Pete Freedman
Here Are The “13” Tattoos You Can Get at the Elm Street Tattoo Music & Tattoo Festival
This weekend's setting up to be a massive one in Deep Ellum as the Elm Street Tattoo shop takes to the streets (in some cases quite literally) for its first-ever Elm Street Tattoo Music & Tattoo Festival. It's going to be a wide-spanning affair: Hundreds of tattooers will be on hand for the convention-aspect of the weekend's offering, setting up shop over in the big room at the Prophet Bar; dozens of bands will perform across multiple Deep Ellum stages (Prophet Bar, Trees, Three Links and Wit's End); pro skateboarders will demo their talents out on a ramp set up in the Prophet Bar parking lot; and motorcycles will be up for show and raffle over by the old Club Clearview space.
The genesis for all this action, of course, is the 20th anniversary of Dallas-based tattoo icon Oliver Peck's ritual of offering “13” tattoos for $13 on each and every Friday the 13th. Well, that, plus, even more specifically, the 13th anniversary of Peck and his Elm Street Tattoo co-owner Dean Williams' rather storied tradition of trying to re-break their own record for most tattoos penned during a single sitting as part of their marathon “13” tattoo sessions that go down each time the superstitious date pops up on the calendar.
This year, with the help of the out-of-town tattoo artists, the staff aims to demolish its own record on that front — impressive, considering that their record already hovers well above 800 total tattoos inked.
Of course, the trick to this machine-like “flash” output is a streamlined production line. Which is why, yes, there are rules for those who take the “13” plunge: Customers can't pick just imagine any design featuring the number 13; they need to pick from one of the shop's modest-sized, pre-drawn designs.
This year, what with all the added attention to his event, Peck has come up with an all-new roster of designs available for customers.
And he's been kind enough to let us share the new designs with you here — although, he warns, some of the more intricate offerings might cost more than $13 a pop over the course of the 24-hour run that kicks off soon as the clock strikes midnight to signal the end of Thursday.
“These designs will be varied in price,” he says.
Whatever. Dibs on the coffee mug, anyway.
The Elm Street Tattoo Music & Tattoo Festival kicks off informally on Wednesday night with a “wig party” at Three Links. The official weekend-long affair itself kicks off on Thursday night with a concert featuring the Riverboat Gamblers, also at Three Links. Get tickets here.
