ION INDIE MAGAZINE June 2015, Volume 13 | Page 130

Music by SILVERSEL “Icarus”

Story and Interview by The Fairy Rock Mother Kiki Plesha
If you were to close your eyes and try to conjure up an image of what today’s Rock/Metal/Rap/Alternative musician generally
looks like, the likelihood is, he (or she) will have at least one tattoo. For musicians, the ink they display can have as many
meanings as there are genres—and sub genres—of music itself.
The reasons WHY tattoos and music go hand-in-hand can also be varied. One might say that both music and ink represent
artistic expression. But as tats are forever, the significance may be more a case of wanting to memorialize a person or a
specific time in the “canvas’s” life. There is also the opportunity to make a statement by bestowing the body with something
that shouts to the world that the bearer is taking a stand for a cause. Or, a tattoo can just be a form of decoration or adornment.
Whatever the case, one could not argue that attitudes toward tattoos are changing and are not just acquired by members of
the armed forces on a drunken “leave” in a foreign land. The choice to ink one’s body is considered much more acceptable
today than it was, say, even 20 years ago. And with this new acceptance, comes a surge in those that seek to be inked.
The music industry and the rise in popular performers being covered with ink has given way to their fans adapting this practice.
Fans are having their favorite band’s logo or lyrics tattooed in a show of solidarity with their idols. Even the fashion industry is
becoming “ink friendly”, and network television is now producing programs engaging artists in “battles of the ink”.
In order to get their point of view on the art of the tat, current trends and the significance of the tattoo in the music industry, I
sat down with artists DJ SALDANO (aka LOCO) and SKETCH, who practice their art at a busy tattoo shop located in Statesboro,
Georgia, by the name of “GOT INK?”.
KIKI: Tell me a bit about how “Got Ink?” came to be. Also, share a bit about the artists and their specialties or styles.
GOT INK: GOT INK was opened in February 2014 by two artists, Loco and Sketch, who had formally worked together in two different tattoo
shops. Both tattoo shops failed due to poor management. We got together, put everything on the line and took a shot at opening up our
own shop.