What music do you work to? Also, What is appropriate from a business standpoint?

[Patriot Ink Tattoo]

Squirrel Nut Zippers all day long.

[Gloomy Inks]

I try to make people comfortable, so I'll people if they have something they want to hear, by all means bring it along. As a musician my tastes vary widely. Some days it's Greatful Dead, some days Black Flag, some times I listen to classical. I know quite few people who listen to stuff like Enya (I'm not outing them here, they know who they are) and I can't handle that sort of thing for more then a few seconds before I'm rummaging around for Slayer...

One of the best times I ever had getting a tattoo was when the owner, after a huge BS session while his wife set up work on the middle of my chest, put on Ween for me. I was goofing big time, just making them laugh. She finally looked at me, with near tears in her eyes and begged me to stop so she could work.

I sort of go into myself when I work too, so the music seeps into my brain. But really, and I'm sure it bothers people on occasion, I'm a talker. I'm always asking if they're OK, need a break, need a Jelly Belly, and I try to calm people down. If the music does it, I don't care if it's Gregorian chants, so be it.

[kingofcosta]

Breathing life into old threads here..... Music is a constant source of conflict in our shop. At least, it would be, if boss man was inclined to give a shit what any of us think. He is a great proponent of the old school 'find out what their weaknesses are and keep attacking right where it hurts'. Therefore the music he selects becomes a weapon in his antagonistic war. I especially hate the 'Songs from Disney' days, don't really know how I survive the 'Great musicals of the 50s, 60's and 70's' days, and want to kill myself the next time he puts 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' on repeat. But showing that it is annoying me is to admit to the weakness, so I suck it up and tattoo on. He can often be swayed to put Vietnam-era playlists on spotify and likes a bit of 80s pop, so if I get to the music before he does I put that on, knowing that it will distract him for a few hours.

Still love the evil old bastard, mind.

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[KegRN]

Breathing life into old threads here..... Music is a constant source of conflict in our shop. At least, it would be, if boss man was inclined to give a shit what any of us think. He is a great proponent of the old school 'find out what their weaknesses are and keep attacking right where it hurts'. Therefore the music he selects becomes a weapon in his antagonistic war. I especially hate the 'Songs from Disney' days, don't really know how I survive the 'Great musicals of the 50s, 60's and 70's' days, and want to kill myself the next time he puts 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' on repeat. But showing that it is annoying me is to admit to the weakness, so I suck it up and tattoo on. He can often be swayed to put Vietnam-era playlists on spotify and likes a bit of 80s pop, so if I get to the music before he does I put that on, knowing that it will distract him for a few hours.

Still love the evil old bastard, mind.

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This made me laugh

[baberry64]

I believe that the customer should be considered,but not deferred to..meaning I would not play anything to offend them,but I would not submit to something i don't care to listen to either.

I once had to listen to thrash metal for six hours while I was getting work done and thought my brain was going to melt!Never went back.

[Gloomy Inks]

Breathing life into old threads here..... Music is a constant source of conflict in our shop. At least, it would be, if boss man was inclined to give a shit what any of us think. He is a great proponent of the old school 'find out what their weaknesses are and keep attacking right where it hurts'. Therefore the music he selects becomes a weapon in his antagonistic war. I especially hate the 'Songs from Disney' days, don't really know how I survive the 'Great musicals of the 50s, 60's and 70's' days, and want to kill myself the next time he puts 'Tiptoe through the Tulips' on repeat. But showing that it is annoying me is to admit to the weakness, so I suck it up and tattoo on. He can often be swayed to put Vietnam-era playlists on spotify and likes a bit of 80s pop, so if I get to the music before he does I put that on, knowing that it will distract him for a few hours.

Still love the evil old bastard, mind.

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OK, I take what I said back. I'm with you, even if "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" is the Tiny Tim version. I gotta say though, if you can take Disney, and great musicals of any era, I would assume you are a hard man. I would have to find a large building and jump.

Great, now I have Rogers and Hammerstein stuck in my mind. All those years of riding along with my Grandmother listening to "South Pacific" come flooding back... Not at all as fond as you'd think.

Get some Wild Man Fischer. If he goes for the gut that way, go for the throat. You'll win. Trust me.

