Hang the DJ

I met Rohan on a Brooklyn-bound A train.

He has "thirteen or fourteen" tattoos, and he offered up this one from his right arm:


The phrase "Hang the DJ" refers to lyrics sung by Morrissey when he was with The Smiths.

I was only on the train with him for two stops, so I didn't get a full explanation of the tattoo until later, when Rohan e-mailed me:

I got this tattoo for several reasons - first and foremost I love The Smiths and their music changed the way I viewed myself against the social and cultural backdrop that we're all in. I thought a jukebox with the lyrics "Hang the DJ", the refrain from the song "Panic", was ironic.


The jukebox is what allows all of us to be the DJ and in "Panic", Morrissey is singing about how the music the DJ is playing means nothing to him and his life, and I share that sentiment with most of what I hear. The tattoo is sort of an encapsulation of how I feel about rock and roll and how certain bands and certain songs can, when they're really good and really honest, mean a lot more than just entertainment value.

The tattoo was inked by Dusty Neal in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently working at Donny Manco's New Republic Tattoo.

UPDATE: I exchange a few e-mails with the artist Dusty Neal after this posted and he remembered doing this tattoo very early on in his career as an artist. He wanted me to clarify this point, and to communicate that he feels that his art has developed to the point that this piece does not best represent his work as a tattooer. A look at photos of his work on MySpace here certainly showcases some amazing tattoos. Dusty encourages people to check out his current endeavors and, with all due respect to Rohan and the tattoo in this post, judge his talents based on what he has done more recently, and not early on in his career.

Thanks again to Rohan for sharing this cool tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

As a little bonus, here is the video from "Panic" by the Smiths:

More about → Hang the DJ

With a Cherry on Top and a Side of Morrissey

I met Jasen several weeks back outside of the Whole Foods in Chelsea.

Jasen's left right forearm has a variation of the torn flesh motif in tattooing where the artist creates an illusion that a person's flesh is ripping away under pressure from the matter below the skin.

I have seen people with biomechanical tattoos, showing steel below the skin. Or patriotic pieces reflecting red, white and blue deep below the surface.

But Jasen is different. He is a Vegan with not one, but many "sweet teeth". So, with the help of the tattoo artist, Nick Baxter, they devised the design that would reflect delicious desserts bursting out of his skin. Jasen agreed that he wanted something "colorful, fun, and kind of ridiculous".


Okay, I know, the quality of these photos is not great. Very sun-washed. So, I was fortunate enough to find the artist's photo on his website:


Nick's site is cool because he even comments on the pieces. For example:

"Why can't every tattoo be a ridiculous skin tear-out? I'm proud to add this to the collection I've done, along with the gay unicorn and the surfer kool-aid man. It's on an awesome vegan dude who wanted to pay homage to the sweeter side of our shared dietary choice. Thanks Jasen for giving me a good excuse to have some friends over for a dessert-making and reference-photographing party...this tattoo was fun before it even started."

Nick tattooed this at a shop in Branford, Connecticut called Transcend Tattoo & Art Gallery, but has relocated to Austin.


Jasen also has the autograph of the singer Morrissey tattooed on his outer right forearm:



He saw him in concert in Philadelphia two or three months back and had the opportunity to meet him.

We talked about people getting musician's autographs tattooed (see all that have appeared on Tattoosday here), and he told me that Morrissey was the only famous person he would do that for. The singer is a vegetarian and is very outspoken about vegetarianism and animal rights.

Thanks to Jasen for sharing his cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

More about → With a Cherry on Top and a Side of Morrissey