tattoos

Dave's body reads like a CV and personal history. If you're wondering about his body modifications, I have tried to list the who/what/where on them. The list is arranged by body parts, head to toe. Sometimes, (as in the case of the Klimt tattoos), Dave has a specific design in mind, other times he simply gets a design he likes at the tattoo studio or lets the artist draw freehand (as in the case of his cross tattoo).

Head

• back of neck = "Los Angeles" (the city where Dave was born and has always lived)
• below that - "Core" by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles (Dave is a core member of Camp Freddy; another core member, Billy Morrison, has the "Core" tattoo on his stomach and Dave helped tattoo it)
• ears = piercings of each side having one hole of body piercing gauge and one of standard size (diamond earrings)

Shoulders

• shoulders = bats [both shoulders are the same] done at the Hart and Hunington Tattoo Company at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas

Chest

• collarbone = "Eleven Twenty-Two" (November 22, his wedding date)
• middle = "CE" (his wife's initials)
• left breast = scar left by an ex-wife who carved her first name into his chest [Dave in turn carved his full name onto her]
• nipples = pierced 1994-1999; 2000-current
  (Dave had the piercings removed in 1999 then put them back in)

Back

• above the waistline = "Constance" (his mother's name) by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles

Left Arm

Upper arm

• a pig surrounded by a snake
  (the pig represents how Dave characterizes himself: "When pigs are young they're perceived as cute, and when they're older they appear vicious and intimidating.")
  (the snake is how he views the world: "I've since matured, so I view it as a continual reminder to evolve as a human.")
• tribal design around the snake's tail
  (sybmolizes that incredible month in 1994 that the Red Hot Chili Peppers spent in Hawaii)
• a ring of dolphins
  ("One of the most spiritual, beautiful and enlightening experiences of my life was when I got a chance to swim naked in Hawaii among 100-150 bottle-nosed dolphins.")

Lower arm

• inner arm = Gustav Klimt painting entitled Death and Life by Henk Schiffmacher of Hanky Panky in Amsterdam
• outer arm = "Luca" (for Spread Entertainment's co-host Todd Newman's son)
• the Virgin of Guadalupe by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles (photo of the original apparition of the Virgin)
• side of arm = the 4 suits of cards (heart, club, diamond, spade) [next to the Virgin]; "addict" [next to the 4 suits]

Right Arm

Upper arm, outer

• rose with "I have one but not by choice" (tribute to Auschwitz survivor Rose)
• Red Hot Chili Peppers One Hot Minute fairy logo
• armband design that resembles Arabic or Sanskrit from afar
• "Love Fades" by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles
  (Listen to a clip from Annie Hall by Woody Allen)
  [Alvy: Is it something I did?
  Woman: It's never something you do. That's how people are--love fades.
  Alvy: Love fades? God, that's a depressing thought.]
• below is a skull and cross-utensils (this image was once on Dave's web page with "SSRI" below---Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, anti-depressants such as Prozac and Paxil)

Upper arm, inner

• "Der Zeit Ihre Kunst, Der Kunst Ihre Freiheit"
  ("To every age its art, to art its freedom"--text taken from above the entrance to the building designed by Joseph-Maria Olbirch of the Secession of the Association of Viennese Artists, which was created by Gustav Klimt and other artists in the late 1890s)
• "Jane's" by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles (for Jane's Addiction of course)
• elaborate "V" (for an ex-girlfriend) [she tattooed a "D" on her behind]
• Japanese kanji fuku (it means fortune, luck, wealth) [it's a bit on the side and wraps around to the outer arm, next to the skull]

Lower arm, outer

• "Don't Try This At Home" by Thomas at the Hart and Hunington Tattoo Company at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas (the title of his photo booth book)
• Spread logo (unicorn with S) by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles
• cross (done freehand in about an hour by Bob Vessels of Funny Farm in Silverlake)
• Theban script reading "angel" (for an ex-girlfriend) [she tattooed the same on the inside of her wrist]

Lower arm, inner

• Gustav Klimt painting entitled Hope I by Henk Schiffmacher of Hanky Panky in Amsterdam
  (it depicts a pregnant woman which symbolic of his mother's gift of life to him)

Elbows

• elbows = symbol (used by Psi Com and Jane's Relapse, of Aleister Crowley origin from his Thoth Tarot Card Deck) [both elbows are the same]

Hands

• back of hands = spider with web by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles [both hands have the same design]
• left hand knuckles = roman numerals X III X III
  (10-3-10-3 which stands for 13, which 6 + 7 equals; also the date on which his father and grandfather were both born)
• right hand knuckles = roman numerals VI VII VI VII
  (6-7-6-7 which stands for his birthday, June 7, 1967)
• right hand palm = marriage symbol tattooed over a pagan hand-fasting wedding scar

Hips

• right hip = "Trust No One" (personal philosphy)
  [also the title of his solo album, however he had the tattoo done years before his album came out]

Legs

• lower left leg, left side = sexy nun by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles
  [I think the nun may have been taken from a Justice Howard photo though I have not been able to find a copy of that photo to verify this.]
• lower right leg, right side = female dominatrix by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles