I've been thinking lately that I probably do have
some kind of lingering Catholic guilt
The driving force in my life
is trying to make up for the stuff that I've done
Seeking some kind of absolution or whatever
Catholic faith is the Cadillac of religion
It has all the options
I keep at it, you know, and surround myself
with as much of that stuff as I can
I think it has a certain amount of shame or something
that kind of came with it
even from being a tattooer because it was illegal
and when I told my parents
that's what I wanted to do with my life
they were certainly less than thrilled
and I think maybe I had to try extra hard
If I'm going to be one of these filthy, dirty tattooers
I'm going to be a good filthy, dirty tattooer
Probably wouldn't change much of what I'd done
It's all the bad stuff, or whatever
got me to the point I am today
I feel guilt about hurting people
but most of my choices I'm okay with
I know I probably had to [inaudible]
to get where I'm at today
I'm really proud of the shop
and the guys that work there
There's always room for making the spot cooler
or the vibe richer, or whatever
But I think the Shamrock has turned out okay
Sometimes people ask me how long it's been there
and I'll tell them 15 years
A lot of times they say, "I thought it was 40 years"
That's a compliment
because that's what I want to happen
have some kind of timeless quality
like that first tattoo shop I walked into
You almost have to fall in love with tattooing itself
the act of it at first, because to really learn it
it's kind of all-encompassing
You have to throw yourself into it
It doesn't leave much room for love
And then by the time I was a good tattooer
I was so entrenched in the drug world
and everything like that
that I never even thought about quitting dope
until I met my wife
Yeah, there was just something
about this nice girl from East L.A.
could care about a bum like me
that made me think about putting it down
and getting right
I think when I'm tattooing
ideally when you're doing it right
you're not thinking about anything
That's when it's good
That's probably like meditation, or whatever
that when you're doing it right
your wheels aren't turning at all
You're just doing it
So that's the state I like to be in
That's what you strive for
With the celebrity tattooing
they're used to being treated differently
and I probably treat them the same as I tattoo
my old friends from Long Beach, or whatever
I think there's something that they like about that
The acting thing that I've been doing
it's been fun to do something different
I got my gangster fantasy
about having to go to jail
Got that one coming up, one with Johnny Depp
Johnny being one of my oldest friends in L.A.
and the movie about Whitey Bulger, a guy that
Every Boston Irish kid looked up to him
It just seemed like a natural fit
I'm surprised at how bold I was
and how fearless I was then
I just kind of dove right into it
That's when it's what you're supposed to do
when it's not... I didn't have a choice
It felt like it chose me
and I just had to run with it
You've just got to find what really speaks to you
and then give it all you've got
don't half-step it