Kat Von D Rock, Ink. By Mike Vallely I've been getting tattooed for 20 years now. Most of my tattoos range from poor to decent at best. I've had a few people experiment on me and fail. I've had words permanently misspelled into my flesh, only to be roguishly covered up. I've gotten lucky a few times and was privileged enough to have Mark Mahoney work on me way back in '89. And through it all, my overall impression of tattoo artists, tattoo shops, and tattooing as an industry has never been overly favorable. I saw the whole thing really as a means to an end, but even then I got tired of it ... so much so that I swore off getting tattooed as vain and pointless for several years.

Perhaps on a certain level tattoos are vain and pointless, but I always come back. It's not so much an addiction as it is a need for self-expression. And so recently, as I decided to go back under the needle for another round, I reached out to one of the best in the biz - Kat Von D - to see if I could get a truly talented hand to help me get a few points across on this walking canvas I call "me." I couldn't have made a better choice. I'd already been a fan of her work, but I became an even bigger fan after meeting her and having her tattoo me. I now have several tattoos in my growing collection that truly stand out as real works of art, and I know exactly who I'll call and where I'll go when I'm itching for more: the one and only Kat Von D at High Voltage Tattoo in Hollywood, California.

What was your first exposure to tattoos? What made you want to pursue tattooing?
Growing up in the punk rock scene was probably one of my main influences for getting into the world of tattooing. I got my first tattoo at the age of 14 from this punk rock kid who had been tattooing all of us with a ghetto homemade setup. Around the same time was when I began tattooing. It wasn't until I was 16 years old that I got into my first tattoo shop, where I had to unlearn a lot of things that I would have known [not to do] had I gone through a traditional apprenticeship instead of experimenting on my own.

The first tattoo I ever did was a Misfits skull, which was, and still is, one of my favorite bands. The funny thing was that almost a decade later, the original drummer from the Misfits got in contact with me to do his tattoo. I remember tattooing him and thinking to myself about the complete circle I'd made that day, from being a 14-year-old kid who loved tattooing to a developed professional tattooer.

Were you always an artist, or is that something you discovered or developed through your tattooing?
I've been drawing since I can remember. My mom saved every drawing I ever did, and still has them! Coming from an artistic and musical family definitely played a big part in where I am now. Both my grandparents are accomplished painters, and musicians, and I think I soaked a lot of that up as a kid. However, tattooing definitely guided me into the style of art I do now. I started out in a ghetto shop in a bad part of San Bernardino, which put me in an environment of thugs and gangster types who all wanted the fine-line black and gray stuff. I did lots of names in script, jokers and clowns, hot girls, and mainly portraits. My tattooing style today is rooted in that. Living in Los Angeles, where that style is most prominent, has also helped me try to take it to another level.

What keeps you interested in tattooing now?
Tattooing is a never-ending process of learning and pushing the envelope to try to get better every day. The minute you think you know it all is the minute you stop improving. Tattooing is so oversaturated with all these kids trying to become tattoo artists for all the wrong reasons. That said, [there're also] up-and-coming artists who are getting better every day, and that keeps you on your toes, knowing that there is no such thing as "the best." All we can do is try to do "our best."

Tattooing is my life. I eat, drink, and sleep tattooing, so I never lose interest. I probably talk way too much about it!

How has the success of Miami Ink changed what you do and how you do it?
Because of the show's popularity, I find myself tattooing a lot more memorial-style portraits, where as before I was doing portraits of everyone from Sandra Bullock to Gene Wilder to Morrissey. I think the show owes a lot of its ratings to the heartfelt stories of those who have lost a loved one. Because portraits are one of my specialties, I've turned into the go-to girl for memorials. At first it scared me to think of going down [the artist-turned-therapist] path, but now I completely embrace the opportunity to tattoo those dealing with a loss of someone. There's no better feeling than to have helped someone get through something, whether it's celebrating the birth of a child, honoring a life-long hero, a marriage, or mourning over the loss of a best friend. Those are all landmarks in a person's life, and I just feel honored that people want to make me a part of that.

You're known for your portrait work. How did you develop this particular talent? And what's it like to tattoo such personal things on people as images of their loved ones?
For some reason, as a child I always gravitated toward realism when it came to art. I love reproducing images onto paper, and giving things texture, or making things look wet or shiny. I would constantly draw portraits of my family. [When] Anna Nicole Smith became the main GUESS model, I remember seeing these amazing black and white photographs of this woman, and I probably drew portraits of her 10 times over. That was where the portrait thing started, and once I began tattooing, that style transferred into it. Making a connection as an artist with a client has become something I live for. You're spending hours sometimes with these people, who talk about their tattoos and the reasons behind them. You have to be a pretty fuckin' cold person not to empathize or relate to them.

