Club Tattoo's Chester Bennington Interview, Pt 3
by: Alex | Thursday, January 31, 2008
An interview with Chester Bennington of Club Tattoo (Cont'd from Part 2)
RB: How old is your, is it son, you have a son?
CB: Yeah, I have four boys.
RB: Four boys.
CB: Got a litter of kids!
RB: What’s the oldest, and the youngest?
CB: My oldest is 11, and his brother is gonna be 10 in November. And I have a 5-year-old, and my youngest just turned one, a couple weeks ago.
RB: So throughout all this, like the music career, the rock star, the everything, how does fatherhood affect that, as far as whether it be creating music or . . .
CB: No I think I’ve really figured it out. I figured it out that I wasn’t always the best dad, you know what I mean? My kids love me, I love my kids, but the reality is that my career always took front seat for a long time. And so I really kind of figured it out, like how to balance being a dad and running a company, and trying to create new companies, and . . . I have another company called Level 7 that is a music and technology-based company, and people will start hearing about that in the next couple of years, but that’s been also a lot of work too, building that, recruiting people for that type of thing too. So it’s been a lot of work too. But, it’s interesting, because somehow I figured out how to do it all. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I spend more time with all my kids than I ever have. I’ve been married for, I’ve been with my wife for a little over two years. I got divorced a couple years ago, but it was interesting because I spend more time with everybody now. Like, I spend more time with my band, I spend more time with my wife, spend more time with my kids, and I spend more time working than I ever have.
RB: You just figured out the balance?
CB: It’s really weird, dude, I don’t know when it clicked, but it somehow all the gears just kind of. . .
RB: It’s a good thing.
CB: (Laughing) I’m not gonna be able to write any kind of self-help book, tell anybody else how to do it though. . .
RB: So I asked Sean and Thora to give me a good Chester story, like a funny story, and they told me about the RJ Reynolds show.
CB: Oh, dude, that was awesome!
RB: And that was an amazing story, so I wanted to ask you if you had a good, funny Sean and Thora story or. . .
CB: Well, Thora’s pretty awesome when we uh, we throw parties for Club Tattoo every year. We started about four years ago, right after started expanding into multiple shops. We decided our clients were kicking ass, and they gave us a lot of things to be thankful for, so let’s throw a party and invite them all. And so we started doing that every year, and it kind of escalated into this party everybody looks forward to every year, and we have bands come out. Thora freaks out, dude. From the second we start, dude, she’s on a thousand miles an hour. And she’s nervous, and she’s sweating and she doesn’t know how to, she’s like, “How do you talk to all these people?” and it’s kind of funny. And every year I have to take her aside, and kind of calm her down and tell her to chill out, and it’s all cool, and to just have a good time, and she doesn’t have to – cuz she wants to be sure everybody’s having a good time, and, you know, when there’s 4,000 people there, that can be quite a hectic position to put yourself in. It’s like, “Dude, relax, and just enjoy the party.” But it’s pretty awesome. I guess it’s something that you might have to see, in order to appreciate, but nervous breakdowns are pretty spectacular. Cuz she doesn’t do that, she holds things together pretty well, most of the time. And Sean, dude, there are so many Sean stories I have . . . there was this one time when we were in Grey Daze. And we drove out and we were doing some shows and a photo shoot. Photo shoot and a show, out in San Diego. We might not have done a show during this time. But we went out and did this photo shoot and we ended up staying overnight, and I had been married to my ex-wife, and it was a pretty fresh marriage. And so I’d just gotten into, you know, cuddling with someone, you know what I mean? And we had to share a bed. And so Sean and I were in the same bed. And Sean had really long hair, like really long hair, like down-to-his-ass long, and so I woke up in the morning, and I was like this around Sean. (Demonstrates cuddling.) And he was like, “What the fuck are you doing, dude?!” I was like, “Uhhh, nothing!”
RB: Yeah, how do you come out of that one?
CB: You just kind of like that, “Uhhh, nothing!”
RB: And move on?
CB: Yeah, you kind of hope that the flashlight wasn’t hanging out of your pants or anything like that, but, it was pretty embarrassing, dude. That was a good Sean story. I wish I could think of a better one. . .
RB: That’s like that scene in Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
CB: The “dirty pillow” scene? Yeah, it was pretty similar. It was our own little “dirty pillow.” Dude, there’s so many stories, most of them are incriminating, so I won’t go into them. (Laughs.)
RB: Fair enough. I read somewhere that I guess, Sean or someone was saying that grips of people come here to get the same tattoos as you, like on your wrists. . .
CB: (Laughs) Yeah. . .
RB: I was just wondering how you felt about that, is it flattering?
CB: Well, imitation is one of the greatest forms of flattery; it’s a compliment. But at the same time, there’s a lot of people with flames on their wrists, it’s not like I was the first dude to get fire on my arms. But I specifically got, like, I went to this dude, who was really good at the hot rod thing, and I was like, just make them unique and really cool so they don’t look like little flames or tribal thing. He was like, “Alright, dude, I’ve been working on this new one!” And he actually had been working on this new flame style, and he’s like, “I’m gonna do it!” so he drew them on, and I was like, “Awesome!” And I loved how they were really long and kind of flickering up my arm, and it didn’t really look like the typical flames, and that’s what I liked about it. So, when I see kids come up and say, “Dude, I got your flames!” I’m just like, “Aaaah!” Now they’re not mine anymore, now they’re like somebody else’s. But, you know, that’s part of the tattoo world too, you’re gonna see something that you like and you’re gonna go, “Dude, I like this. I want that.” You know? But, it’s cool, dude, no one’ll ever have exactly what I got. That’s kind of dope.
RB: And this is where you walked in, before, I was asking Sean and Thora, what was your first tattoo, what’s your favorite, and if you have any that you regret or sort of laugh about?
CB: My first tattoo encompasses two of those things. My first tattoo I got when I was 18, and there was a girl here that worked here, and I thought she was just smokin’ hot. She had this rock-hard body, and tatted from her neck all the way down to her feet; like almost every inch of her body was tattooed. And I thought she was a goddess, so I was like, “I want her to tattoo me.” So she did this tattoo over here; it’s Pisces. I was like, “I want Pisces like this,” and then she drew a quarter sleeve on. It goes from here all the way up to here. It’s kind of crazy. So I was like, “Alright.” And I did it, sat there for five hours and got the outline done-- which is a really long time, by the way, to get an outline done. And she had a really heavy hand; it was not the best experience. And she drew these little alien faces--let me see if I can pull my sleeve up. She drew these little alien faces on the fish, you see that? It’s like, it’s kinda, it looks like a girl did it, right?
RB: Uh huh. . .
CB: Yeah. So, needless to say, I was stoked cuz I felt like I was tougher or something, I got it done, but it’s not a tough tattoo, you know? And then she bailed, she didn’t finish it, cuz she just did the outline and bailed, I paid her for the whole thing, and so eventually--Sean’s cousin works here and he ended up coloring it in for me. It was just. . . it was a nightmare.
