Neon Dragon celebrates 20 years with live music at Olympic Theater

It's not easy to keep a tattoo shop open for two decades. However, Neon Dragon Tattoo & Body Piercing has hit that milestone and will celebrate with a party and concert Sunday at the Olympic Theater.

How does a body art shop stay open for such a sustained period? Neon Dragon owner Jason Evans has the perfect answer.

"I think it's because we've made a pretty good impression on our clients," Evans said.

Aptly stated since the artistic lifelong impressions are the draw. Evans and his 12-person staff are always busy.

"We're pretty blessed," Evans said. "Our clients keep coming back. They obviously like what we do."

It helps that Evans has been a tattoo artist since 1999 and has seen it all. Evans detailed how different the world of body art is compared to when he started.

"The landscape has changed quite a bit," Evans said. "Fads do come and go in this business. Sometimes the fads return. When I started in this business, there was a different level of acceptance with tattoos in society. We have people in our studio that specialize in different design styles. I tend to do a lot of bold, traditional Japanese style tattoos, like dragons.

“But the biggest difference between now and 1999 is that back then, people walked into a studio and went with a 'flash,' which means that someone picked a design that was up on the wall. But today, people often come in knowing exactly what they want. We do a lot of realism tattoos. I tend to do a lot of bold, traditional Japanese style tattoos, like dragons. I love what I do. I've been doing this for a long time."

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The same can be said for much of Evans' staff. A number of his personnel have been employed by Neon Dragon for more than a decade. Andrew Douglas has been on board for 17 years, and Morgan Johnson-Ghetham has been an artist at Neon Dragon for 14 years.

"It's really cool that some of the artists at Neon Dragon have been around as long as they have at my shop," Evans said. "I don't know how many shops have artists that have been on board for that long. We try to make the experience not just fulfilling for the client but also for the artists in our shop. So a number of the artists have been around here for a long time. It's pretty incredible but they all enjoy their art as much as I do."

Evans, 48, happened upon his vocation.

"I just fell into this industry," Evans said. "I never had this dream of being a tattoo artist. I was going to college to become a chiropractor. I switched my major to elementary education. When I had my oldest daughter, I dropped out of school and had some tattoos. I drew up my own designs when I went into the shops. My drawings were complemented. I designed some tattoos for friends. I did some research about how to become a tattoo artist. There weren't as many places around Cedar Rapids when I started out as a tattoo artist as there are now. It was such a different world. Now you can see all of these different styles at the tap of a finger on your phone. It's such a different world."

Evans doesn't suggest featuring letters for a tattoo. "There's an old joke floating around that nothing kills a design more than words," Evans said.

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However, Evans' first tattoo, which he designed when he was 20 years old, is his oldest daughter's name, Ashley in a heart, surrounded by fire.

Tattoos are evidently in the blood with the Evans family. Ashley Evans, like her dad and siblings, has her share of tattoos. Nikkia Evans works for her dad at Neon Dragon.

"It's great having Nikkia around," Evans said. "My daughter loves the shop. I just love working with everyone here, and I'm looking forward to our party."

The bash will feature live music, including Evans' band, Subliminal Rage. The group covers tunes from such '90s acts as Sublime and Rage Against the Machine.

"It's a tribute to both bands that I'm a big fan of," Evans said. "I play guitar and have a lot of fun performing."

Of course Evans' personal canvas is almost filled. He has a few music oriented tattoos. There's a guitar with pinstriped wings and another, which is a tribute to the swing band, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, another act that enjoyed most of its success during the '90s.

Another reason for the party is that Neon Dragon is opening another location in Marion by early summer.

Most of the tattoo artists will be shifting to that location," Evans said. "While piercing will be staying at our current location."

Neon Dragon’s 20 year anniversary party is slated for Sunday at the Olympic Theater, 1202 3rd St. SE, Cedar Rapids

Subliminal Rage will open for Ballyhoo. The show, which starts at 5 p.m., is free. For more information about the show, visit theolympiccr.com/events.

Neon Dragon Tattoo is located at 5350 Council St. NE, STE, E Cedar Rapids. For more information, (319) 294-4197, www.neondragontattoo.com