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International Women’s Month: Trine Grimm

Name: Trine Grimm

Profession and place of work: Tattoo artist at Lucky 7 in Oslo, and artist 

How old were you when you started tattooing?
I had just turned 19 when I moved to Oslo to start tattooing, but the interest for the art came way earlier than that.

Being a successful female in a very male dominated industry, have you ever faced any challenges, experienced harassment or had any other issues based on gender?
This is a hard topic to get into, but as every other male dominant occupation, there will be a struggle being a woman. I was very young when I came in to the scene, and you often had to prove yourself just because of that. I was called names all the time by coworkers, my bosses and even customers. I think the hardest part was trusting people you looked up to. I was always afraid of speaking up, because it was a very small scene back then. It has  definitely changed for the past 15 years, and it is nice to see all the talented women coming into the scene and absolutely killing it in the game now. That being said, even to this day there are customers asking me if the boss is around or how long I have been tattooing. I am pretty sure they would never ask a 33 year old man the same question. I was never really a girly girl either, don’t take me wrong, I love dressing up and all that, but my main interests were metal music, snowboarding and skateboarding. I hung out with the guys and were a part of the scene, but I guess they had a hard time treating me as an equal. I don’t know how many times I’ve been called a groupie, something that still happens today just because I am around the music scene.  

Besides tattooing you’ve also done gig posters, artwork, DJing etc – what kind of music are you into?
Tattooing takes up most of my time, simply because I love it. Except for snowboarding, it has been the only constant thing in my life for so long, and even if I have tried to tattoo less to do other projects, I keep coming back to it full time. I also take on small projects for bands, mostly gig posters, shirt designs and festival posters, it is time consuming, but absolutely something I wanna do more of because music is so close to my heart. Nothing beats seeing your artwork on a band you really love listening to. I grew up with classical music from my grandmother who was a pianist. My mother got me into rock like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but as a kid from the west coast of Norway, it didn’t take long before me and my best friend got into the black metal scene. My music taste is all over the place now, ranging from jazz to extreme metal, but heavy riffs are a main topic in my play list. DJing is fun, but it has to be for a special event. Playing music in a bar is just to get people to buy a beer is really not my thing anymore. Would rather listen to my vinyls at home. Haha…  But it’s fun, and I will probably change my mind one day and do it all over again. 

Would you say your taste in music inspires your art?
Music is my main inspiration to my art, I think art and music goes hand in hand. I love listening to music and just draw for hours. I also listen to music all day while tattooing. My head is way too busy without it. It is some form of meditation I guess. Most of my astronaut paintings was made when Sleep came out with The Sciences in 2018, I guess the theme fits. Haha…

When we asked Trine about this interview, she asked if she could create some fan art to go with it and sent us the incredible design below – which completely blew our minds:

What’s the inspiration behind the incredible Orange drawing you did?
If you have been into heavy music for a while, nothing beats the classic sight of an orange amp. I had this joke with my friends that if we were seeing new bands, we knew they would be good if there was an Orange on stage. I took some inspiration from the classic logo because I really liked the story behind it. The orange tree as a branch, the Pan inspired horns. The rig of doom in the back is kinda how it looks to me when I think about it. Sometimes I just draw whatever comes to mind, it usually never makes sense, but most of the music and the art I like is inspired by the psychedelic area of the 60s and 70s. I guess that is what inspired this one. 

What’s been a career highlight so far?
That is a hard question. I meet so many amazing people because of my job. Meeting Lemmy and hanging out with him and talking tattoos is definitely one of the most fun memories, but if I have to mention one thing directly affecting me I guess selling one of my astronaut paintings to an engineer in NASA was a big highlight. I’ve always been a nerd when it comes to science, and wanted to become an astrophysicist when I was a kid. I guess at least I have some kind of connection to NASA now. 

What would 2023 Trine say to 2013 Trine?
I had my first solo art show in 2013, I was so scared and had no idea what I was doing. I guess I would have told her that it will be easier, and in 10 years you will still love what you are doing. Because some days are hard and you wake up and have no idea why you chose a job you can never take a break from.

Which artist / song are you currently playing on repeat?
I’ve been really nostalgic lately so Pentagram (U.S.) is on repeat. But my playlist of only 60s and 70s are on loop at the studio everyday. Can never go wrong with the classics.

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International Women’s Month: Liz Scarlett

To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s Month, we’ve spoken to a couple of female industry professionals to get their story on building a career in a predominantly male-dominated industry. First one up is music journalist and writer Liz Scarlett.

Name: Liz Scarlett.
Profession and place of work: Staff writer (music journalist) at Future Publishing with Louder, home of Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog Magazine.
How long have you been in your current role? Just over two years.

