It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in June of 2002. At the Hyatt Regency in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, the bar is starting to fill with patrons the likes of which the four star hotel has not seen before, particularly not in such numbers. They are a colorful bunch, quite literally. They are attendees at the inaugural Hell City Tattoo Fest and the majority is nearly covered in tattoos. Durb Morrison, Hell City’s creator and promoter, can be seen darting from one place to another, almost always with a walkie-talkie or cell phone in hand. Outside the main convention hall a cheerleading squad of pre-teen girls done up in the tackiest possible makeup stare wide-eyed at the attendees walking around and gathering at the bar. Across the way a group of men in town for a step dance competition also going on at the convention center are making conversation with a few of the tattooed bar patrons.
Whether it was coincidence or fate that created this awkward, social mish-mash one weekend back in 2002, Morrison was clearly onto something. By the end of the weekend the cheerleaders, in town for a competition being held in the adjacent convention center, are no longer gawking at the tattooed men and women. Some have even made their way into the convention. The atmosphere at Hell City is electric, this cannot be denied. Later, magazines and other outlets within the tattoo industry will agree: Morrison has raised the bar.
However, Morrison’s days weren’t always filled with phone calls and emails regarding sponsors, contract negotiations and booth reservations. His start in tattooing is a common enough story: A 14 year old punk kid from Newark, Ohio, he hijacked his Mom’s sewing kit and started tattooing his friends. Morrison excelled in art classes and found an outlet for his art in tattooing. He eventually landed a job at a professional studio where his tattooing began to take off. Thus far, this story could be about nearly any burgeoning tattoo artist. It’s what transpires later, and what Morrison builds right here in Columbus that set him apart from the rest of his peers.
That first position in a tattoo studio was with a Columbus old-timer named Tim Miller. A year later Miller sold the shop and Morrison decided to pack up his tattoo gun and travel the country while tattooing. Due to a chance encounter during his travels, Morrison found himself working legendary tattooist Sailor Moses’ (1949-1997) booth at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. After a brief residency in California this meeting led to an invitation to work at Moses’ shop in Biloxi, Mississippi.
It was Miller and Moses who provided Morrison with the necessary tools to become a successful tattoo artist. “Learning from Sailor Moses and Tim Miller gave me insight on how I wanted my shop to run. My background was on a skateboard, so it [the industry] was definitely something I had to learn. Sailor Moses taught me more about the mechanics of tattooing than anyone. He kind of took the big picture away and made me focus on the smaller aspects.”
In 1994 Morrison returned home to open his own shop, Columbus’ Stained Skin. Stained Skin was different than the run of the mill shop in a number of ways. It had comfy seating in the waiting area and the walls were adorned with the strategically placed piece of original art rather than plastered with page after page of tattoo flash (pre-drawn artwork for walk-in customers). This lent itself to a more inviting, welcoming environment than most shops. As a result, Stained Skin became a sort of beacon for the city’s tattooed counter-culture. The shop grew to be a staple in Columbus, and within the tattoo world itself, but as Morrison says, “Stained Skin was never an overnight success; it took a lot of blood, sweat and a single tear.”
Morrison has been featured in nearly every major tattoo magazine, including International Tattoo Art, Savage Magazine and Skin and Ink. However, he went above and beyond the norm in building a name for his work and his shop.
“A lot of it was being active in the industry, not just putting pictures in magazines,” says Morrison. “It was meeting people, networking, conventions, concerts, skate competitions, you name it.” He also tattooed a number of musicians as they were passing through. “My shop was right down the street from the Newport, so that helped. I used to go to shows and just ask bands if someone wanted tattooed. We would open the shop late at night and do private sessions for bands.” One such private session led to a friendship with Dicky Barrett, lead singer of Boston’s the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Years later, Morrison would go on to design the artwork for their album A Jackknife to a Swan.
It wasn’t long before Morrison noticed a need in Columbus for a tattoo gathering of its own. “The only thing tattoo related in Columbus at the time was the Easyriders Show, which was going the way of motorcycles more so than tattoos. There are a lot of shops in this town, as well as a lot of heavily tattooed people, so it was definitely an itch that needed to be scratched.” The name Hell City was originally going to be used for a tattoo clothing line, but after going separate ways with a business partner Morrison “brought the name out of retirement and started planning the show.”
Feeling he had reached a goal in life, Morrison sold his two shops, Stained Skin and Second Skin (located in Newark) some years back to focus on family, his art and Hell City. Family plays a large role into why Hell City has been received so positively. “Having a child has definitely made me open my eyes to the way tattoos are viewed by the general public,” states Morrison. “I try to do everything I can to educate everyone of all ages. We have a booth at Comfest [a 36 year old, annual Community Festival in Columbus, OH featuring upwards of 180 musical acts. –LT] every year and do temporary tattoos on the kids. We have a kid’s booth at Hell City” (aptly named the Heck City Kids’ Booth).
With an eye to appealing to everyone and educating people about tattoos, it’s no wonder Hell City manages to bring so many people together. Morrison says, “Honestly, Hell City has been attributed to changing the face of conventions: the look, the way the artists are treated, and the caliber of talent at the show. The industry definitely stepped up and took notice of the warm atmosphere and artists that we gathered together. I’m actually on my way to consult with another show promoter. He wants to get some insight on how Hell City runs and how he can change his show for the better. We must be doing something right.”
Fast forward several years. Soon after waking in the morning, Morrison visits with his wife Alissa and pooch Hana, then hits the coffee hard. He’ll need it for the day he has ahead. Like most days, Morrison will spend the next ten hours jumping back and forth between tattooing, his computer and the phone, preparing for the next Hell City Tattoo Fest. “People don’t realize,” says Morrison, “that Hell City is done with two guys: my manager, Tony Terrell, and me. Tony runs the operation while I tattoo. He literally sits at a desk adjacent to my tattoo area so we can maintain contact and bounce ideas and details of the show off each other. Planning a show of that magnitude is pretty much a fulltime job.”
Morrison still finds time for art amidst all the chaos of planning the country’s greatest tattoo convention. After a stint at Columbus residents’ favorite tattoo shop, High St. Tattoo, he returned to tattooing from his home studio where he can still devote time to family and Hell City between tattoos. Morrison says, “I try and squeeze art into my life on a daily basis, whether it be drawing for a tattoo or painting a canvas or designing new merchandise. I still tattoo at least 4 days a week.”
“Tattooing is going nowhere but up right now. The increased awareness of the artistic side of it, the TV shows and the work being displayed in the magazines, all of it is taking tattoos to a level we never thought was possible. Tattooing has been around for thousands of years, and despite the scrutiny and stigmas associated with it, it will be here for thousands more. My immediate goal is to make Hell City one of the greatest tattoo festivals in history. I will always be a part of this industry in some shape or fashion. I live to tattoo.”
Hell City returns to Columbus this coming May 29-31st, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency. Four months later the West Coast Hell City returns to the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, AZ on Sept. 4-6th, 2009. For more info point your web browser to www.hellcity.com
By Luke Toney