MEDIA HORDE

“My grandmother
was a pianist, and she
taught me how to
play. She was obsessed
with Beethoven, so
I became obsessed
with him too. He was
a hopeless romantic.
He left all of his music
and possessions to his
‘immortal beloved,’
and to this day nobody
knows who that was.
I’ve got four different
Beethoven tattoos, and
my office is littered
with memorabilia—lots
of busts and statues.”

“I’m constantly in the
car, and I’ve got a
whole bunch of stuff
on my iPod that I like
to listen to when I’m
driving, everything
from Selena to Slayer.
Lately, I’ve been
torturing everybody
with Eagles of Death
Metal. They are one of
my favorite bands on
the planet. When I
get into an album,
I play it nonstop for
weeks and sing the
songs to everybody
around me. They
hate me for it.”

“I’ve tattooed almost
all the members of
Him, and Ville Valo is
my favorite musician
I’ve worked on. We’ve
been working on
finishing a sleeve of his
favorite authors. He’s
got Charles Bukowski,
Edgar Allan Poe, and
some Finnish poet.”

Kat

Von D

The guide to how entertainers entertain themselves.

This month: L.A. Ink’s illustrated Queen Bee.

“My new shop is called
High Voltage Tattoo,
and I based it around
AC/DC, my favorite
band of all time. I’ve
tattooed their album
covers on people
so many times. You
can’t mess with them.
N obody hates AC/DC.”

“It’s not a guilty
pleasure if I’m not
guilty about it, but
I can’t get enough
of Kylie Minogue. If
there’s anyone who
wants to talk shit, they
can take it up with me.

“Graffiti has never really
interested me, but I
bought Banksy’s Wall
and Piece, and it’s my
favorite book right now.

I love his perspective on art and how to treat it, respect it, and make it for the right reasons. It’s so much more than putting your name on the side of a house.”

How can you listen to Kylie and not want to shake your ass?”

“Dr. Steve-O is the
best show on TV
right now. People see
Steve-O as this guy
who was on Jackass
and who put a beer
bong up his butt, but
I love the concept of
this show. It’s funny as
hell, but it also shows
a side of Steve most
people don’t know
about. He genuinely
wants to help wusses
overcome their fears.”

“My tattoo wish list is
more about subject
matter than clients. I’ve
always wanted to do
Eddie, the Iron Maiden
mascot, on somebody.
I’m bummed that I’ve
never got to do one.
If there was anybody
who needed a Kat
tattoo, it’s Lemmy
from Motörhead. He
can have whatever
he wants, because he
can do no wrong.”