Meet Dani. Narcissist. Musician. Tatoo Artist.
How long have you been tattooing ?
I have been tattooing professionally for 5 years- however, I started off as a body piercer, so I suppose I’ve been in the body modification industry for about 7 years total now. I still do both, and love both.
What made you start ?
There was nothing else that I could do as a job that would’ve made me want to wake up and go to work in the morning. I have a million hobbies (from flying Cessnas to writing short stories to gardening and caring for carnivorous plants) yet I realized by my 18th birthday that none of my interests could provide much, at least financially speaking.
If you had not become a tattoo artist what might you be doing ?
Oh. I guess I answered that in the last question. Rock star would’ve been nice.
Who or what inspires you ?
My mother. And a ton of different musicians.
How many tattoos do you have ?
I’m not quite sure how to count- for example, my right arm used to be 16 individual tattoos. In one sitting, we added a cohesive background connecting it all, so now it’s technically one big tattoo. I have three on my left arm, two on my neck, the right side of my head is covered, one on my ear, one in my mouth, a full chest piece (in progress), a stomach piece, a little one on my ribs, about ten little ones on my hands, that full sleeve on my right arm I had mentioned, both feet are covered, and my legs are heavily, HEAVILY tattooed. And my best friends lips on my butt.
What kind of music do you listen to ?
Everything. I was a classically trained piano player as a kid, so I’m fairly open to all types, provided there’s interesting structure involved. I generally listen to heavy rock or metal, but I’m also super into everything from classical, to 20’s swamp bayou music, to 40’s Hawaiian, to clever gangster rap. My itunes is fairly comprehensive. I can even appreciate a well written basic pop song.
In school I was…
Loud, and friends with everybody. I had a bunch of nerdy bookworm metalhead friends. A lot of queer friends. But I was even tight with some of the cheerleaders. I was quietly on the cheer team- that’s my biggest secret... I was the mascot (a bull) … I even went to cheer camp to compete. It was quite the experience. I loved those girls. And, yes, the costume got really hot.
I’m told I look like…
Whatever lesbian is most in vogue in pop culture at any given moment…in high school, it was Gia. Then for years I heard “Has anyone ever told you that you look just like..” I would nod in anticipation before the sentence was invariably followed by “Shane from The L Word?” When the movie “The Runaways” debuted I heard that I looked “just like Kristen Stewart!!” This one was specifically ridiculous, because, quite simply, I look structurally nothing like her. And then, of course, it was “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo…” Let’s hope they don’t make a KD Lang movie any time soon.
I’m really bad at…
Dancing. Its unforgivable, actually.
I’m really good at…
Things I like. Painting, playing music, writing, snowboarding, making balloon animals, shooting guns. I’m quite comfortable on stage, as well. I’m in a band, and while I’m not the greatest singer in the world, I’m really comfortable leading an audience towards a good time. I guess I’m also good at being full of myself.
I’d love to be able to…
I really wish I was fluent in more languages. I’ll work on that this year. I speak Spanish well, but I’d love to have perfect German. Whenever I realize I don’t know how to do something, I make it a point to learn how. That’s how I landed myself in a welding and furniture construction class this year. I welded together a table! It was so much fun!
One thing people would be surprised to know about me...
I was raised Jewish, haha, and my first tattoo machines were the least kosher Hanukkah gifts ever.
Famous last words…
One of my favorite singers gave this bit of advice in an interview, and I’ve always found it to be pertinent: “Support local music. Tip your bartenders. Punch people that deserve it. Fall in love and fuck hard.”
To see more images from this shoot, please visit the website.
To learn more about Dani, her band and her tattoo work, look her up on Facebook or Instagram. She loves to network !