Two years after Metro Station decided to part ways, front man Trace Cyrus is back with his solo album Geronimo. Cyrus’ solo project was released January 2012 under the name Ashland HIGH and girl fans have already begun getting lyrics inked. Like his sister Miley, Trace has gotten a lot of slack for his tattoos. Particularly how quickly he has become practically covered. Since getting his first tattoo, “Songs of Victory,” etched across his chest at 18-years-old the pop rock vocalist has covered his body in tattoos from head to waist. After returning to California from a short tour Cyrus took some time out to talk to Inked about his tattoos, Ashland HIGH and his new clothing brand Southern Made Hollywood Paid (SMHP).

Inked: You get a lot of slack for how quickly you became covered with tattoos, what made you decide to get so many so quickly?

Trace: Well my parents were getting tattooed since I was a kid and I remember I hated
tattoos when my parents started. I was just disappointed, I thought it just made them bad people. I think just being around them they changed my opinion along with the music I listen to. A lot of the bands I looked up to, Blink 182, you know some of the older heavy metal bands, they had a lot of tattoos so they made me interested. After I got my first tattoo and I [saw] all the people in the shop, they were covered, it kind of inspired me to do it.

Inked: How does it make you feel when people talk negatively about you for getting tattoos so fast?
Trace: Anyone who gives me shit is on the Internet. No one ever gives me shit in person. Everyone’s soft in real life, that’s the thing.

Inked: Do you have any space left?
Cyrus: My legs are empty completely but I’m trying to start my left leg, hopefully in maybe the next couple of weeks. I just finished my head, I think you guys know about that, I was going to do my leg originally but the pieces that I was going to do I my leg I ended up doing on my head. I’m going to drive down to Vegas and get tattooed on my left leg. I’m going to try to save the right leg for stuff in the future. I’m only 23 so you know I don’t have a lot of room left.

Inked: How is what you do as Ashland HIGH different from what you did with Metro Station?

Trace: I just think it’s more grown up now. With Metro Station I feel like all the songs we did were kind of themed about our being young and youth, songs like “Seventeen Forever,” that was the first song that we did and after that I think we just kept that theme for the whole album. I just think I’m more mature now and I’m touching on subjects that maybe I was kind of scared to touch before. The music is still just dance pop music but I think lyrically it’s more mature. I have more fun because I get to be as creative as I want so I’m happy with that but still I don’t think that it’s changed too much because still I love the music I made with Metro Station so I kind of wanted to do the same thing just on a bigger level. It’s just what I would have wanted Metro Station to turn into I guess.