tatstext

This is from Metal Hammer Magazine

How did you first get into tattooing?
"Ever since I was a little kid I've always been fascinated by them. I just really like how they look - always have - and I always wanted one, and I got tattooed on my 18th birthday. I'm really glad that I couldn't get tattooed before then - luckily it's illegal, and I would have had to go out of my way to do it. I would have had a bunch of bad tattoos. I would have had 'X' symbols on my hands for sure."

Tell us about your early experiences under the needle
"The first was really easy. I got it in a tattoo city in San Francisco, on my shoulder blade, and it didn't really hurt. My first one is a secret! I was a little nervous because I didn't know what the pain was going to be like. The heart on my chest was maybe the third or fourth - I was still 18, and it really hurt the worst. No, I don't get a real adrenaline rush after getting a tattoo. There's a point in the process where you get kinda used to it and your endorphins kick in, and it's not as painful. For me the first hour is pretty bad, the next couple are alright, and the last hours are really bad."

What are your absolute favourites?
"My arms are like entire pieces, they're kinda one big tattoo, I really like both my arms a lot. The 'nine lives' tattoo is one that Jade (Puget), myself and Nick 13 (Tiger Army) all got together - it's a real friendship tattoo, we all have the same one. We got it done probably about five years ago. Eric Hogan did it for us - he works at American Graffiti in Sacramento. Scott Sylvia (now at Temple Tattoo) did the rest of my right arm, Jeff Rasier did most of my left and Lindsay Carmichael (Laguna Tattoo) did the praying hands. On my chest, the daggers and stars are Scott Sylvia and the heart is Freddie Corban (Temple). I have an 'X' on the right dagger and a Jack-o-lanterns on the left. I've got a lot of 'X's, and we counted the Jack-o-Lanterns once - I think there's 37 on my person."

Were you intending to get full sleeves when you started out?
"I started with three-quarters, and then?. I finished. The top of my right arm is Halloweentown from Tim Burtons The Nightmare Before Christmas - with Jack's house and Jack and the Boogie's boys. Then I've got the fountain and Jack-o-Lanterns. There's Jack Skellington as the Pumpkin King, and then there's the gate to the town. The rest of it is just other Halloween stuff - ghosts, Jack-o-Lanterns and bats."

What are you planning next?
"I think I'm going to do my back, I'm not quite sure what with but I want to get my back done. I'm not positive. I have a little bit on my legs - an Alleyway Dragon on my right leg, and a straight edge tattoo on my left. I've got a tattoo from one of our early 7" records - the fly from the 'Fly in the Ointment' (1994 Wedge Records)on my right. My dad is going to get an AFI tattoo when we get home. It's going to be his first tattoo. You know the little winged demon thing from The Art of Drowning? He's gonna get that. Isn't that cool?"