RB: So that was the first and the regrettable?
CB: And the most regrettable.
RB: And then how about your favorite?
CB: It’s kind of hard to say, cuz my back piece is probably the most involved and there’s so much of it that I love. But I think I like my elbows the best. I love the, it’s more of a traditional piece, but it’s kind of done in a non-traditional way, which I really like about it. And my pirate. I think the detail on his face is just amazing. But, ever since this tattoo, I’ve kind of made it a point not to get tattoos that suck in my mind. You know, other people can think that they suck, but like, I drew the koi on this arm, which was kind of a special thing. I was pretty proud of myself that I drew it. I’ve got the Hybrid Theory tat, cover here. I have a dragon on this side that’s pretty dope, and my back piece, I just think it’s . . . I love it, it’s cool. And I have this crest across my chest that has my initials, my wife’s initials and the initials of my boys underneath it. And it’s right over my heart; I think that one’s my most sentimental piece. I love it. It’s really simple, there’s not any color; it’s just black and greys. It means a lot to me. . .
RB: Right on. . .This is the last question. Other than all these other projects that you’re doing, the bands, the clothing, and the Club Tattoo, the Linkin Park. . . what are you kind of into that maybe people don’t know about? Or, maybe in the future, when all this stuff’s over, is there something that you want to accomplish? Like Sean said he wanted to be a pilot . . .
CB: Yeah. . . I’m working on this company called Level 7 and our goal is to completely change the way the music industry is run. And I can’t really--I wish I could tell you more about it, but I can’t. My goal, I’ve accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted, more than I ever could have dreamed of accomplishing with Linkin Park, you know? And we do things that just blow my mind. But I want to contribute; I want to be known as someone who contributed in a positive way to everybody in the business, that helped to give artists control of their careers back. And put the power back into the hands of the fans and the hands of the artists, rather than in the hands of some fucking dude who doesn’t even know how to write a song. I think the people who really make the business possible, the artists and the fans are the ones that are taken for granted the most. And I really want to try and help that, and try to change that, and hopefully with what we’re doing with Level 7, we’ll be able to accomplish that.
Need more of Chester, Sean and Thora? Check out the complete Club Tattoo Blog
Club Tattoo's Chester Bennington Interview, Pt 2
by: Alex | Friday, January 25, 2008
An interview with Chester Bennington of Club Tattoo (Cont'd from Part 1)
RB: What’s your role in Club Tattoo, maybe it’s not on a daily basis, but overall, what’s your role in it?
CB: Well, I’ve actually been more involved now than I probably ever even imagined. It’s interesting. Because of the success with my band, I have the opportunity to kind of raise interest in Club Tattoo in ways that are gonna reach more people and have more impact than if Sean or Thora called up Rolling Stone and said, “We want you guys to cover a story on Club Tattoo.” They probably would be like, “Yeah, whatever.” Not to take anything away from anything Club Tattoo has done--in the tattoo industry we can call up any tattoo magazine and say, “We’ve got a story if you guys are interested,” and they’ll come out and do a story on Club Tattoo. But I travel all over the world, I talk to a lot of different people and I have the opportunity to expose the brand to people outside of our region. And so that’s one of the things that I bring to the table. The other thing is that I do have a lot of experience in marketing things because of the group. We’ve gained quite the education on how to keep in contact with people that you want to target. It’s kind of crazy to talk about bands or clients that way, but there is a need for that. And also, I contribute a lot with the designs, I knew [Jed? 19:50] knew kind of what I wanted to see and that [Brodie? 19:55] and the rest of the crew here on which designs we actually liked the most. Clothing-wise, I don’t really have time to sit back and create graphics, but I do have a lot of input on how the clothes look and how being thrown around here a little bit.
RB: I probably should have asked this earlier when we were going through the history, but when Sean came up with the idea for Club Tattoo, back 12 years ago, were you kind of like, “Oh, that’s crazy,” or were you like, “It’s not gonna work,” or were you like, “Let’s do it!”
CB: Actually, I was surprised, because I always thought Sean was gonna do something in business, cuz he was always a very business-minded guy. But it was strange he chose to open a tattoo shop, cuz none of us had any tattoos. We didn’t know anything about any part of the whole world at the time, at least from what I remember. It just seemed like a big risk, but I was like, “Fucking cool! Tattoos are awesome, and now I have a place to go.” (Laughs.) But, yeah, it struck me as interesting because it wasn’t what I would have thought he would have done. And now that I see, this is Sean’s life and this is Thora’s life, and they breathe this place 24 hours a day and it turns out that he is probably one of the best at the business side of the tattoo enterprise. He gets it. It’s a talent.
RB: How about Sean and Thora as a couple? How do you see them, how would you describe them, or what are views of them as a couple?
CB: They’re pretty awesome, they’re really a great couple together. They fit, and they work this place well. They both bring different things to Club Tattoo, but together, they’re pretty funny. It’s pretty awesome to hang out with them. Thora’s a riot.
RB: She’s funky.
CB: Yeah, she is. She’s a firecracker; she’d punch you in the face. And smile. (Laughs loudly.)
RB: How many of your tattoos have been done by Club Tattoo people?
CB: I’d say probably 70% of my work has been done through Club Tattoo. I have had some pieces done--I had some work in Florida done; I had some work in Ireland done; I had some work in California, but most of my work has been done by artists that have worked at Club Tattoo.
RB: Are you still into getting tattoos? Or have you not been really getting a lot of tattoos lately?
CB: I’ve been actually getting a lot-- a back piece I’ve been working on—I took a little break for a while cuz I got a lot of work done really fast, and dude, the back is brutal. I mean, they all hurt, I’m not gonna lie and be tough guy and say “Oh, that one didn’t hurt.” But some places hurt worse than others (chuckles). But I have a back piece, and I just actually got one of the other dragons colored in--most of it colored in--so, probably another 20 hours or so of work left in it. And when it gets done, I’ve got some other skin that needs to be filled in, and I want to just leave the full sleeves, and some more work here and here. I’ve got a piece across my chest that I want to tie in, some work to kind of give myself a tattoo cake (laughs). And I have work on my legs, you know, I’m just gonna keep going until I just feel I’m done. I pretty much decided that this is gonna be a life-long journey.
CB: May 15th it comes out.
RB: So I’m imagining things are gonna get just super hectic for you?
CB: Yeah, dude, it already is, it’s kind of crazy!
RB: I guess, just maybe walk us through that a little. You were telling me earlier you’re doing all this stuff.
