ISSUE 26. ARCHIVE. MYSPACE. CONTACT. LINKS

From West Auckland to LA
Dan Smith’s Hollywood Babylon
By Sofia Mella

Sydney, 2002.  Amber haze from the now infamous bushfires of that year eclipsed the sun, and our home in Glebe resembled a safe bunker in the event of the seemingly imminent apocalypse.  Curtains remained closed and even the heat from the television seemed to emanate a smog.  It was in this house, in this epoch that I first met Dan Smith.  

Dan walked into our home that year and added to the unreal ness of the ashy sidewalks and red tinged horizon by laying on our dining room table and getting his back piece outlined and half coloured in in two days by Adam Craft.   An affable fellow, my first impressions of Dan were that he was sweet, polite and quite a character.  He had not yet begun tattooing in earnest, as his band took up most of his energies (the now defunct Day of Contempt) but he had some big plans for the future, one of which involved moving out of West Auckland.

Fast-forward six years.  Dan lives in LA now.  His band, The Dear & Departed have performed alongside AFI, Avenged Sevenfold, Sick Of It All and Tiger Army.  I have to agree with their Wikipedia page – the band has achieved an astonishing amount in a short time.  I have taken a well-deserved break from life as a counter bitch at the tatty shop and am holed up in Hollywood.  Chateau Marmont no less.  Dan works down the road at the newly famous High Voltage Tattoo, of LA Ink.  That’s Kat Von D’s shop btw.  Kat Von D of Miami Ink.  Who has her own make up line at Sephora.  Who has been on David bloody Letterman.   

The opportunity to check out Dan’s new American accent and severe side parted hair do is strong.  And I mean that in the nicest possible way, kiwi to kiwi, keeping it real.  And I’m quite excited in spite of myself to go and visit my friend at High Voltage Tattoo, a shop that will go down in tattoo lore for better or worse as part of the huge commercial machine that has, along with Ed Hardy clothing, brought tattooing into the homes of folks from Te Atatu to Reseda.  From Wollongong to Joshua Tree.  From Congo to Colombo.  Maybe not that far out.  But still, far out!

I spy Dan as soon as I enter the vaginal pink studio.  The shop itself is LA as it oughtta be, brimming with rock n roll ‘tude, black velvet portraits, neon signs and gold chandeliers.  Jesus sits alongside Iron Maiden and there are a lot of rock star’s photos tarting up the place.  I do believe Dan Smith of West Auckland, New Zil, has arrived.

“I used to work with Kat a few years ago when I first moved over here at a place called Inflictions.  Pre Miami Ink.  Inflictions was in Arcadia, 45 mins from LA.  Danielle Abrigo, Jim Miner, Colin Dowling, they all went on to open Gold Rush Tattoo in Costa Mesa which is a place I can hang out at all the time, they’re my “tattoo guys” over here.  

I kept in touch with Kat.   My band was touring and we’d run into each other at shows and tattooed the same people, guys in bands.  She did the Miami Ink thing and once this place started she asked me to come on the show.

Kat’s been super cool to me.  She’s one of the most hardworking people I’ve ever met, (which is saying something) because I met some really hard working people in NZ when I was starting and observing.  When it was just a dream.  Everybody in NZ had insane work ethics.

We finished filming LA Ink 5-6 weeks ago.   There will be more seasons – they’re just trying to figure out when the next season will start filming. Filming is 3 months, with breaks in between during which time the shop functions as a regular tattoo shop.



Compared to how I used to work, which was in a private studio where it was just my music and I and someone else this took some getting used to.  Here there are huge camera crews, a lot of people work in the shop everyday anyway and then when the show is on there are even more people.  So yeah, it was a lot to get used to.  I’m stoked that I’ve done it.  I don’t see anything about the show or shop being negative or something to look down on.”

I ask Dan if he could ever imagined this turn of events as a kid in west Auckland

“I didn’t even think I’d ever be good enough to tattoo!  Until I totally jumped in the deep end and bought a machine from Adam Craft (Illicit Tattoo adamcraft.com).   I never thought I’d make it here!  I’m really stoked.  I’ve got no shame in saying I’ve worked really hard for it and I believe good things come to those who work hard.  Especially with art, it’s a long road, you’ll never know everything, you’re always learning and absorbing stuff.

I’ve been in America 5 years.  It was easily one of the hardest things I’ve done in my whole life.  Despite the personal stuff (it’s the things like) coming from a place where you probably never have to wait in line at the post office or the bank to being on the freeway for three hours before you get anywhere.  It’s definitely not an easy move.  A lot of sacrifices.  A lot of growing.  I’m sure a lot of people are fine with staying in one place their whole life; they don’t really have the hunger to push themselves or look further for anything.  It’s a big world and if you’re from a small place you’re isolated.  Life’s about education, having fun, the journey. I knew from a young age that I wanted more.

I’ve had some really good times here.  And some of the people I’ve looked up to so much are good friends now.  I think it goes to show that goes to show that anything’s possible.”

Dan Smith has a sunny disposition and positive mental attitude.  I bid him farewell with a hug and drive back up the hill to the hotel.  In the back of my mind I know that soon I will be back in a big long queue at the bank in Auckland.  They do exist indeed.