did. I pursued art through classes and City College of San Francisco. The amount of art and artists I was exposed to in San Francisco was amazing. The rawness of the street art combined with some of the same artists skateboard graphics just blew my mind. Skateboarding is constantly putting new art out there every day that has been one of my longest standing inspirations. I am horrible at advice but I’d say just follow your hearts and have fun. Art and music have made my life fun. I believe the secret to being good at anything is finding joy in the task.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

My mentors in art and tattoong tattooing have helped me turn ideas and the art skill I have into something that can support my family. People like Fred Kling, Carl Barkley, Sugar bear, and Buzzz all gave me the basic knowledge of the art and tattoo trade. My favorite skateboard artists that do the graphics like Jim Phillips, Craig Stecyk, Mike Giant, Marc Mkee and Jermey Fish. That art has always just inspired me so much. I don’t really work in any of those styles myself but they are a huge part of how I approach my own style.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: SincerleyZez@instagram
• Facebook: Jymi Zez Shores
• Youtube: Jymi Zez Shores
• Yelp: Sincerely Tattoo
• Soundcloud: Jymi Zez Shores
• Other: Theryepushers@bandcamp

Image Credits

The photos were taken by me except the coffin photo was taken by Charles Jones by band mate and good friend.