CB: Yeah, for the last couple weeks, we just finished mixing the record, and mastering the record, and we started doing all this press and everything, and I think last week alone we did 70 interviews internationally. We went to New York and launched the shoe, also, and then came back and I’ve done press all this week, every day, and now I’m out here doing this photo shoot here. Tomorrow I have off, but I’ve got phone interviews to do, and then I leave for Southeast Asia on Sunday and I’ll be gone for 10 days doing promo and press out there. And then come back and I have about five days off, four of which I’ll be rehearsing and then we’re gonna go out and start performing shows the 22nd of April. And then we come back, do Bamboozle Festival, Saturday Night Live, that’s on the East Coast. And then Jimmy Kimmel and the Weenie Roast in LA, and then we’re off to Europe for a month doing all the big European festivals. And we’re doing some other shows, like the Pearl Jam stuff out there, that aren’t festival-driven, and then we kick off the summer tour (chuckles) in the US, and after that we are probably gonna either go back to Europe or out to Southeast Asia. And then, get home, do Christmas. . . (laughs) and go back out as soon as possible, another, probably, back to, depending on if we go to Southeast Asia, we might go to Australia, and we want to do South America, South Africa next year around this time. I’m already into next year already (laughs) so this is gonna last for the next two or three years.
CB: We’re launching a clothing line, a premium clothing line, too, at Club Tattoo, we have a premium clothing line called VE’CEL that we’re launching in August, so I’ll be doing the shows and on my days off, between tour dates, I’ll be flying from this place or that place, so we can launch the clothes, which is kinda like “Psht [similar sound 27:06].”
RB: So the act of – let’s eliminate the recording process or whatever – the act of putting a record out, with the tour included and the promotion, becomes sort of a three-year commitment?
CB: Oh yeah, yes. A lot of bands go out, like the average cycle lasts about a year and a half.
And our cycles last about two, and we’ve always stopped around there, cuz we felt like we had to go back and do a record. But I think that was always the peak. It felt like every time we stopped, we were at the peak of our touring, so I think we might push for three.
RB: Well, you guys have been on sort of a hiatus for a while.
CB: Right.
RB: It’s been the longest gap between records and whatnot.
CB: Right. . .yeah, and I’ve got a record I’m gonna be finishing while we’re gonna be touring cycle.
RB: Another Linkin Parker?
CB: Well, we’ll be doing that as well, but I have another band called Death by Sunrise.
RB: Oh, okay.
CB: It’s kind of like my solo, I guess you can consider it like the solo thing, but I like to look at it more like a band, cuz we’re all working it together; it’s exactly the same way we work the Linkin Park thing. I have a little bit more of a dictatorship, but it is not as much as a democracy as Linkin Park, like I have more control over it. But I’ll be finishing that up too, so when the LP record’s winding down, I’ll probably drop that one and have to tour that as well.
RB: It just dawned on me you guys, didn’t Bucket of Weenies ??? play GVR? Was that your band?
CB: Yeah, we played GVR last year. Or the year before.
RB: Yeah, ’05. So, with all that work, that commitment to not having a free day or hour to yourself, once things sort of do wind down, are you bored in a way? Or sort of desensitized to relaxing or do you bask in it?
CB: No, it’s interesting. Most of the time I feel like there’s something I’m forgetting and I should be doing and if I don’t do it something really bad’s gonna happen. So I get kind of this anxiety, kind of “what am I forgetting?” or “what am I blowing off?” But there are times where I realize that even if there is something I’m blowing off, I kind of need to, cuz if I don’t, then . . . I enjoy doing what I do and I enjoy all the different things that I’m involved in, and I don’t ever want to get to a place where I’m like, thinking, “What the hell did I get myself into?” (Laughs.)
Club Tattoo's Chester Bennington Interview, Pt 1
by: Alex | Friday, January 18, 2008
An interview with Club Tattoo's Chester Bennington by Robert Brink
RB: So, I just want to go back from the history of you and Sean’s [Dowdell] friendship, and how everything started.
CB: Well, Sean actually met--I’d been playing in my friend’s garage, with them and, like, jamming out. And we had this other kid that we’d play, [unintelligible 3:39], drums, so we’d go over there every once in a while, screw around and play cover songs and stuff. His brother was in a band, locally, and they were starting this new band, and they invited me to come down and sing--to audition for the band. And so I thought it was pretty cool. And so I went down and auditioned for these guys, and Sean happened to play drums. We were all still in high school; Sean was a few years ahead of me in high school. So, anyways, it happened to be that we were from different parts of the city. Basically, when we say Phoenix, you’re pretty much saying Phoenix, Scottsdale, Glendale (laughs), you know, Tempe, Mesa--like everywhere is Phoenix pretty much. So we didn’t go to the same schools or anything. But what ended up happening was they took me in the band, but they didn’t take the other dude that actually invited me down, for whatever reason. And so we started a band and we just became friends at that point. Sean became pretty much like a big brother to me, and we’d always hang out, and he’d take me to parties, and it was pretty cool. . . keep me out of as much trouble as possible.
RB: So, then you guys were in a band together for a while?
CB: We were in a band; we were in Grey Daze with each other for a lot of years. We were in a band from the time I was about 15, until I was almost 22--so, about 7 years or so.
RB: And during that time he was already getting the ball rolling on the Club Tattoo thing?
CB: Yeah, during that time. We opened up the doors to the first Club Tattoo twelve years ago, so I was about 19. 18--I was about 18 years old when we opened up the first shop. That was just kind of like a way for us to make money--well for Sean to make money cuz he invested money so it was his shop. But it was a way to make money cuz the band was only doing really well locally. You know, sometimes the shop would carry the band--like pay for the band’s rehearsal space. And sometimes the band would pay to get new equipment or whatever for the shop. The Club was doing really well since it opened.
RB: So, you were 22 when you were. . .
CB: We broke up around that time, yeah.
RB: And then where does Linkin Park come in?
CB: During that year or so--it was a year, maybe a couple months or whatever--that we hadn’t been playing together. And I got a bunch of these packages from these bands all over the country. I had no idea that anyone was even paying attention (laughs), other than people here in our local area. I’d met some people that we knew in the entertainment law side of things that were trying to get Grey [Daze] a deal, and he met up with this guy in Texas, at SXSW. And this guy was talking to this band that needed a singer and had great potential but just couldn’t find the right guy. He was like, “Dude, I know this guy that would be perfect for this if he was interested.” So they sent me a package, on my 23rd birthday actually, and cut the demo. The band was called Xero at the time. I got it and within two or three days, you know, I went in and recorded the demo on my birthday which is a Saturday. The next day I called up the dude that was representing Xero and said, “Can I come out?” and played him the demo over the phone. He said, “Well, when can you be here?” So I was in LA Monday morning at Zomba Music Publishing at 9 am.
RB: So did you take a sort of Club Tattoo hiatus, like the Club Tattoo stores were opening…
CB: I basically took a hiatus from everything in Arizona. I was just focused on music. And it wasn’t until about four years ago or so, when Sean was like “I want to expand and I’m really not interested in a partner but I want to be in business with you.” So we basically started expanding the business together and opening other shops. And it kind of escalated ever since then. The shop has always been really well respected, and had a great reputation in the tattoo world. And we just kind of wanted to elevate the shop. Our goal was to make it the industry standard, basically, of how things should be done: how we treat our clients; and how we treat our employees. And we wanted to share it with as many people as possible. So. . . world domination is the goal. (Laughs.)