Tell me about your vision for High Voltage Tattoo.
Opening up High Voltage Tattoo has been a super huge step for me, considering I never really wanted to be a "boss." The idea of owning and running a business always seemed so overwhelming, but I think I'm at a point in my career where it feels like the right timing. The main thing I believe High Voltage can do is to showcase what Los Angeles has to offer the world of tattooing. L.A. is the mecca of all the fine-line black-and-gray gangster stuff, but because of the diversity in Los Angeles music, fashion, art, and culture, [the city] can bring so much more to the table.

The shop is going to be very rock 'n' roll. I want it to be fun. There is nothing worse than showing up for a tattoo appointment and having it feel like you're at the doctor's. Aside from an A-list team of tattooers, the shop itself is gonna be a rad place to be. We're putting in a mini ramp, a photo booth, and a collection of skate and rock 'n' roll memorabilia, all donated by people we've tattooed and friends of ours, including HIM, Fireball Ministry, Guns N' Roses, Incubus, the Misfits, Slayer, My Chemical Romance, Bleeding Through, Vains of Jenna, Dimmu Borgir, Bam Margera, Mike Escamilla, Wes Humpston, MxPx, Mike Vallely (of course), and so many more. But we're still sticking to our tattoo roots and displaying original artwork from the best of the best.

Aside from all of that, we're planning to start filming there for my new show, LA Ink, which will be Los Angeles' version of Miami Ink, but way more rock 'n' roll! And of course, we plan on featuring lots of the people mentioned above getting tattooed, so that's gonna be super exciting!

What's the biggest drag about being a tattoo artist?
Well, the fact that I have to sit in air-conditioned comfort, listen to rock 'n' roll music, travel the world and meet amazing people, and do what I love all day would make me a complete idiot to complain. Other than back problems and a chance of getting carpal tunnel, there's no room for ungrateful artists. I'm pretty lucky and fortunate to have found my calling at such an early age. I wouldn't trade tattooing for ANYTHING.

Who are some of your favorite tattoo artists?
Kore Flatmo is hands-down my favorite tattoo artist. His views on tattooing and how tattooers should treat each other and their clients are what I've always believed in, but could never put into words. Regardless of that, his tattoos are some of the most mind-blowing pieces I have ever seen. Everyone who knows his work will agree.

Isn't it strange to be a "TV celebrity" and not own a TV?
Haha! It's been three years since I've owned a television. I'm more the movie type. But I'm buckling down and buying one this month. I think it's important for me, especially with LA Ink premiering, to be in the know. [My reason for not having a TV is] simply based on the fact that there are so many negative things going on in the world today, and I've always thought that staying out of that would make me live a more positive life. However, it'll be nice to be able to watch The Simpsons again!

Future plans? What's next?
Filming LA Ink will definitely take up most of my time for the next few months. I also have a few new projects I'm trying to work on, such as a new merchandise company and a clothing line. I have a few tattoo shows I'll be doing this year, and I'm trying to possibly start a charity fund aimed against drunk driving. Other than that, I'm just trying to get better every day at this thing called tattooing!

*LA Ink premieres Tuesday, August 7 at 10 PM ET/PT on TLC. * * * * * Of course Kat rocks, but how does her stereo roll? Chord gets the goods. What was your first concert?
Well unfortunately, I seem to have been born in the wrong decade. I'm lucky if I'm able to catch a reunion tour of any of my favorite bands nowadays. I guess it doesn't really matter, considering that once I saw ZZ Top play, no other show mattered.

What was the first CD you bought?
I can't remember my first CD, but I know what my first record was: Punk & Disorderly Vol. 1. It was a compilation of old punk rock and oi! that was recorded in 1982, the year I was born.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?
I don't think I have one, just because I'm not ashamed of listening to bad music such as Kylie Minogue, Technotronic, and disco Kiss. Maybe if I had new Metallica on my shuffle and it came on in front of people I'd be a bit embarrassed, but lucky for me I don't own any of their records post Black Album.

If you could tattoo one musician, living or not, who'd it be?
My all-time hero - not just in music but life in general - is Ludwig van Beethoven. I would have loved to tattoo him, or just hang with him ... even make him my boyfriend.

What's the most memorable music-related tattoo you've done?
Man! That's a tough one to narrow down. From tattooing a Frankenstein portrait on Frank Iero to tattooing the Mars Volta guys, doing the album cover of Slayer's Divine Intervention on HIM's drummer, Gas Lipstick, is pretty up there. Doing the tattoo in Finland right before a metal fest makes the memory that much better!

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