Tattoo Talk: Blessed By A Broken Heart bassist Tyler Hoare on tattooing

Check out the song: “Forever”

Tyler Hoare is a hard working man who plays bass in the heavy metal/hardcore band Blessed By A Broken Heart (BBABH). When he’s not being an awesome bassist however, he’s inking wicked tattoos on people all over the world. Keep on reading to find out more about his artistic skills.

How long have you been doing tattooing for?
Tyler: I started off airbrushing at a local Harley shop when I was 15 and did that for a few years. My girlfriend at the time was getting many tattoos, so finally she was like, “Hey, why don’t you tattoo me?” And I was like, “Hmmm, I dunno … I guess I could.” So for my birthday she bought me a small tattoo kit she bought on eBay (which I don’t recommend doing, haha) and I started tattooing myself and my friends. I’ve been tattooing for 12 years now.

Do you do it out of a certain shop when you are not touring?
Tyler: Yeah, I work at a shop called Ben Tattoo. It’s right outside Montreal. When I’m not on tour I’m pretty much there every day. And if I’m not there I’m in the garage working on my cars and Harleys.

Have you done any on the road?
Tyler: Yeah, I tattoo quite often on the road. I used to bring my whole kit and tattoo people in hotels, at shows, even on the tour bus, but that usually gets pretty messy and the circumstances are never the best – always missing things you need, not enough light, people step on your box of inks and they explode, things like that. So now I just bring my machines and find guys that will let me tattoo in their shops. I usually become friends with the owners and then when I’m not on tour I’ll go back and do a guest spot. I’ve done this in many parts of the States, U.K., Germany, Spain and Australia. I actually spent a lot of time tattooing in Florida when we were recording the record, plus I gotta tattoo my band mates all the time, haha.

Now about your tattoos. What was your first tattoo and is there any meaning behind it?
Tyler: My first tattoo I actually did myself. It was the first one I got and it was the first one I ever did. I had no idea what I was doing, but I somehow tattooed the whole bottom half of my leg from knee to foot, with a tight 5 liner (I didn’t know mags existed) which, when I look at it now, I’m like, “How did I do this?” Hahaha. And it’s not even that bad. On the back it’s a dagger with a banner that says “sword of the spirit,” and on the front a big candle that says “dwell in the light” with a bunch of skulls and flowers and water around it. The meaning behind them were basically ideas I got from bible verses that I really liked at the time.

What would be your favourite tattoo that you have?
Tyler: Hmmm, that’s a really hard question. I mean, all the tattoos I have are for a specific reason, from my He-man sleeve to my Avril Lavigne portrait. I have a Super Gyros one, which is my fav restaurant and I get to eat there for the rest of my life for free (you can Google it). I guess the ones that I really like the most are the ones I got for my family. I have a portrait on my right arm of my mom and dad with a banner that says “heroes” because my parents are truly my heroes, and then I have on my right hand an old school goalie mask, hockey stick, Montreal Canadians and my sister Beck’s name under it because she loves hockey, and on my left hand I got an owl with my sister Mandy’s name under it because she’s a teacher.

I even have my dog’s face on my right side rib-hip area. Her name was Haley I got her at a flea market when I was 13 for $15 and I had her for 15 years. Oh yeah, and I even got a portrait of Shred Sean on my leg on his birthday last year with the word “dedication” under it. I mean, we all have things we like to do, but Sean shows me the true meaning of dedication every time he picks up a guitar … which is quite often, hahaha. So yeah, I have many more that I love, but I’ll stop now.

Have you ever seen anyone with a Blessed By A Broken Heart tattoo?
Tyler: Yeah, for sure… lots of kids will come up to me at shows and show me or send me pics of ones they have. I’ve done a few at my shop and even a few years ago our label set up a tattoo contest in Europe where if you won I would tattoo one of our t-shirt designs on you.

Any tips for fans that would like to become a tattoo artist?
Tyler: Well, I guess I would say… don’t do what I did, haha. If you are serious about tattooing, find someone that will bring you into a shop and do a proper apprenticeship. I know it’s hard to find people that want to teach you, but it’s the best way. Believe me, most of my close friends are walking around with my first tattoos I did. I’m so embarrassed when they show people, hahaha. Plus when you learn on your own you end up picking up a lot bad habits which are hard to break, so go out and find a shop and do it the right way! Thanks for reading… now go buy Feel The Power!