Show us your ink! MARKED is our new series where we ask locals of all ages, professions and backgrounds to roll up their sleeves, pant legs, and so much more to reveal their marks. Here are their stories:
Name: Jason Garcia
Age: Currently 39, and I was 23 when I got my torch.
My Back Piece: I had a torch and the words "northern soul" tattooed on my back by Tim Lehi. His shop was on Apache in the little strip mall where Pita Jungle is now. I ran into Tim at Java Road while having coffee and we just yapped about ink and that's when he told me to stop by his shop. I booked a day with him and he just went to town.
The piece took about six hours. I always wanted to have some sort of tattoo showing my love of '60s Soul and when I talked to Tim about it, he just said, "Go big or not at all." So, it takes up most of my back. I'll never stop diggin' on this skin art. Love it.
Read more about Garcia's mark after the jump ...
The torch is just a symbol of what '60s Soul means to many people and to the culture that created such wonderful music. It's also synonymous with the Northern Soul scene which started in the early '70s in northern England.
DJs at big dance venues began spinning rare soul and soul with a certain tempo.
As the soul sound started attracting more dancers and scenesters, the press dubbed the rare soul sounds as "Northern Soul". The term has stuck ever since.
I've been really into collecting '60s soul music on vinyl for almost 25 years. My collection spans from 45s that were only issued in very small runs, and I also have some that were semi-chartbusters. When I was younger, it was all about collecting the rare stuff. Now, I just try to buy and find what people want to dance to, whether it's rare or not. I'm gettin' too old to swap stories about "what label" or "what producer" the soul artist used on the 45.
So yeah, when you see "DJ Molotrash" that's me, spinnin' the Northern Soul. Expect to get your groove on.
Next Tattoo? It will be the lyrics in a favorite song ... "While we're living, the dreams we had as children fade away" in some sort of weird distressed typface. Creepy? I think so.
Know of any interesting marks? Send us your photos/submissions.
