DAVE NAVARRO

David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist who plays in the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction and cover band Camp Freddy. He has also played with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Panic Channel.



Navarro was born in Santa Monica, California, to James Raul Navarro and Constance Colleen Hopkins. Navarro's paternal grandfather was a Mexican immigrant. His mother Constance worked as a model, appearing on the television show Let's Make a Deal. Navarro was the only person in his paternal family not to speak Spanish, as James and Constance divorced when he was 7 and he spent the majority of his time with his mother. He attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, CA. He later transferred to University High School in Los Angeles, CA. His mother was murdered by her boyfriend eight years after the divorce. Her killer was arrested in 1991, thanks to a viewer tip after Navarro appeared on the television series, America's Most Wanted. After his mother's death, he moved in with his father.

Navarro has been married and divorced three times. He married his first wife, make-up artist Tania Goddard, in a pagan ceremony in 1990 and his second wife, Rhian Gittins, in a civil ceremony on October 15, 1994. Navarro married model and actress Carmen Electra, on November 22, 2003. On July 17, 2006, Navarro and Electra announced their split to Star Magazine. Navarro posted a message on his blog the following morning saying "I just want to say thanks for all of your love and support. I'm sure that you can understand that I wish to keep all personal matters private." Electra filed for divorce on August 8, 2006.

On his Instructional Guitar DVD Navarro tells how he started playing guitar at the age 7 after hearing a Jimi Hendrix song at a skate park. He formed his first band South Dakota Railroad in junior high. In high school, he formed the band Dizaztre with Stephen Perkins on drums and Rico Quevedo on bass and vocals. Navarro joined the band Jane's Addiction in 1986 as the lead guitarist after he was recommended to vocalist Perry Farrell by drummer Perkins. The band also featured Navarro's childhood friend Eric Avery on bass. The band became successful and was popular in the alternative-rock music scene. Personal tensions, however, led to their breakup in 1991. The Lollapalooza festival was created by Farrell as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction. In 1993, Navarro formed Deconstruction with Avery on vocals and bass and Michael Murphy on drums, and the band put out one self-titled album in 1994. Rick Rubin was involved in the production and Gibby Haynes makes a guest appearance.They did not tour due to Avery's exhaustion after Jane's Addiction.

Navarro joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1993. There he produced his only album with the band One Hot Minute. He left in April 1998 due to bad feelings towards Anthony Kiedis. Since then he was involved in numerous projects, including TV, and has rejoined Jane's Addiction. In 2007 Navarro teamed with Teravision to direct his first adult movie Broken starring Sasha Grey in the first of a planned series of celebrity-directed adult movies. This effort won "Best High End All-Sex Release" at the 2008 AVN Award. Navarro has also made appearances in Season 1 and Season 2 of ZRock with Brooklyn-based band ZO2 on IFC

