Interview with Sid Wilson- Slipknot

What was your first tattoo?

"A dead dolphin! People were getting tattoos and it was popular to get a rose or a dolphin or something stupid like that, so I got a dead one! That was when I was in high school, just a needle and thread and some ink."

That ‘MUST KILL’ tattoo on your knuckles is a work of genius!

“A long ago Slipknot had a band member that was a baby and he used to write that on my knuckles before each show. When he left I’d write it on myself, but it’d smear off when I surfed so I got it tattooed. You get interested reactions, but you find a way to draw people to the positive rather than the negative. They’re like, ‘What the hell is that?’ I’m like, ‘Well, that’s the sad truth about the human race...’ then we’ll get into a political conversation and start seeing each others’ views and learning shit about each other. And it keeps people away if they don’t have the guts to ask or deal with issues in society. But if someone has the guts to come forward and ask and try to figure it out...those are the people who want to evolve and find out the reasons why. Those are the people who turn out to be your friend because those are the people who have the strength to make change.”

Is that a ‘TWIN TOWERS’ tattoo on your arm?

“I just kind of vision a tattoo I wanted of a city on fire, with two tall buildings, one taller than the other, and a church at the bottom. It was only after I got it done that 9/11 happened with the twin towers, one shorter than the other exactly as it happened. Even the church at the bottom, I guess there was a church at the bottom and pretty much the only survivors were in the church. Most people are like, ‘Bullshit!’ but I don’t have to argue.”

Can you predict lottery numbers too?

“No, unfortunately.”

Is it important for you to have a good relationship with the tattooist?

“Not necessarily. Sometimes you just get a keepsake tattoo. Depends what kind of tattoos you like: some people like getting entire pieces and some like getting pirate tattoos that are kind of scattered all over and it’s like the mark of a traveller, someone who moves around, gets different people doing their work. Some people just get one person doing all their work, but if you ask me I’m like, ‘Oh shit, I don’t remember. This was some guy I met in New York and we sat up all night on the bus.’ The one with the cigarette crucifix with the matchsticks in it...We always called them ‘death sticks’ and I quit smoking so I thought it was cool since I hadn’t smoked for three years. It was done by Von Munster in Vegas whose dad was a famous circus clown. I liked the fact that his dad was a circus clown and he was really funny, such a weird, quirky guy...You’ve got to be one to smell one out! I was like, ‘This guy’s cool as fuck!’ Most of my tattoos are free, though.”

It shows a lot of restraint that you are not entirely covered then.

“Oh yeah. I’m still a little picky, but I get offers all the time. It I don’t know what I want then I’m not gonna get one, but if I happened to be somewhere and something was drawn yesterday and it’s an original drawing then I’ll get that. It’s gotta be special somehow.”

Tatt-Dos and Tatt-Don’ts

“Don’t feel in a hurry to do it and get a tattoo that you really want. Don’t get one just for the sake of getting a tattoo. Have an idea of what you want- don’t just pick something off the wall. Some shops have custom flash- after you get it tattooed they’ll get rid of the flash so no one else has that tattoo.”