RB: I was just gonna say you got brought back into it after having the exposure of Linkin Park, and I was gonna ask you, you’re so busy, you’ve got so much going on, what is it about Club Tattoo other than that Sean’s a friend, obviously, from back in the day. But, what keeps you interested and passionate about doing it?
CB: Well, I’ve always had a soft spot for this place, you know; I helped paint the walls. This particular store has evolved so much since we opened the doors. I mean, it’s gone through probably 50 face-lifts since then and it’s expanded. I actually enjoy being part of something that’s part of my hometown and keeps me involved, and Sean and I--it didn’t work out musically, but we get to work together and be creative. I love art and tattooing, and body art is probably at the top of my list as far as artistic expression. I think the artists in the tattoo world are some of the best and some of the most innovative, simply because of the medium they have to use, to put their art on. Technology for tattooing has grown so much and the different colors--and you can literally do anything you want on a body, and it’s there forever. And that person--it’s unique because that person, it’s theirs; and they take it with them. Whereas like a painting, you can kind of pass it down from generation to generation. So it’s really an amazing, personal, unique experience, and that’s kind of like the way it is with music, too. So it just felt like this is something that was natural, you know? It wasn’t really just because Sean is my friend. It helps, but it’s always something that I wanted to be part of. Even when we opened the first store, I wanted to be part of it and it was cool to be able to do that.
RB: So, this was the first store?
CB: This is actually the first store.
RB: So you built it by hand, you helped?
CB: I helped, yeah, we were--well, this area we’re in now actually is part of what used to be a T-shirt store, with posters and band stuff, kind of like a Hot Topic-y type of thing, you know? And the original store--where all the tattooing gets done, which is next door--it used to be a tanning salon. So we thought it’d be a great place to open up the shop because you’d have artists in there working out of booths that were personal, but you could shut the doors if you wanted to. You know when women get tatted in certain areas, you don’t want your ass hanging out in front of everybody. And it was cool, take the bus up here, hang out at the shop, go to rehearsal and shows. We’d play next door a lot and over time the shop began to grow and we had the chance to take over this place. And so we knocked the wall down and expanded.
RB: Did you ever envision it as successful as it’s become? Like, back then?
CB: It’s always been our goal, but if you would have said, 15 years ago, “You’re gonna own the tattoo scene in Arizona and it’s gonna actually be a really great business to get into,” our parents and everybody, probably including us, would have been like, “Yeah, right, whatever.” I don’t think in general people view the tattoo business as a profitable enterprise, but it really is. I mean, if you think about how many people actually have tattoos now, you’d be really surprised. It’s a huge number of people and it’s a part of a lot of different scenes--music, sports, the art scene-- and everyone from executives to young punks, pretty much.
RB: So how about the opportunity to come work with etnies came about, and as far as you’re concerned, what is it about etnies that makes it a worthwhile collaboration?
CB: Well, the reason we were drawn to etnies, primarily, was because it’s a company that started exactly the same way Club Tattoo did: with a dream and a pocketful of money and dedication. You know, Pierre [Senizergues] put his whole life into etnies and Sole Technology, and it’s kind of crazy, but those are the kind of people we want to do business with--people who understand what it takes, dedication it takes, that are tapped into the people that they’re catering to. In a lot of ways, we’re very similar. So we felt that it would be a really good match, especially after we met with everyone over at etnies, how excited they were. It was really cool to be part of a company that kind of like, to see how a company kind of works. Even though they’re on a much larger scale than Club Tattoo, it’s a very family-oriented kind of vibe. It was just cool, it felt like the right fit. We didn’t want to go with anybody that was overly corporate or have to jump through hoops. It wouldn’t have felt right.
RB: Yep. I mean, this is a loaded question, but when you were younger, did you have etnies?
CB: I did, yeah. I grew up skating and I was never really that good, but there’s a couple years where I was actually surprising myself and I was catching air on a half-pipe or something. I was like, “Holy crap!” Every time I did it I was like, “I can’t believe I just did that.” It’s kind of crazy, but I can almost remember when etnies hit the scene when I was growing up. There was very little to choose from, especially out here in Arizona. When something actually came along, where you could wear a shoe and it wasn’t gonna destroy the top of your foot--that was always the big deal, you know--wearing ‘em down cuz you ollie so much. And when you try and pull some crazy trick and the board karate-chops your fucking foot in half. It was cool, I can remember that.
RB: So, of the designs of the Club Tattoo shoes, which ones do you like the best?
CB: It kind of depends on my mood. I think if I’m kinda wanting to feel funky or if I’m wearing primarily black, I’ll add a little flavor and throw on the slip-ons. But overall I think the Bernie’s my favorite.
Club Tattoo Interview Series, Part 5
by: Alex | Monday, January 14, 2008
An interview with Club Tattoo's Sean and Thora Dowdell (Cont'd from Part 4)
RB: So, I want for each of you…what was your first tattoo…what’s your favorite and do you have any that you sort of regret or laugh about?
*Thora laughs
SD: My first tattoo was a sixteen-year-old’s stupid mistake. I got a fake ID to get a tattoo; how lame is that? And I got a skull cutting his own head off. It was the very first thing I got covered up…
*Thora laughs
SD:…When I opened up a tattoo shop…my favorite tattoo is my tattoo of Quan Yen here that Walter did. He’s kind of Chester and my favorite artist here. He does a lot of stuff for both of us. And this tattooed Buddha up here…this whole sleeve would be my favorite tattoo and tattoos that I regret would have been the one that I already covered up.
RB: Right on
TD: My first tattoo was a (unintelligible) off the wall and it was a tribal sacred heart and it is about to get covered next week …
Unknown voice: By a picture of my face…
TD: Right *laughing
SD: *laughing
TD: I actually…I have a lot of little pieces on my back and I’m going for a full mural on my back. I’ve scheduled about eighty hours to get it complete between now and September. So that’s my next new passion--to cover a lot of different ideas that I had five-seven years ago, that I think can be improved upon…improved upon for sure. My favorite would be my peacock. This was really my coming of age in the tattoo world. To tattoo your arm, for a female I think more so than a male, I think it puts you in a whole different category that can be interpreted in a lot of ways so it took many years to come to the conclusion that I loved my art enough to bring it into the world to where I really couldn’t cover it up. And it became part of me so I really resonate a lot with having my arm tattooed now and I’m going to get ready to do more stuff soon and go from there.
RB: OK, last question, other than growing Club Tattoo and success, do each of you have goals outside of tattooing that you would like to achieve? You know…anything else that you would like to do in life other than the Club Tattoo thing?
SD: Well, Club Tattoo has become more than just having a business or having a tattoo shop. It kind of tackles a lot of goals. It’s tackling the goal of having your own shoe; it’s tackling the goal of having your own jewelry line; it’s tackling the goal of having business on the strip in Vegas; it’s tackling the goal of having our own clothing line. I mean, there’s a lot of goals that wrap up all into that thing…so what do I want to do outside of club Tattoo…
TD: Be with me…
SD: Umm…I’m pretty sure…Uh….