So to Speak if you Will's List of David Navarro's Tattoos
  1. Head & Back of neck : "Los Angeles" (the city where Dave was born and has always lived), below that: "Core" by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles (Dave is a core member of Camp Freddy; another core member, Billy Morrison, has the "Core" tattoo on his stomach and Dave helped tattoo it). Ears: piercings of each side having one hole of body piercing gauge and one of standard size (diamond earrings).
  2. Shoulders and Chest Bats (both shoulders are the same) done at the Hart and Hunington Tattoo Company at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas. On his chest Chest Collarbone: "Eleven Twenty-Two" (November 22, his wedding date). Middle chest: "CE" (his wife's initials). Left breast: Scar left by an ex-wife who carved her first name into his chest (Dave in turn carved his full name onto her). Nipples: pierced 1994-1999; 2000-current (Dave had the piercings removed in 1999 then put them back in).His Back above the waistline = "Constance" (his mother's name) by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles
  3. Left Upper Arm: A pig surrounded by a snake (the pig represents how Dave characterizes himself: "When pigs are young they're perceived as cute, and when they're older they appear vicious and intimidating.") (the snake is how he views the world: "I've since matured, so I view it as a continual reminder to evolve as a human."). Tribal design around the snake's tail (sybmolizes that incredible month in 1994 that the Red Hot Chili Peppers spent in Hawaii). A ring of dolphins ("One of the most spiritual, beautiful and enlightening experiences of my life was when I got a chance to swim naked in Hawaii among 100-150 bottle-nosed dolphins.").
  4. Left Lower Arm. Inner arm: Gustav Klimt painting entitled Death and Life by Henk Schiffmacher of Hanky Panky in Amsterdam. Outer arm: "Luca" (for Spread Entertainment's co-host Todd Newman's son). The Virgin of Guadalupe by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles (photo of the original apparition of the Virgin). Side of arm: the 4 suits of cards (heart, club, diamond, spade) (next to the Virgin); "addict" (next to the 4 suits).
  5. Right Upper Arm, outer rose with "I have one but not by choice" (tribute to Auschwitz survivor Rose). Red Hot Chili Peppers One Hot Minute fairy logo. Armband design that resembles Arabic or Sanskrit from afar. "Love Fades" by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles. (Listen to a clip from Annie Hall by Woody Allen (Alvy: Is it something I did? Woman: It's never something you do. That's how people are--love fades. Alvy: Love fades? God, that's a depressing thought.). Below is a skull and cross-utensils (this image was once on Dave's web page with "SSRI" below---Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, anti-depressants such as Prozac and Paxil).
  6. Inner "Der Zeit Ihre Kunst, Der Kunst Ihre Freiheit" ("To every age its art, to art its freedom"--text taken from above the entrance to the building designed by Joseph-Maria Olbirch of the Secession of the Association of Viennese Artists, which was created by Gustav Klimt and other artists in the late 1890s)."Jane's" by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles (for Jane's Addiction of course). Elaborate "V" (for an ex-girlfriend) [she tattooed a "D" on her behind]. Japanese kanji fuku (it means fortune, luck, wealth) [it's a bit on the side and wraps around to the outer arm, next to the skull].
  7. Outer lower arm "Don't Try This At Home" by Thomas at the Hart and Hunington Tattoo Company at the Palms Hotel in Las Vegas (the title of his photo booth book). Spread logo (unicorn with S) by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles. Cross (done freehand in about an hour by Bob Vessels of Funny Farm in Silverlake). Theban script reading "angel" (for an ex-girlfriend) [she tattooed the same on the inside of her wrist].
  8. Outer lower arm Gustav Klimt painting entitled Hope I by Henk Schiffmacher of Hanky Panky in Amsterdam (it depicts a pregnant woman which symbolic of his mother's gift of life to him).
  9. Elbows a symbol (used by Psi Com and Jane's Relapse, of Aleister Crowley origin from his Thoth Tarot Card Deck) [both elbows are the same].
  10. Back of hands: Spider with web by Mark Mahoney of Shamrock Tattoo in Los Angeles [both hands have the same design]. Left hand knuckles = roman numerals X III X III (10-3-10-3 which stands for 13, which 6 + 7 equals; also the date on which his father and grandfather were both born). Right hand knuckles = roman numerals VI VII VI VII (6-7-6-7 which stands for his birthday, June 7, 1967). Right hand palm: marriage symbol tattooed over a pagan hand-fasting wedding scar.
  11. Right hip: "Trust No One" (personal philosphy) [also the title of his solo album, however he had the tattoo done years before his album came out].
  12. Lower left leg, left side = sexy nun by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles [I think the nun may have been taken from a Justice Howard photo though I have not been able to find a copy of that photo to verify this. Lower right leg, right side: female dominatrix by Charlie McDonald of Mayhem in Los Angeles. - www.so-to-speak-if-you-will.com

Want to find out what just a few of DAVE NAVARRO's tattoo designs & symbols mean?
Check out: Script Tattoos, Snake Tattoos, Pig Tattoos, Memorial Tattoos, Religious Tattoos, Numbers Tattoos, Cross Tattoos, Playing Cards Tattoos