What can you tell us about the journey that got you where you are today?
So I studied music journalism at university, the degree of which wasn’t actually my first choice. I didn’t know such courses existed – I was going to do English, simply because I found I was good at it and wasn’t sure what I wanted to study, but then during my university interview, I ended up speaking to the professor about my favourite bands the whole time and my love of journalism. They then told me there was such a course and hey presto, a couple years of education, and I graduated into a marketing assistant role at a music college, where I got to review student work, help out with a bunch of creative projects, all whilst running my own music blog.
Then, during the pandemic, Future Publishing were looking for trainee roles. I completely forgot that the company was home to Louder and the magazines I grew up on, so I applied to it on a whim, as I was made redundant from my previous job. After going through the interview process I realised that I accidentally applied for my dream role, working for Metal Hammer and Classic Rock, which is kinda spooky…and seriously crazy. Manifestation and all that! After studying for an NCTJ diploma with Future to help out with my role as Trainee News Writer, (and slogging through many hours of media law study), I got to stay on working for Louder as a full time staff writer. Although I’m still mostly on news duties, I also do features and interviews, for online and print.

Being a female in a very male dominated industry, have you ever faced any challenges / experienced harassment / felt the need to work harder to prove yourself / etc, basically any issues based on being female? How did you experience the industry when you first started?
At my current job, not at all. My team is really mindful of these issues and are mega supportive. At previous places of work however (naming no names), very
much so. I found that male colleagues really were intimidated by you if you shared similar skills. I was patronised and insulted ALOT, and felt like I was in a
competition I simply did not want to be in, all for being a woman. Things got pretty bad at times, and I found myself not wanting to come into work. It was all
the more irritating seeing how overwhelmingly respectful they were to other colleagues, only if they were male. This has happened on multiple occasions.
As for where I am now, I feel incredibly supported, although I find that I’m perhaps not as confident in my work as males in the industry. Plus, imposter
syndrome is always looming. I’m also not always confident in my ideas, which is something I need to change. I think it’s part of growing up as a woman though,
when other ideas (proposed by men) have usually always been taken more seriously than yours. Did your love for music and writing always go hand in hand?
It didn’t, actually. I grew up playing the bass guitar, so for me, music was always about the instrumental side. Even when listening to songs my brain would
naturally focus on the riff, rather than the lyrics or any other component. I think the writing side came when I realised how much I loved talking about music and
analysing it, and then discovering how much I loved reading autobiographies, and learning about the lives of the musicians who have inspired me. In recent
years, my love of music has encompassed more parts than just writing too, such as my obsession with art and design. Music finds its way in about every part of my
life.

When it comes to music journalism, was there anyone in particular that inspired
your writing? (Feel free to recommend books, authors, journalists etc)
When it comes to things like this my mind always goes blank, however music documentaries were always a big inspiration. Some of my favourites are Super
Duper Alice Cooper (the whole visual design of it is also to die for), as well as Such Hawks, Such Hounds, which explores the underground American hard rock scene
from the 70s until the late 2000s. It also looks at psychedelic artwork and album covers. Recently, Brett Morgen’s Moonage Daydream blew my mind. It was very much
like the ultimate union of art and visual music journalism, with a soundtrack that felt almost overwhelming. There’s probably plenty more, but those are definitely a
few of my favourites. As for books, Zoë Howe, the author of Stevie Nicks: Visions, Dreams and Rumours, was a great inspiration. On top of being a totally cool lady,
and self-professed rock’n’roll witch, Howe has a wonderful writing style that’s really descriptive, powerful, and just a pleasure to read. In any of her books, you
can instantly hear that it’s her voice, and that’s the sort of writer I admire. The type where you can recognise it’s their work straight away.

What’s been a career highlight so far?
Really, just getting to spend each day doing what I love and being creative. Although…meeting Tony Iommi was pretty cool too haahaha.


What would 2023 Liz say to 2013 Liz?
Keep going, things do get better, don’t be afraid to aim high and if boys seem weird, it’s because we live in a patriarchy and everything is fucked – they’re not
better than you. Also see Fleetwood Mac in concert because one day some of the members won’t be here and it’ll be too late. (It is now too late).


Which artist / song are you currently playing on repeat?
I currently can’t get enough of Sleep Token. If you’re not totally sure of the frontman’s vocals (they do sound a bit James Arthur-ey), see them in concert, it’ll
convert you. They’re totally ripping up the rule-book of modern metalcore, and the riffs will knock you to the floor. Plus, they look creepy, which is always good.

Follow Lizzie on Instagram, or visit her website here.

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