I love this “OW” tattoo, my friend Colin gave it to me, I would always go to shows and be in the mosh pit and you can see the scars all over my knees, so my knees were always bruised. One is for my little dog Nacho, he’s the love of my life, my friend is actually a really great mural artist and they started doing tattoos. It was before I knew therapy was a vital tool, tattoos are like a way I can get my angst out and when I’m feeling manic, but now I go to therapy. My tattoos always mean more than one thing.īel: I think I have 31, but they don’t all have meanings. I was like, “I’m going to get tattoos of every place I’ve been to that means a lot to me.” It was a really cool experience, and I’m going to remember it with a tattoo. It was also inspired by the very first country I visited, Japan, and it was for a music tour. Kelly: I have two, the second one is because I really like ramen.
How many tattoos do you have and what are the meanings of them? I got that tattoo when I was eighteen, it could have been worse, I still like it. I was very into this idea of not losing that spark and not losing that creativity and trying not to be jaded as years go by. In the book, it's this kid who goes around at this dinner party with his family who are all academics and he’s like “what do you see,” he was basically like “look what I drew,” and they’re like “stop drawing hats.” All they could see was a hat, they couldn’t see the boa constrictor that ate the elephant. Shannon: My very first tattoo is from “The Little Prince ” and it's of a boa constrictor eating an elephant. That was the first time I was out and I just realized how much I loved my home state and I was going to UT, it wasn’t really a longhorn for UT, but I just wanted a skull and roses. I got it in New York when I was eighteen, and I was like I sure do love Texas. I didn’t know what to do for my first tattoo so I just needed to get it over with and Bel was like let's get a matching tattoo.īel: My first one was a longhorn skull. Kelly: My first tattoo was inspired by loving Texas and also Howdy Gals, with the little hat there, so Bel and I have matching ones. What inspired each of you to get your tattoo and what was it of? When I came back to Austin and ran into Bel, she started talking to me about Howdy Gals and this beautiful idea of friends coming together as a team to become a force in a male dominated industry. Shannon: I went to UT as well and I was the booking director for KVRX and I ended up going to UTLA for a semester so I had to leave, and Bel filled the shoes of booking director.
After college, we decided we kept wanting to do music and we decided to start Howdy Gals.
Kelly: We met through music, Bel also did a lot of music photography back in college and that's what I did a lot as well, so that's how we became friends.
We just bonded after this weird interview mock trial where I was paired up with Kelly and I asked her a bunch of random weird questions. Their bond and shared experiences are also reflected through their tattoos.Īfterglow had the opportunity to speak with Bel, Kelly, and Shannon about their collection of tattoos and some meanings behind the artwork, while also exploring their journey as Howdy Gals.Īfterglow: What brought y’all together to form Howdy Gals?īel: I came here for UT and met Kelly through Austin Underground. Each of their tattoo collections give a peak at their personality and show the storybook of their lives. Howdy Gals are well known in the local music scene for their passion to create diverse lineups, provide safe spaces, and build an inclusive community. Having met while studying at UT-Austin, the Howdy Gals were brought together through their shared love of music.