[MadeIndelible]

If I went to a tattoo shop and heard Mumford and Sons, I would be pretty upset. If I went to get a haircut from my sister and heard Metallica, I'd also be upset.

[polliwog]

Hearing Mumford and Sons generally makes me upset.

...which reminds me that I know someone with a Mumford and Sons tattoo...

[Matthew Thomas]

My current artist doesn't usually play music at all, so I bring my phone along and ask if I can play something I like. I usually throw on some Breaking Benjamin, Bush, Staind, or the like. I don't throw on anything too heavy like Hellyeah or Slipknot, because she is a female. Not saying females don't like that kind of music, she might possibly and I don't know one way or the other. But females are usually wired a little more sensitive than guys, and I try to be respectful of that. Also, I think it might be too distracting for anyone, male or female, to work while listening to music that's so heavy and vulgar. It also might set me more on edge than I would care for while going through pain. I love my heavy metal, but I can't fall asleep to it, let alone be willingly tortured to it lol.

[SeeSea]

If the music does it, I don't care if it's Gregorian chants, so be it.

Funny you should say that. I'm bring some on an iPod on Friday to see if that helps me zone out. I think it will either work great or fail miserably.

[MadeIndelible]

Heard Russian Circles for the first time during my tattoo on Sunday, and it was awesome. So fitting for the tattoo I was getting. Going to see them on Friday in SF now. Also, Primus was played after the Russian Circles album. Good times were had.

[Synesthesia]

I don't throw on anything too heavy like Hellyeah or Slipknot, because she is a female.

Funny you would say that. I'm female and if you consider Slipknot "too heavy," the metal I listen to every day would make you shit yourself. :)

Most of the time when I go into a shop around here, they're playing some kind of gangster-y rap. In one shop, they were playing some kind of ambient stuff. The shop I've been going to has like "shop music," which varies depending on who picks it that day (the last time I was there it was some really lame 50's music as a joke, but it's usually classic rock or something along those lines). And then each artist has their own little room they work in where they can play whatever they want. My artist likes metal, and he knows I do too, so he usually pulls up some metal on his iPod. Nailbomb, Type O Negative, Deicide, Job for a Cowboy, etc. Depending on who else is in the shop (they do a lot of nipple tattoos for women that lost theirs due to breast cancer, so there's a decent amount of older women that wouldnt usually be caught dead in a tattoo shop), he doesn't always feel comfortable subjecting people to that music. But if it's just me and him, we go all out. :D It's usually metal, sometimes it's classic rock, last time we ended up listening to The Beastie Boys. Not my thing, but whatever, music choice is up to him.

My best experience getting tattooed so far was a couple sessions ago where he played like 2 straight hours of the Deftones newer stuff. I have their older albums, which are hit or miss for me, and I had been avoiding the newer stuff because it just didn't seem like my thing. But he insisted I hear them, so he played their newer albums and it got me into almost a trance like state. It was a pretty amazing experience and the session seemed to fly by.

[Gloomy Inks]

Funny you should say that. I'm bring some on an iPod on Friday to see if that helps me zone out. I think it will either work great or fail miserably.

Really? You gotta let me know how that works out. Personally, when I'm getting worked on, I kinda like my old punk. American punk.

[Matthew Thomas]

Funny you would say that. I'm female and if you consider Slipknot "too heavy," the metal I listen to every day would make you shit yourself. :)

Most of the time when I go into a shop around here, they're playing some kind of gangster-y rap. In one shop, they were playing some kind of ambient stuff. The shop I've been going to has like "shop music," which varies depending on who picks it that day (the last time I was there it was some really lame 50's music as a joke, but it's usually classic rock or something along those lines). And then each artist has their own little room they work in where they can play whatever they want. My artist likes metal, and he knows I do too, so he usually pulls up some metal on his iPod. Nailbomb, Type O Negative, Deicide, Job for a Cowboy, etc. Depending on who else is in the shop (they do a lot of nipple tattoos for women that lost theirs due to breast cancer, so there's a decent amount of older women that wouldnt usually be caught dead in a tattoo shop), he doesn't always feel comfortable subjecting people to that music. But if it's just me and him, we go all out. :D It's usually metal, sometimes it's classic rock, last time we ended up listening to The Beastie Boys. Not my thing, but whatever, music choice is up to him.

