We continue our series and today our choice fell on AGONOIZE. Since many fans now are eagerly looking forward to the last band show this year which will be in Dresden, October 29th, we decided to brighten up their time of waiting and give them the opportunity to get to know what Chris L., voice and bloody nightmare of AGONOIZE, thinks about tattoos, and see which samples of tattoo art he wears on his skin. We hope you will enjoy it.Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: When did you get your first tattoo and what was it? Did it take much time until you decided to get it done?
Chris: I was about 16 years old. It didn't take long time to decide to do it or not, but only who should do it…
RoD: How many tattoos do you have? Could you please tell us their story?
Chris: Nearly 20, as they already overlap each other it is difficult to say how many I have now. Each of my tattoos has a meaning for me even if it does not look like this. Each marks a certain period of my life or an important experience.
RoD: Have you already got all the tattoos that you wanted or will you get some new ones in the future?
Chris: No, not yet, there will be much more. But I do not want to be like many kids now which are already, with their 19 years, tattooed up to the throat, but I want to have time to enjoy new tattoos. At least one per year, always.
RoD: Have all your tattoos been done by one tattoo artist or by different ones? How do you choose the tattoo artist? In addition, who draws your sketches?
Chris: No, there are so many talented tattoo artists out there that you do not want to limit yourself to only one. But what is important for me is that all of the tattoos optically fit together. Many of my tattoos have been made by my former keyboardist Mike Johnson and a lot of them - by Robert Hernandez from Madrid. Some of them are based on comic template; some of them were simply tattooed after brainstorming.
RoD: Getting tattooed hurts, how do you cope with the pain during the sessions?
Chris: Well, actually it is relaxing, even if it hurts in some places. But when you see the result, all pain is forgotten. Only once I really felt it was genuinely violent, it was on my hip, intimate area direction.
RoD: Do you regret getting tattooed sometimes?
Chris: At the present moment I remake one of them, but only because it was poorly made from the very beginning. I do not regret any of them...
RoD: What is your taboo in terms of tattoos? What kind of tattoo would you never get done and don’t like to see on other people?
Chris: To make the band name tattoo does not agree with me... no... I definitely distance myself from political tattoos. Besides, I wouldn't want to have anything on my face. But that is my opinion. There is not much colour on my skin, so I stay with black and white...
RoD: Some people say that the drive to acquire body art is addictive while others say it fails to meet the true definition of an addiction, simply calling it a passion. Is it really impossible to stop?
Chris: Yes, so the first tattoo should not be too small, you will definitely regret it later. You should also think about something that is yours, something universal for you and do not use the templates from the tattoo studio. Too many people have it and it will be boring anyway. You should reflect if you really want to have this all your life long or only follow the trend, this also applies to the position of the tattoos on your body, you should plan it beforehand.
RoD: Last Year’s tattoos are a new trend; many people do not care about the meaning, they just want to have something coloured on the skin, to be in trend. Those people often just go into a tattoo salon and ask which drafts they have. Tattoo artists are not artists any more, they produce consumer goods. Not all of them, of course. How do you feel about this situation?
Chris: I don’t like that trend. You should never ask what do I get for 300 euros, then you'll mostly get crap, a good tattoo artist is worth his price, you won’t start any arguments about it because you want to have a work of art and no doodle... Although there are too many doodles to see on some bodies.. And yes, this trend is really bad because you make a tattoo for yourself.
RoD: I would like to talk about the social aspect of tattoos, too. Previously, many people believed that if you have a tattoo, you will be never be successful and will not find a "good" job. Have this state of mind and people's perceptions changed or are these prejudices still alive?
Chris: Actually, this is not quite true; actually it was tribal people's way to show their rank through their tattoos. Sailors made this to mark countries they had already visited. It is probably only in the mind of the modern human being that a tattoo has become a sign of a fugitive and scum. For people who have been imprisoned it is a mark of their hard period of life and should express it... But I believe that now it has changed, by the banker over the lawyer up to the policeman or normal office workers, the majority is now tattooed. We are going to be the new generation of tattooed grandparents. There will always be people with prejudices, this will never change, but tattoos have definitely become presentable and widely accepted.
RoD: Which advice would you give to people who are going to get their first tattoo? How to choose a tattoo artist? Colour or black and white? Any practical advice?
Chris: You should definitely decide if you really want to wear it on your skin for all your life, its place and size and how it continues, further, not that you'll spoil your skin with a 2 euro-piece tattoo. Choosing a tattoo artist depends on what you would like to have and, if possible, choose one who is good at it and one who likes to do something like this and doesn't do it only because he needs money... colour or black and white - you should decide this for yourself, it’s a question of taste. In general, you need to be ready that with real good Tattoo Artists you will have long waiting lists, but they are usually worth it. It always helps to have a look at the works of the Tattoo Artist to see how good he is.. There unfortunately are still so many potboilers there. You should pay attention to the studio's hygiene, it is important... And if you're hesitant, then postpone the date, you should be 100% sure that you want it exactly this way... And well, never save your money on the wrong end, a good tattoo is expensive and there is no place for discussion.
Project by Daria Tessa and Daniela Vorndran, Interview by Daria Tessa
Pictures by Daria Tessa (https://www.facebook.com/tessaswelten)
Comments powered by CComment