Friday  Jul 29, 2005

INKEDblog Interviews Dave Waugh

"Six years ago I moved to San Diego, California from Baltimore, Maryland. There couldn't have been two cities that were more different. Baltimore was raw, industrial, and gritty. On the opposite side of the spectrum, San Diego was sunny, happy, and cheery. I was a bit nostalgic for my Baltimore days in the beginning, so when I walked into various tattoo shops in SoCal, it always made me happy to see the tattoo flash of friend and Baltimore inhabitant, Dave Waugh.

I met Dave through the band, IronBoss, well before moving away from Maryland. He was one of those guys who just seemed to have his hands in everything - music, art, tattooing. At this point, I seem to encounter more flash from Dave than any other tattoo artist.

After I moved 3000 miles to establish a new career in California, I lost touch with Dave. Once I began interviewing tattooists for InkedBlog, I decided to use it as an opportunity to reconnect for a quick Q&A.

To learn more about Dave’s work, go here."

... Logan Hicks

INKEDblog: How'd you get into the tattooing field?

Dave: Luck. An injury. Being in the right place at the right time...I ran my future skin stretching hand into a table mounted ripsaw and chewed up the index finger somethin' good. Off work, future bleak, arm and hand in a sling...then a guy named Vinnie opened up a tattoo shop near my tiny town. I stopped in cuz I heard he would trade tattoos for artwork (flash) and the rest is ancient history! You are old and cranky when 1992 is ancient history, yet I can still use it to impress some people tho...

INKEDblog: So what makes a tattoo "good"?

Dave: When it makes the guy who paid for it happy. Uh, it does help if the tattooer can draw, has a real style to his artwork, and can apply it properly. And as much as we think it's about "us", it's really about "them". Damn the retail business!!! But we may be the only ones in the field who can get away with telling the customer to "fuck off" when we want! Hey, maybe this job will actually pay off in the end...?

INKEDblog: What are the best and worst things about being a tattoo artist?

Dave: Best: I finally fooled everyone into thinking I'm cool. And it worked! No, no it didn't...but I do get to draw for a living and it certainly beats running stair nosings through a ripsaw with no protective hand guard. Worst: Continuing to fool everyone, but thank god there are new 18 year olds popping in everyday. They're easy to fool. Heh, I kid, but you know...have you ever tried to draw a straight line on a table while someone is shaking it? Sigh...I must love the challenge.

INKEDblog: Describe your favorite tattoo of all time?

Dave: Well, I know I probably didn't do it, but I have done a few that I wish I had on myself, so that’s saying something...hmmm, let me think about this one.

INKEDblog: What's your thoughts on Old School vs. New School styles?

Dave: Dunno if that even exists anymore. "New Skool" meaning the coined term for the style, not the actual shop itself, (hey...don't blame me for "twisted traditional", I, uh, overheard it at a bi-annual convention along time ago!) and "Old School" meaning the Sailor Jerry style? It has all melded together to form one big commercial property replete with fashion t-shirts and power drinks and shops on every corner, and dammit, I'm pissed I didn't market myself better when I coulda 10 years ago! Guess I should have concentrated a little more on other things and stopped partying like a tattoo star! But, damn...it was fun. Still is I guess, so no complaints. I need to get a quote from Joe W. tattooed on me to remind myself of that sometime.

Best job I ever have.

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