Tattoos are cool I guess
- Thread starter bobafettdrumcorp
- Start date
There is a huge difference. As I mentioned before, tattoos are permanent. Wearing all black clothes and big boots, or even going the Kiss route are all temporary costume changes. Shaved head, your hair grows back. Long hair, you can cut it. Tattoo, you are stuck. Big difference to me. If I wear long sleeves to every gig, who will know if I have tattoos or not. Pretty juvenile.
WhoIsTony?
Member
to be honest ... everything that claims to be punk rock today is the antithesis of punk rock
what they are actually doing is trying to conform to a popular look in this contemporary form of corporate "punk" .... which is not uncommon at all
I remember looking for bands in ads in the late 80s and they all said ... must have long hair ... must have X wardrobe and be willing to Y .... no fat people..... bla bla bla
when living in LA in the 90s I saw that most ads would say .... must be willing to wear eye liner and nail polish .....
so these guys are looking for someone with tats.... so what
they are not asking someone to get inked.... they want someone who looks the part of whatever they are looking for .... this is all as common as being expected to wear a suit to a corporate job interview ... or slacks and a button down to a jazz gig.... or cowboy boots and a flannel to a country gig....
as for this whole.... "looking punk" thing.... I guess most think of Sex Pistols and Exploited and such when they think of punk.... with that look....
I may be old.... but to me punk rock looks like this
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So, Tony, you are saying that it makes sense to you to reject what may be the best drummer the band has ever heard in audition, because he has no tattoos. I'm not saying right or wrong, but makes sense. Not to me, sorry. Put on long sleeves and go play music. And it is really ironic that every one in the photos you posted above is wearing long sleeves but three, and one of them actualkl has the General Mills G on his right arm.
SquadLeader
Gold Member
Punk rock's entire existence has always been based on the fact that it's about the music and NOT....NOT.......NOT....about conforming to a look, or an image, or doing what people want you to do, wearing a uniform, etc.
The photos shown are testament....they all look different. All look individual.
ANYONE can play punk rock. It's the whole point. Grab an instrument. Learn it to a reasonable standard, and PLAY. Doesn't matter what you look like. Fat, thin, ugly, scruffy. No-one will judge you. Just play.
I still believe in the spirit of punk rock....any band who says "you gotta have tattoos to be in the band" is completely and irreversibly missing the entire point.
The photos shown are testament....they all look different. All look individual.
ANYONE can play punk rock. It's the whole point. Grab an instrument. Learn it to a reasonable standard, and PLAY. Doesn't matter what you look like. Fat, thin, ugly, scruffy. No-one will judge you. Just play.
I still believe in the spirit of punk rock....any band who says "you gotta have tattoos to be in the band" is completely and irreversibly missing the entire point.
SquadLeader
Gold Member
It's a good medium for arranging gigs, promoting your own music, seeing what the UK Subs are up to, etc.
WhoIsTony?
Member
you and I both my friend .... 100%
and believe it or not ...as oxymoron as it sounds.... that spirit of punk rock is alive and well in the jazz scene of NYC
there is very much a .. F you ... we don't care what you think ... we do this for the love.... in your face .... aggressive collaboration ... kind of spirit to a lot of the undercurrent late night jazz in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Jersey City happening right now....
it's beautiful ..... it feels a lot like the actual punk rock I was involved with as a kid
WhoIsTony?
Member
not what I am saying at all G
I am saying they are looking for someone who fits the bill ..... they want a certain look..... totally common ... .. someone who can play who fits the bill.. and if they are a decent band they will have no problem finding that guy
if I read correctly the OP left the band on his own
not saying I agree with it .... but it happens more than it doesn't within the music industry
I myself have sat at dinners with record executives who said things like ....
it's great that none of you are over weight
..and... none of you are over 30 right?
and ... are you willing to shave ?
it's a business full of bullshit if you are at the mercy of the business itself
bands who form a movement themselves and have an established fanbase before they need the assistance of a "label" have less need to conform ... and quite frankly those are usually the bands who set the standard and have the copycats conforming to them .... then all the companies go looking for clones who look and sound like them .
that is what is happening now... and the look now happens to be sleeve tats and whatever..... has been for a long time in certain genres
people sell their souls everyday to become recognized in the music industry .... it has happened since the beginning of time .
it's a copycat league ... and until someone breaks the mold everyone will be chasing whats currently "hot"
everyone was wearing eye makeup and spandex until Nirvana blew up wearing ripped jeans and cardigans ......
then those same guys who were wearing spandex all of the sudden were wearing ripped jeans and cardigans
it's a vicious cycle
Dr_Watso
Platinum Member
It's not really any different than store managers not hiring because there's too many tats, or piercings, or long hair... It's just in the opposite direction. People needing a certain image to sell something is nothing new at all.
SquadLeader
Gold Member
I can absolutely subscribe to that...
GeoB
Gold Member
Fashions are mere costumes...
Good on ya' - tats will be out of style and as all fashion inevitably becomes cyclic...
M
Mike_In_KC
Guest
YES! I used to think about how silly they will look in 40 years with wrinkles and tattoos but since all of their friends have tats as well I suppose they will fit right in...
When I was a kid and used to walk 10 miles to school each way in the snow the only people who got tattoos were men in the military and/or in prison. Now soccer moms are getting tats.
Just get off my lawn!
MM
SquadLeader
Gold Member
I've a few friends, of both sexes, who are really vibed about ink.
The most hilarious thing is listening to them blather on about how 'individual' they are (which may have been true 10 years ago, but given how many people there are now with ink is hardly true anymore).