*laughter
SD: I’ll leave it at that
*laughter
TD: What else do we have? We have our businesses and we have each other…(laughter)
He’s actually a pretty good cook. I’m a pretty good cook too…
SD: Well actually that’s what I did before when I was (unintelligible) I was a cook so…I love to cook.
TD: The Club Tattoo brand…
SD: (interrupts Thora) You know what I want to do…I want to open a business in a foreign country…that’s what I want to do
RB: Any specific country?
SD: England, France, Mexico…all of ‘em…ya know…
TD: We could bring our…
SD: Brand or ideas…
TD: Our ideas and we could kill it (unintelligible) and maybe one day we’ll be there.
SD: You know what? I want to get my pilots license too.
TD: Ohhhhh, don’t bring that up…no…the flying thing…I can’t
SD: She doesn’t want me to do that…I’ve been thinking about it for about two years now…
TD: (unintelligible talking over Sean)
SD: I’m gearing up, gearing up…going to happen.
SD: All right, thanks.
TD: Thank you.
RB: Thank you.
SD: Cool, good interview.
RB: Thank you.
TD: Yeah, you’re awesome dude.
Club Tattoo Interview Series, Part 4
by: Alex | Friday, January 11, 2008
RB: So, before…this for each of you separately…before Club Tattoo and everything…what did you guys want to do when you grew up…when you were a kid?
SD: Well, mine was a rock star.
TD: I wanted to be a nurse.
RB: Really?
TD: Yeah, started college got into the math and the chemistry and decided it wasn’t for me…I was a people person. And then I went into the corporate world and got into sales and marketing and that’s where I found passion and found success…so…
RB: How did you two meet?
SD: When I was still playing with Chester…she was a caller onto one of the radio shows and was telling me…
TD: What?
SD: Don’t go into the whole story about that…
TD: That makes me sound so cheesy…
SD: She thought that…
TD: No, no, no, no…wait, wait…
SD: …her ex husband was having an affair with my ex girlfriend and…
TD: OK, my ex husband did…
SD:…And decided that she thought she was going to tell me on the air…but it wasn’t my girlfriend when she called…
TD: OK, it was like 3am, ya know…
SD: A girl I used to date…so she was trying to tell me something that…
TD: Had already happened and had past…we actually…our history…we were parallel for many years before we met. We were at the same functions…same parties…my ex-husband and his ex-girlfriend did work together, so we were at the same place at different times together. And so I hear him on the radio tattooing and I had just gotten into tattooing, so I heard this and I knew about his band but I didn’t know about the tattoo shop so when I heard the tattooing…I raced home and call on the line and I’m going to say we met and a week later we were moving in together and a year later we were married…
SD:…Yeah, we hit it off like right away. It was weird.
RB: That’s cool…so how long have you been married…ten years…but together…
SD: Eleven
TD: Yeah
RB: Cool…so is it sort of gratifying…running a business with your wife and sort of best friend?
SD: It can be, yeah, it can be…
TD: I think it’s more gratification than stress…there definitely is a fair share of stress that’s there being married but I personally feel like there’s a lot of empowerment, a lot of trust. We can go home and work in our home office any hours of the evening if we wish to, and be parents and then switch gears to business partners, and then back to parents and we get to have a lot of control of our life. So there’s a lot of reward involved and when I first married him, he had the shop for a couple years and I used to say to him, “I don’t know how you do that (unintelligible with banging noise) thing…I don’t know about all that.” And then once I got a taste of it, I was hooked.
RB: How about the kids…what happens when the kids want to start getting tattoos and piercing?
SD: No way, eighteen…
TD: Yeah…
SD: Or you get your ass kicked…
TD: Yeah…
SD: No…it’s not for fun…
TD: They won’t see it that way though…
SD: Serious respect has to come with getting this stuff; it’s not a game. If my kids even think about it before eighteen…
TD: It’s over…for them…
SD: Yeah
TD: Well this is very…it’s very benign to them. They are raised in this atmosphere. We don’t have them at the tattoo shops very often at all. This is an adult environment; it is not an environment for children. They do see body art, they see us getting tattooed, they admire it. Our littlest boy, who’s six, he loves putting his little fake tattoos on…
SD: (Interrupting) Yeah, he does fake tattoos.
TD: You know…and little mohawks…they think it’s cool…but they have a different appreciation for it because it’s not presented to them as a stigma.
(Unknown): Yeah, exactly…
TD: You know… “ohhhh…look at that tattooed person over there”… “What? My mom and dad are tattooed.” You know? And they really do have an appreciation for it and hopefully we’re teaching them good work ethic by being around them a lot and teaching them how to be a business person, first and foremost in their life, regardless of whatever business they go into.
RB: Sort of too, doing what you love for a living is something…I mean me personally I wasn’t raised with, so…
SD: No?
RB: That makes it interesting…
SD: Damn right. You know, my mom always told me that I could do anything I want and I think I get a lot of my passion for trying whatever I want from her and my grandfather…
*Thora laughs
SD: My Dad, I think…he was the nine to fiver. “You got to do this; this is what you have to do to make it,” you know, “to be above water”. I think they come from a whole different era where just being above water was OK, as long as they weren’t sinking it was OK, and that’s not where I want to be. I want to kick the world in the ass…
TD: He wants to be in the yacht *laughing
SD: It’s not about that…
TD: No, no
SD: It’s about the (unintelligible because Thora is talking over Sean)…it’s never been about the money for me…it’s always been about the (unintelligible because Thora is talking over Sean)
TD: (Talking over Sean) Yeah, But wouldn’t you rather be in the yacht than a little…what are those things…called…a dingy?
SD: Well of course but it’s never been about that for me; it’s always been about creating something cool and having fun while I’m doing it.
RB: Well I don’t think any real artists or creative people would say anything differently, you know…true artists….
And next... the exciting conclusion. Then, an interview with Chester Bennington.
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Club Tattoo Interview Series, Part 3
by: Alex | Monday, January 7, 2008
An interview with Club Tattoo's Sean and Thora Dowdell (Cont'd from Part 2)
RB: So, then how did the etnies shoe collaboration come about?
SD: We have another partner, named Andy, who was approached by etnies to do a shoe with Chester and Chester didn’t really want to have a Chester rock star shoe. He said, “This makes so much more sense, fashion-wise, to tie in the tattoo shop.” So he brought that to etnies and etnies loved it right off the bat, so we flew out…or they flew out here actually…and uh…
TD: (Cutting Sean off) We aligned ourselves with a company that does business the way that we do, which is grass roots. We stay core to our audience. Sole Technology and etnies does the same thing and it’s turned into a passion now to change wearable art and to be more authentic. We are not the first people to do art on shoes but we are definitely the first authentic tattoo art that is going to come out on shoes…hand drawn from our facility by our artists that work here. And the way that etnies produces their quality of shoes, they stay core to their clients and make sure that they’re upholding the quality standard, and we like that. We like that about it--that they are going to represent street style with a passion for art and really with any kind of core lifestyle…there’s music and there’s art and lifestyle. All that’s going to go hand in hand and you make it wearable and before you know it, you’ve got something really cool.
