PEABODY — Just shy of a month ago when tattoo artists Freddy Aravena and his son Eduardo Valentini Jr. opened Music Plug Inked at 30R Main St., the two claimed that they would be the first to bring celebrities, mainly musicians, to Peabody. Over the weekend, Music Plug Inked fulfilled that promise.
On Sunday afternoon, Music Plug Inked hosted the rock band Saving Abel, which is best known for its 2007 hit “Addicted,” and tattooed four of its five members: guitarist Riley Haynie, drummer Dave Moraata, bassist Greg Young, and lead singer Jared Weeks, who was also celebrating his birthday. Guitarist Blake Scopino was also there Sunday but did not get tattooed. Aravena brought in two guest artists — Douglas Nascimento and Jonathan Martinez — to help get the job done.
“I love getting tattoos on the road,” Weeks said. “It’s kind of like little map dots for me. It brings me back to experiences and the people that we deal with on the road.”
Haynie got an American traditional cowboy on his leg to pay homage to his roots in Montana; Moraata added some pine trees and the word “ignorant” in Italian to his leg piece of the state of Mississippi to point to his Italian heritage, which he doesn’t know much about; Young got a feather and some splattered ink as a nod to being a writer on his “strumming arm”; and Weeks got a bird, a peregrine, tattooed on his neck.
Weeks said he’s a big “energy guy,” and he got good vibes from Aravena the second he pulled up to the shop.
“Kindness goes a long way with me, so we got here today, and they’ve got an entire catering food spread, and not only that, he has a birthday cake that says ‘Happy Birthday, Jared’ in the refrigerator,” Weeks said.
He continued, “I mean, I’m a sap. I get a little emotional. But when folks get together off of just pure kindness and enjoying who they’re with and being present, that’s pure, concentrated joy. Since I’ve been here today, it’s been nothing but (that). It is my birthday, and I am happy, but I almost couldn’t go to bed last night (because) I was so excited to come here — and the fact that they’ve been so hospitable and so nice, this has been a fantastic experience for me.”
Weeks added, “From here on out, I’m gonna book a tour through here on purpose — just so I can hang out with Freddy again. I love building bridges, not burning them, and making friends, and we’re definitely going to be friends forever. Seriously, any time I come through here, I’m going to be getting a tattoo.”
Aravena said he was “super happy” to be able to bring Saving Abel to Peabody and get the chance to tattoo the band members. To him, his shop is all about blending his love of tattooing with his love of music, so being able to tattoo rock stars is what it’s all about.
“Thank you, Music Plug Inked tattoo studio,” Weeks said. “If you ain’t here, you’re wrong!”