My best experience getting tattooed so far was a couple sessions ago where he played like 2 straight hours of the Deftones newer stuff. I have their older albums, which are hit or miss for me, and I had been avoiding the newer stuff because it just didn't seem like my thing. But he insisted I hear them, so he played their newer albums and it got me into almost a trance like state. It was a pretty amazing experience and the session seemed to fly by.

I personally don't consider slipknot "too heavy", but everyone has different tastes, though, and I try to be respectful of that. I know that plenty of females do listen to metal, and there's nothing wrong with that. Personally, I've never heard anything that I thought was too heavy. Some people play music too loud, and that annoys the crap out of me. Music doesn't have to be loud to be enjoyed. When you're at your place, play it as loud as you dare if you've no fear of pissing off the neighbors. When you're in public or have company, play it at a level where you can have a conversation or hear other things around you, unless you have headphones or other people want to hear it as loud as you do. I love to go to concerts, but any other time I can't stand loud music. But I digress. Anywho, no such thing in my mind as too heavy, but I just try to have respect for other people. I especially don't want to irritate my artist or put her on edge, because I don't want to walk out of there with a jacked up tattoo.

[SeeSea]

Really? You gotta let me know how that works out. Personally, when I'm getting worked on, I kinda like my old punk. American punk.

Okay, here's the lowdown on the chants. I had an album and a couple songs worked out pretty good - I had already gotten a bit of a meditation thing going on with the music at the end of a movie (Despicable Me). But I couldn't maintain it, and I think the reason why is because I wasn't familiar with the group or the songs. I think that if I had known the pieces and could mentally roll with them, chants would be a good distraction for a while. I think I'll search around for some ones I like and play them for a while, and maybe try it again.

Last night was a mix of loud thumpy large music - stuff I run to to try to keep up motivation while running - some pop/rock/hip-hop/classic rock. So, kind of eclectic but stuff my brain is already used to using for other types of pain.

[9Years]

Okay, here's the lowdown on the chants....

Check out the Gyuto Monks if you're down with chanting. I can't get enough of this stuff...

[SeeSea]

Check out the Gyuto Monks if you're down with chanting. I can't get enough of this stuff...

I like this a lot. I saw the PDF that describes the mantras. Thank you very much for the reference!

[Synesthesia]

Had a session a couple nights ago with some classic rock and metal. Getting tattooed to Dio was fucking awesome.

[Graeme]

Had a session a couple nights ago with some classic rock and metal. Getting tattooed to Dio was fucking awesome.

Doing anything while listening to Dio is fucking awesome.

[growltiger]

Doing anything while listening to Dio is fucking awesome.

I decided to test this theory, being unfamiliar with Dio and today's work requiring a little 'awesoming' up. This just resulted in my secretary, a quite stuffy retirement-aged man who had come into my office to do some filing, throwing me the devil horns and having a little mosh. It's made my day. Dio for the win.

[Gloomy Inks]

Hey, I'm not knocking those who dig the chanting mind you. Just not my speed. I have a few friends who get into the more "inner" self thing. Me, I just put the bone in my nose and get to work.

Of course, I like Dos, and that's just two basses... OK, I'll go find some chanting.

[Mark Bee]

I'm going to make myself unpopular here, but for me, anything but metal works.

I should expand on that statement.

I actually don't mind metal, its just not for me while I'm getting tattooed. I regularly have some on my iPod.

[Dusk]

I pretty much listen to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson all day, or more accurately the Jack Johnson station on Pandora. Music has to be office-safe while at work.

[Ditch Belgium]

I'm working in Finance in an open space office with 4 other colleagues and 2-3 years ago I was the first to ask for permission to listen to Ipods. For me, music is more important than everything.. ask me which one of my 5 senses I want to eliminate and will certainly tell you that hearing will be the last.. Usually, in order to listen when my colleagues are calling me, I put only one earphone... better also to hear the phone ringing ;)

I have special music tastes: I'd love Hardstyle (kind of electronic hardcore music with huge BPM and heavy bass) but not sure this music style is known on your side of ocean... Most of best artists are dutch, belgian or italian...

More popular, I'm fond of Limp Bizkit (who will play in my neighbourhood the 8th June) and Theprodigy of course (who will play also this summer 22th Aug in France)... Already 2 planned great concerts dates.

[irezumi]

Madonna.