RB: So, obviously the first shoes are going to be out soon…people seem excited about ‘em, you seem excited about ‘em…I’m just wondering if you do envision doing…like into the future doing a second season of shoes, a third season
SD: We actually have a three year contract with etnies…
RB: Oh, OK
SD: So yeah…we’ve got six…
TD: We’ve got a few seasons (Says over Sean)
SD: Six seasons of shoes to come out and the way it turned out was our original contract was for one shoe…
TD: A couple pair…*laughing (Says over Sean)
SD: Turned into a couple pair and turned into four pair and now it turned into four pair twice a year for three years so it just kind of snowballed.
RB: That’s good.
SD: Like everything else for us I guess.
RB: (unintelligible)…that your doing things right…
SD: Hopefully
TD: Well, we’re doing what we love and when you do what you love it comes a lot more easily then someone who drudges themselves to work everyday, hating what they’re doing. We come in with a lot of spirit and a passion for the art and it just culminates into every other subject.
RB: So, how did you decide who was going to come up with the designs for the shoes?
SD: We put it out to twenty-two artists that work for us…
RB: Wow
SD: …And said, “Everybody, submit something or several things,” and we whittled it down to eight, nine or twelve designs. We submitted those to etnies…
TD: And then the designers from etnies brought in their opinion.
SD: Yeah, they whittled it down to six or seven. We ran some tests, ran some samples rather, and then we chose the four pair from there with the etnies team.
RB: Will you sort of take that same process for the following seasons or…
SD: We’ve already submitted everything for the next season, the Spring ’08 and the etnies team locked into four designs right off the bat so we’re not even going to sample seven or eight this time. We’re just going to sample the four that we all loved right away.
RB: Different artists or any people (unintelligible)…
SD: Actually one of the artists…actually no…the same three artists that did the first series got picked to do the second series.
TD: It was kind of a motif going, I guess. They’re all very different…each of the styles…the two…the shoes that are out for ’07…the two female shoes…one is very fashion-forward, wearable art, “look at me” type shoe. The other is a little more (unintelligible) for that girl that doesn’t feel bold enough to get a huge tattoo but will get a little one so she’ll get a little bit on the shoe. So we kind of reached out to both genres of the art world--you know, someone who’s willing to come in and, you know, want to really show off body art versus someone who just wants to test the waters a little bit and not really commit.
SD: The artists that got picked…one of the guys names is Chris Bailey, Matt Gigamma and Melissa Fusco are the three artists that designed both seasons of shoes so far.
RB: I’m going to try to talk to them in a little bit
SD: Cool
RB: So, then which shoes are your personal favorites so far?
TD: I like, for the men’s, the one that he’s wearing. And I have to say the shoe that I’m wearing now, the dove, would have to be my favorite.
RB: Cool…so…I guess what I’m wondering now is…your Club Tattoo involved with etnies or beyond…but, what’s the future of it…is it more stores, is it more…
SD: We’re actually opening up a store in Vegas, mid-summer next year. It’s at the (unintelligible) Casino/Resort…we’re an anchor (unintelligible) so we’re a big boy in that casino. We’re going to open up a three thousand square foot tattoo/piercing studio along with a clothing store on the bottom level of the casino. It’s going to be really, really sick. We plan on opening probably several more stores.
TD: We’ll be the first tattoo shop (talking over Sean)…We’ll be the first tattoo shop that has been allowed to be on the strip in Nevada.
RB: That’s what I was just going to…that could be pretty wild.
SD: It’s going to be great…
TD: It’s going to be very wild…
SD: It’s two and a half years in the making, so is this deal with etnies actually, so everything is kind of culminating…coming to a head at this point from two and a half years worth of work. We also are going to launch a clothing line coming out at Magic this August…it’s called VE’CEL by Club Tattoo. You know, we are very passionate about getting out there in the fashion industry.
*strange noise interrupts and there is laughter
TD: (unintelligible) …never ends…
RB: So, I was going to ask you guys to give me like a funny Chester story, that maybe…
TD: *laughing …How much time you got?...*laughing
RB: We got a lot of time…
SD: I’ll tell you a funny Chester story. I got the best one right here. Chester and I also play in a side project band called (unintelligible)…
TD: Interrupts with loud laughter…yes…
SD:…we played (talking over each other…unintelligible)
last year and that was one of our first shows and we went on a little, it was supposed to be a month tour we got hired to do this thing for RJ Reynolds…to go out and play all of their corporate parties all over the United States and at our very first show, we played in Albuquerque. It was this whole--we were introduced by Ron Jeremy on stage--and it was supposed to be this whole Vegas-goes-Porn thing…
TD (Interrupting Sean) Mind you…I don’t know about the Ron Jeremy part and I don’t know about…
SD: Neither did any of us until we get there...
TD & SD: (Unintelligible talk over each other)
SD: …And we get there and we’re playing in front of…I don’t know…fifteen hundred, twenty five hundred people, something like that and Chester…this was when he was drinking…so he was pretty happy up on stage and we’re all playing and about six, seven songs into the set he raises his bottle of Jack Daniel’s…he’s got a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in the other--mind you, we’re at an RJ Reynolds party; this is a cigarette party--he gets up on stage and says, “Hey, is everybody having fun?” and it was kind of a dead response and he said, “Alright all you mother-f-ers, how’s it feel to be getting lung cancer and liver disease?” And it was like…you could hear a pin drop.
RB: *Laughing
SD: Our power got cut, security guards came out of nowhere. They just appeared, grabbed all of us, escorted us off stage. Three lawyers came out of the back alley with our contract, highlighted fifty-two points of interest we violated and we got kicked off an RJ Reynolds tour for saying the word cancer. So that, to me, was like the funniest thing and he was so upset because we lost a ton of money and I thought it was the most punk rock moment of my musical career…to be able to tell the tobacco companies to shove it up their…
RB: Yeah
SD: …Was awesome
TD: Yeah, I’m getting text messages at midnight and you can hear everyone in the van…
SD: Talking to our wives…
TD: Talking to their wives…we’re going to get sued by RJ Reynolds…oh my god…
TD & SD: (Unintelligible talk over each other)
SD: …Ready to sue us for three million dollars…all this crap…
TD: Yeah, Yeah, it was a very big situation…
SD: (talking over Thora) It was…just the funniest thing I’ve ever seen him do unknowingly.
TD: Unknowingly…just trying to have fun…he was drinking alcohol himself and smoking while drinking…
SD: (talking over Thora) It was a cigarette party. I mean, that was the whole irony.
TD: Yeah, very ironic.
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So Wassup with Club Tattoo?
by: Alex | Friday, January 4, 2008
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Club Tattoo Interview Series, Part 2
by: Alex | Friday, December 28, 2007
RB: So, that was for the second store?
SD: That was for the third.
RB: Oh, OK, cool. So, do you do tattooing?
SD: I do not…I do body piercing.
RB: Oh, OK…so, I guess…how long have you been doing that?
SD: 12 years.
