I was feeling under the weather yesterday, so I held off on this week’s first entry until today. I wanted to take a moment to talk about my two tattoos, both of which are prog related!
My first one I’ve actually had for just over ten years! The design was taken from the P in Prog Magazine, specifically the design used for the 2015 Progressive Music Awards. I knew that I wanted to get a music tattoo of some kind, but there just isn’t enough space on my body to represent all of the artists that influenced me, so I narrowed it down to one symbol. I had loved the design of the P for that year’s awards ceremony. It was colorful and intricate, words that I think perfectly describe prog as a genre. So I headed to the Tattoo Room in Simi Valley, CA ten Septembers ago and made it a reality.
That photo was taken a few days after the fact, so it was still tender, but he initial redness and swelling had gone away. The color has faded slightly over the last decade, but I think it still holds up well, and is just as meaningful to me now as it was then.
I got my second tattoo on July 16, 2017. Seven months before that afternoon, the world lost Greg Lake, a man who fronted my second favorite band, ELP, and also with whom I shared one of my most cherished concert memories. I’m talking about when my Dad and I saw him at the Los Angeles Orpheum Theatre on May 18, 2012. The concert was followed by a special after-show gathering, where we got to meet Greg and share a brief chat. I was crushed to learn of his passing, and shortly after, I knew that I wanted to memorialize him in some way, so that was when I contemplated another piece of ink. I wanted something simple but memorable. This led me to consider the logo for Greg’s Songs of a Lifetime tour, which featured a figure playing a guitar with a heart-shaped sound hole.
Here’s a photo from when it was a fresh wound filled with ink, and appropriately so, because Greg’s loss was still a fresh wound too. But over time, it healed, and so did I. It was a quick job, but it represents so much. It’s a tribute to Greg, but it’s also a tribute to the music, musicianship, and friends I have made over the years through our mutual love of prog. I’m proud to carry Greg on my arm all day every day because, in a way, it’s like he’s still with me.
Leave a comment