Jim Louvau: How old were you back then?
John 5: I was probably 17 or 18, young.
Jim Louvau: How often were you getting
tattooed back then?
John 5: As often as I could. As often as I had
money and as often as they had time available. But what true professional artists they
were and still are.
Jim Louvau: When was the last time you
got tattooed?
John 5: I got my wife’s name on my wrist
in that Famous Monsters of Filmland
writing about 5-6 years ago.
Jim Louvau: So it’s been quite a while.
John 5: Here’s the thing, I travel so
much and I am getting in and out of
stage gear so much, and so quick
and I have makeup all over me, and I
have spit all over me, I’m thinking that
cannot be good for a tattoo. There
really isn’t enough time for me to get
a tattoo and let it chill out and heal.
Jim Louvau: What’s your mentality
before you walk onstage to play a
show?
John 5: I never ever dreamt of
doing anything like what I do, I
just wanted to be a session guy
so when I walk on stage and the
crowd is just going ballistic, I’ll
turn to Rob and I’ll say, “listen
to that.” We appreciate it, it’s
an incredible feeling and it’s a
great thing and I don’t take it
for granted. I love doing the
shows, meeting the fans,
giving them picks, and saying
hello to them from the stage.
I was that kid, you were that
kid and it’s such an important thing for these people.
When we go up there
we always give 100%
because if there is some
kid out there seeing it
for the first time, maybe
it’s changing his life. It
changed my life. My
very first concert was
the Rolling Stones and
it was unbelievable. I
was 11 and it was the
Tattoo You tour and
it left such a mark
on me.
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