RB: So do you actively do that? Or are you kind of…
SD: I only do it at conventions or to do like different photo shoots or poster shoots or stuff like that. I don’t really work at the shops anymore. I’ll do appointment basis if someone really wants me to do something special on ‘em. I’ll do that but I don’t pierce tongues and (unintelligible) and stuff anymore.
RB: Is it something you…I guess since you have been doing it 12 years that’s what you were doing back in the day…is it something you kind of miss at all?
SD: Yeah, I love it. To me, it totally grounded me to my client--not just my client, but Club Tattoo’s client.
TD: That’s how he ends up getting kicked out of the office ‘cause he’s not working shifts now. So he’s kind of still finding his way not actively piercing. It’s a passion just like tattooing or being a musician. Professional piercing is definitely technology, (unintelligible), math, a lot of math goes into doing some of those designs and year projects--things like that so it’s definitely not something people are great at right out the gates. It’s definitely a learned talent.
RB: Did you…let’s see…she cut you off here.
SD: No…
TD: Sorry, I always cut him off…
*Thora laughs
RB: So, I guess originally when things started…you said they took off unexpectedly…you were trying to find a…what do you attribute the success of Club Tattoo to?
SD: I think there’s a lot of facets to that. And to answer that, the first thing I would say would be the passion and motivation that myself and my team has. Were not a bunch of lazy people. I’ve never hired a bunch of lazy people so each individual that works here and has worked here, for the most part, has really contributed a lot to the whole ball rolling, so to speak. I wake up every day seven days a week and I work. I’m a workaholic. I always want to push this place to be better, cooler, innovative I always want to push the envelope whether it be piercing, tattooing, now clothing, shoes. I always want to make things better. I think drive would be…if I had to sew it up into one thing…it would be drive.
RB: So, nowadays with the increasing popularity of tattooing and piercing and the whole lifestyle and tv shows…I guess I’m sort of wondering in your eyes and this being a successful venture, what makes Club Tattoo different than, like, everything else out there?
SD: Well, we don’t take a traditional tattoo parlor approach; I think we take a very female-friendly art gallery approach to tattooing. So, we have more of the very upscale, hair salon/art gallery version of a tattoo studio. So right there we’re different. When you walk in the door, we’re different. We don’t have flash all over the walls. We don’t have dirty floors. We don’t have--everything is private. Everything is done to where you feel comfortable with the artist and it’s about your experience. You’re not put on display here when you come and get tattooed in front of fifty other people you don’t know and paying for the most part for your entire stay. We try to make it as comfortable as possible and I think that’s what’s defiantly different about us.
TD: The tattoo industry…we have pioneered a level of customer service, combined with professionalism, and a talent of the artist here that surpasses anybody in the industry and we have a team of people that do just the customer service; we have a team of people that do the tattooing and a team of people that do the piercing; and collectively they make the experience for the customer and the customer gets hand held from the moment they walk in, to the moment they leave. And we have a very loyal client base. And we’re good to them and they pay us respect and loyalty in return.
SD: That’s a good point too. The loyalty of our client base, I would have to say, is definitely different from what most tattoo studios would have.
TD: Most of our tattoo artists have been working here for many years; we do not really have a high turnover. People come here to build careers. That makes a very big difference to the clientele. Our artists are very serious about their work, they’re very serious about their positions at Club Tattoo and they are building their careers here as well. So that also helps build clientele trust and loyalty because they know that their artist is going to be there maybe in six months or a year when they want to bring a friend back or come back and get some more work, we’re here for them. Reliability is a big one in this business. To have reliability makes you stand apart.
RB: One thing you just touched on earlier is you said that this shop has sort of a more feminine…
*Thora laughs
SD: female friendly!
TD: female friendly!
RB: But, I was kind of walking around and I was going to ask you earlier before we were rolling but I wanted to say that like it seems almost like it’s, I thought it might have almost been sort of designed and laid out by a woman…I don’t know if that’s...
*Thora laughs over talking
SD: NO, not at all!
RB: But it has a touch to it that’s sort of soft.
SD: We’ll she’s defiantly helped in the design of the whole atmosphere, without a doubt.
TD: You know, as far as being a woman in this business…it is a predominately male environment, however the predominate percentage of client is female. So if the women are happy, the men are happy. If the women come, the men will come. Women generally spend their own money and they spend their man’s money so just the shop-ability, where you place garments things like that--and that’s another thing that set us apart from most of the tattoo industry. We offer full body connection. You can do tattooing, piercing, you can come and pick up some great accessories, clothing. That brings a twist to the tattoo business that really isn’t out there, so…
RB: I could just tell right away when I walked in, I could just…it had a sort of female touch that’s not overdone…sort of nurturing or something.
SD: Homey…
TD: Well, thank you.
RB: Yeah
SD: It makes you feel comfortable.
RB: So, back to something else…you were talking about the loyalty of your customers…I just wanted to ask about…like, so…how much does sort of Chester’s affiliation with Linkin Park, and all that, come into play as far as the success of the shop?
SD: Not much.
*Thora laughs
RB: It seems like it’s not that big of an issue…
SD: It’s not, we don’t play into it a whole lot, to be honest. Chester got involved because we’re close friends. As soon as Chester got involved, we didn’t put a big sign out front that says Club Tattoo owned by Chester Bennignton of Linkin Park.
TD: Owned by a rock star (said over Sean)…yeah
SD: We don’t use that because we don’t have to use that…
RB: Yeah
SD: …and I think what’s funny now…
TD: (speaks over Sean-unintelligible)
SD:…Chester is like, “Hey, we can do this,” and I’m like, “No we don’t need to do that.” You know when we’re promoting an event or a concert or something like that, then we’ll pull that tie in. Ya know? When we really need to tap into people outside of our immediate area, I guess…for people, like in California or Utah, then Chester comes in very handy because of his media savvy…his media plug-ins. But as far as everyday business, we don’t use that a lot.
RB: Well that’s what it seems like and I think probably people, as you guys grow, might…people who aren’t around here, or whatever, don’t know the whole story might get the wrong impression…
SD: Oh, we get that all the time
TD: And that’s OK…and that’s OK (A second time…over Sean)
SD: They think it’s a success because of that, but at the end of the day as long as the business is successful, who cares the reason why? So if that’s what somebody thinks, then so be it.
RB: Well, once people learn about the business, at some point they’re going to learn that that’s not the case anyway, like with this interview, for example.
TD: Right
SD: Like I said, either way, it don’t matter to us. As long as people see it as a success and see what we’re actually offering, what we’re bringing to the industry, that’s what’s important. It’s not about me getting credit for anything, or me getting patted on the back--oh, he didn’t do this or she didn’t do this--it’s about, well, we all did this collectively. So, you know, cool. As long as you think it’s cool, as long as you get what we are doing, then awesome. Then I don’t care who you think is responsible.
Stay tuned for Part 3!
Club Tattoo Interview Series, Part 1
by: Alex | Friday, December 21, 2007
Interview with Sean and Thora Dowdell by Robert Brink
RB: How do you feel about interviews?