Alongside posting, on Facebook, the 946,000th rendition of "if you don't like my tats it's YOUR problem not mine".....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
They used to be a real sign of freedom, and individuality...until inked people got so up their own arses about the whole thing.
Also...something I always smile at....is how many tattoo parlours there are, and how every single one of them is "award winning". I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some seriously talented artists out there....but some of the tats I've seen look like they've been scrawled on by someone suffering from HAVS
The most hilarious thing is listening to them blather on about how 'individual' they are (which may have been true 10 years ago, but given how many people there are now with ink is hardly true anymore).
Alongside posting, on Facebook, the 946,000th rendition of "if you don't like my tats it's YOUR problem not mine".....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
They used to be a real sign of freedom, and individuality...until inked people got so up their own arses about the whole thing.
Also...something I always smile at....is how many tattoo parlours there are, and how every single one of them is "award winning". I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some seriously talented artists out there....but some of the tats I've seen look like they've been scrawled on by someone suffering from HAVS
bobafettdrumcorp
Member
As the OP I should state that yeah, it is a "Punk" band that I came from but totally agree that
PUNK is a way of thinking and not really a specific Genre of Music anymore like it was in the old days. So this band I left plays that old style but has the current look of today's "Punk".
Nowadays, "Punk" is looking like you could play in Green Day, so you need some black tight clothes and tattoos and beat up converse. That's just the norm. It's "Badass" to have Tattoos.
I don't knock anyone who has tattoos at all, let that be clear. Me, I've just never felt like I just HAD to get to the parlour to get just anything inked on myself to look the part. I've tossed some designs around in my head over the last 15 years but at the end of the day never felt like I must get them done to fit in. I was never ready and probably never will be. And now that i'm older, I'm just feeling like not bothering at all.
Reminds me of the 80's when only dudes in Motley Crue or Poison or Guns N Roses had tattoos all over themselves and cool bands (cool to me anyway) like Circle Jerks or Nine Inch Nails or even Van Halen didn't have that look. I feel like that's the same thing that's going on NOW. lol -- they were eskewing the 'Badass Look' of the day but were still awesome in their own right.
Same thing now
PUNK is a way of thinking and not really a specific Genre of Music anymore like it was in the old days. So this band I left plays that old style but has the current look of today's "Punk".
Nowadays, "Punk" is looking like you could play in Green Day, so you need some black tight clothes and tattoos and beat up converse. That's just the norm. It's "Badass" to have Tattoos.
I don't knock anyone who has tattoos at all, let that be clear. Me, I've just never felt like I just HAD to get to the parlour to get just anything inked on myself to look the part. I've tossed some designs around in my head over the last 15 years but at the end of the day never felt like I must get them done to fit in. I was never ready and probably never will be. And now that i'm older, I'm just feeling like not bothering at all.
Reminds me of the 80's when only dudes in Motley Crue or Poison or Guns N Roses had tattoos all over themselves and cool bands (cool to me anyway) like Circle Jerks or Nine Inch Nails or even Van Halen didn't have that look. I feel like that's the same thing that's going on NOW. lol -- they were eskewing the 'Badass Look' of the day but were still awesome in their own right.
Same thing now
WhoIsTony?
Member
thats all its ever been .... an attitude .... an attitude expressed through music
very few of the old school punk bands sounded the same
take the Minute Men , Television, and Stiff Little Fingers .... none of them sound similar ... it is the attitude they share
it was simply youth angst ... often out of poverty ... expressed simply through cheap instruments
punk has always been more a state of mind than a music genre
Muckster
Platinum Member
Exactly. It's not only about the music, it's about the image and the "hang."
I've been subjected through some funny, disappointing and just plain head scratching questions and comments (as we all have) where the music never seemed to be the priority:
Blues Band: "Can you twirl sticks."
Southern Rock: "You're great man but you don't look like a biker."
Classic Rock: "you're just too young to play with us." (i was 46 at the time).
Jazz: "What church do you go to?"
LOL!
Larry
"Uncle Larry"
These are the kind of insights into what's happening right now in music that makes me appreciate, both DW and you Tony. Like observations from the trenches. Great great stuff, thanks.
If someone was putting together a country band for instance....would they really even consider someone who plays well but who dresses for country gigs in say shredded leather clothing and spikes? Same principle, except like GD said, tats are permanent. It reflects the harder world we live in today. It also is a commentary on how image is seemingly more important than musical expression. Current "popular" music.... it's merely a vehicle for image and personality and entertainment, and your occasional spectacle.
Back on point, I wonder if this band would consider someone with no tatoos but pledged to wear the fake tat sleeves at any band event? Or temporary tatoos. I mean it's all image right? Who cares if the tats are not real or permanent? As long as the artwork is badass and looks cool, I would hope that would be good enough for these guys.
I think I will put together a band with guys who will all cut their noses off. It doesn't matter if we can play, we will make a killing on image alone. Anything we play will become revered because we cut our noses off. The name of the band will be Spite the Face.
bobafettdrumcorp
Member
EXACTLY.
It's kind of like I said earlier, It's almost more "Punk" and "Different" to NOT have tattoos than it is to have Tattoos.
They're kind of an overdone fad at this point.
*I have to say as well, It sure is refreshing when I see a well dressed pretty gal walking down the street with no tattoos.
It's kind of like I said earlier, It's almost more "Punk" and "Different" to NOT have tattoos than it is to have Tattoos.
They're kind of an overdone fad at this point.
*I have to say as well, It sure is refreshing when I see a well dressed pretty gal walking down the street with no tattoos.