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• 12 oz. Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary Imperial IPA - home
  

I've been thinking a lot about tattoos lately. Well really, I've never stopped thinking about tattoos. You'd never know it by looking at me...I only have one and it's on my leg; not the most apparent spot. I got it 15 years ago at Sunset Strip Tattoo in West Hollywood. It seemed like the place to get one. In 1993, tattoo's weren't really common, although people were starting to get them. I was inspired by Anthony Kiedis' many tattoos and that's what prompted me to get one. I wasn't sure what to get - the tribal's were popular, as were the geckos and lizards (never really sure why on that one) - but those weren't my style. I've always liked cats and I was in a cat store one day and their business card had a simple cat design on it. When I went in for my tat, I took the business card and the RHCP CD of Blood Sugar Sex Magic because it showcases a lot of the band's tattoos. My tattoo artist liked the cat and redesigned it to what I have. The reason I got it on the side of my calf is that I wanted it to go in a place that would always have toned muscle and I figured that was a pretty good place. I also wanted it just lower than a length of shorts, but higher than where my rollerblades (I used to rollerblade constantly) fit.

It did hurt, but not writhingly painfully so. It took just over an hour. It cost $125 and a scan of the receipt is below - I've kept it. My artist had done one of Lenny Kravitz's tattoos and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm not sure which one, but I've always thought it was the cross on his upper right arm. Afterwards I went to Church's Fried Chicken with my girlfriend at the time. Some people mistake the design for "coathangers" and others call them "panthers". I just call them cats and I still love the simplicity of the design.

Once you get one tattoo, you invariably want more. I've wanted another one for a long time now. Before I left LA, I wanted a Japanese woodblock style tattoo because the woodblock style is a beautiful form of art. Lately I've seen an almost watercolory look to tattoos which I love. One thing has kept me from getting more however and that's what I want. I've been wanting my mom's name tattooed somewhere on my arm with a flowery design; maybe spelling in Hawaiian, which would be Iwone. Now that London is born, I think a large LONDON inked in Old English font would be cool, but maybe it's too gangster. I've played with the idea of having a picture of Susan done in the Varga's style on my shoulder. I even thought it would be cool if she designed a tattoo for me. I've come up with another idea that I'm going to think about for awhile as well. I like Johnny Depp's tattoos. They're not flashy, but each one has meaning. I think I'm more that kind of person.

What I've noticed in the past 15 years is that tattoos have become more common and aren't as "alternative" as they used to be. Practically everyone has a tattoo now, whether it be a tiny flower by an ankle, a sleeve-type tattoo that runs up and down the arm, or elaborate designs inked on the small of a woman's back. I definitely think Seattle has the largest per capita tattoo-wearing population out of anywhere in the United States. Even going back to LA and the OC this past spring, where many people did have them 15 years ago, not as many people seem to have them. Maybe because it's summer and more skin is being exposed, but go to any public event, or outside restaurant, or club, or beach, or sidewalky neighborhood, or coffee shop, or park, or bar, and you will be surrounded by tatted-up Seattleites. It's really hard not to be.