SD: Love ‘em.
RB: Really?
SD: Yeah.
RB: That’s cool. Some people hate ‘em.
SD: I only hate ‘em when I gotta do 30 of them in a day. Other than that –
TD: Or when they’re asking really foolish questions.
SD: Yeah, when you have to answer really stupid questions, you know, like. . .
RB: What’s an example of a stupid question?
SD: Oh we had an interview in NY and this guy's was
TD: “If you could resurrect anybody from the dead and punch him in the eye, who would it be?”
RB: Let me cross that off my list.
TD: Yeah
RB: That’s a weird one, why would you want to punch somebody in the eye?
SD: Yeah, that was a really retarded question.
RB: Yeah, I mean, what are you supposed to say, like Hitler? You know what I mean?
SD: Okay, who’s gonna read this and give a shit what the answer is, you know? Soon as they read the question, they’re gonna throw the magazine in the trash!
RB: So, Club Tattoo started 12 years ago, correct?
SD: Yeah
RB: Okay, what was the–when you dreamt it up, where did the idea come from, and what were your initial plans for Club Tattoo?
SD: It came from being a broke musician. Jess and I were playing in a band and doing a lot of touring at the time and we kind of needed, we kind of came up with the idea to open up a business at the time to help supplement our income when we were on the road and that’s really what stems--that’s how the whole--that’s what it stems from and then we realized it was a whole lot of work once it actually started-the whole company and once, you know, once the band had helped really culminate the tattoo shop in the early years, the first 5 years--the band pushed it, marketed it more than I think tattoo studios had ever done in the past because we had that whole music machine plugging in and that’s what brought it to the top of the game fairly quickly and that was really the premise, was to supplement our income but, you know, it kind of exploded beyond that.
RB: So, how did you and Chester meet originally?
SD: He was singing in his friend’s garage and I was in a project looking for a singer
and a kid named Chris, who was playing in my band at the time, told me about Chester. And we went and jammed a little bit and pretty much haven’t been separated since that point and have been in the music business. We stuck together for about 8 years after that.
RB: Right on, so when you first were like, “OK, we’re going to do this Club Tattoo thing,” did you think it was going to get successful? You said it was to supplement your income…
SD: No…
RB: Was your goal…to do the band and…
SD: I thought I was going be a rock star that happened to own a tattoo shop…
TD: (laughing in the background) Cool factor.
SD: Completely…well, you know at the time, my band was a lot cooler than a tattoo shop so that didn’t gain me a lot of points in the social world. Now the tattooing has really become forefront of fashion, forefront of cool in the social scene and that people—“Oh wow, you own a tattoo shop now?” Of course that would be a lot different but in my early 20’s I was playing in a band in front of thousands of people. That was really what was cool and what was happening at the time not the tattoo shop. So no, it’s completely reversed roles.
RB: Right on, so how long did you have one store before it became successful and you opened a second?
SD: Seven years…
RB: Seven years…
SD: …and that’s when Thora joined up with me. And really, together we kind of exploded at that point--with her help and vision and direction and organization really. I’m really the creative mind behind a lot of things but then she’ll actually take my idea and chip all the fat off of it and help me organize it.
TD: (unintelligible words)
SD: She’ll help me organize it into something that makes sense and is actually attainable.
RB: That’s what I was going to ask, I was kind of going to ask the dynamic between your role versus her role, and…
SD: You ever seen ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ ?
TD: Laughing
SD: Kind of like that…we butt heads a lot but it’s all for the same…it’s weird….like, her and I will argue and butt heads, but it’s to make sure we’re still going in the same direction to meet that end goal that we both have. We both have the same vision; we just want to take different roads all the time to get there so we butt heads a lot along the way.
TD: We would be great for a reality show because to watch us on a day to day basis is very…just like what you see with ‘Dog The Bounty Hunter’ with his wife tellin’ him…
SD & TD: Laughing
TD: When we first started watching that show I was like, “Wow, that looks familiar.”
RB: So how ‘bout the dynamic of being married and running this operation together? I mean does it add a new dynamic? Does it make things easier or more complicated at times?
SD: It makes it more complicated because your roles get completely confused. Sometimes you need to be husband and sometimes you need to be…
TD: A partner…
SD: Yeah, a partner, business partner, business relationship, whatever you want to say and it’s very easy…especially the first couple of years…we didn’t understand each others role in the business and in the marriage, we didn’t know when one started and one stopped. Now I think it’s a lot more defined.
RB: Is there anybody…marriage vs. Club Tattoo….is there anybody that’s more sort of behind the wheel, wearing the pants in either situation or are you guys sort of fifty/fifty as far as Club Tattoo is concerned?
TD: We’re fifty/fifty but if somebody had to go, it would be me.
SD: I would say fifty point one and forty-nine point nine…
TD: Laughing…
SD: And it’s definitely my brainchild, so...
SD: Well, she does more than that, but, it’s definitely my brainchild but at the same time it wouldn’t have gotten where it’s at without Thora’s help so it’s a fifty/fifty venture and, ya know and Chester’s influence is into that too because he helped do a lot of things--not day to day operation things, but creativity and expansion ideas--stuff like that. I would say in the marriage, she probably holds more weight than I do. At home, she kind of runs the situation.
RB: Cool.
TD: That’s why I (unintelligible) here…we kick him out of the office
SD: I’m starting not to even have a job here anymore
RB: You just kind of brought up something that I was going to get into…so, you were doing the band for a while and then Club Tattoo took off and then…I’m just sort of time lining it…Chester gets involved with Linkin Park and then Linkin Park takes off?
SD: Actually we had a couple of record deals with the band we were in…it was called Gray Daze, previous to Linkin Park. We were playing in front of thousands of people, touring, the whole thing…had a few songs on the radio. We had a falling out with the band. We decided to break up and then, Chester--we all had the same attorney that was working for Gray Daze and he plugged Chester out in this other situation out in LA and just took all of the momentum, everything that was going for the music scene at that time and just plugged him in and then they worked for about a year, got a deal and exploded right then.
RB: And so how did that effect his involvement with Club Tattoo?
SD: At the time, well he didn’t own the business I started. He helped me lay the floor and do all of that stuff as my friend. You know, there wasn’t really much to own back then and then after Linkin Park had blown up and Chester and I reconciled and started talking again and hanging out, he asked me, “Hey, how could I get involved?” ‘cause he saw what was going on and he liked it. I said, “well, we’re going to open up another store. Why don’t you get involved?” And he did.
Tune in next week for Part 2...
New Club Tattoo Shoes & Contest!
by: Alex | Friday, December 14, 2007
The masterminds behind the tat-inspired Bernie and Fakie are at it again. New, for Spring '08, etnies and Club Tattoo have four all new designs to feed your need for wearable art. Available in January to the rest of the world, the new Fleet, Fader, Chambosa and Lo-Pro-Baller are just waiting to be won now! Check out the details and enter to win here.
Stay tuned for exclusive interviews with Sean, Thora and Chester.
