when i was a younger guy, i had my idols in bands and movies and whatever. I always thought "ohhhh man! if i could meet this person holy shit i'd die, void my bowels, wake up, then die again!"
as Ive grown up, and trust me...I aint grown up much. If anything my vocabulary has degraded and my maturity level is now that of a 17 year old.
BUT, as I've grown up and gotten into a career thats considered "cool" by a constantly raising percentage of society, Ive noticed that famous moviestars/musicians/TV personalities are nothing more than someone that got lucky and is rich for their talent, instead of this untouchable superhuman, fuckin diety that i'd die in front of if ever given the chance to do so.
Heres why....
Im not at all trying to sound cocky or whatever....I have a sweet job. When I was getting tattooed I thought it was the coolest thing ever going and hanging out at the tattoo shop. When I got my first call direct from my artists cell phone to my cell phone I thought "fuck yes. Im the shit. tattoo guy and me are tight. fuck yeah. dudes saved in my phone, were homies now...no big deal... big man on campus. whattup?!"
now i realize that was dumb, i always wanted to be a tattooist, so of course i looked up to everyone i got tattooed by. but now im in the industry...i aint the shit at all, but i dont do bad work....I hang out with some of the people i used to look up to. fuck man i go to bridgeport art show parties and see tim beck there, tim just gave a painting to corey miller....yeah, six feet under corey miller....dont ring a bell? LA Ink corey miller. watch a little more TV.....
giving a painting to a dude doesnt seem like that big a deal but in this business its one of two things, or both. its either you respect the dude, you want to give him a painting. its the ultimate sign of respect. OR, you're trading. but the whole reason you trade anyways is out of being homies and respecting each other. you dont just send a random mother fucker a painting. you dont wanna be awkward superfan.... you give that shit to your friends.
i just lurked, saw that shit, tim is cool as ice, fuckin painting was rad, i see tim every couple months and ive known the guy for years. now that im in the business i feel like im not fuckin up, im in the next generation of good tattooers....whatever. and blackjack (owns bridgeport) is retarded good tattoooer. always remembers us, always shows us a good time whenever we go over there. BP parties are fuckin so fun.
Point of that and this whole story is.....I've got friends....friends that were really good friends of mine before I started getting good at tattooing, that were fine just hanging out and being home boys....awesome friends. not all, but a couple of them get more psyched that Im their tattoo guy than I am their friend.
its weird....almost like the "star struck" thing on a WAY smaller scale...i got friends that look up to me more now that im their "tattoo guy" i go hang out with people and its not "this is my friend, steve." its "this is my tattoo artist"
im hanging out, i wanna be friends, i wanna escape work. just say were friends man....
but i got a shit ton of friends where to them, im still just me. same as i ever was.
i was talking to someone about getting star struck and its the same fuckin thing.
i feel like actors got it worse. i think actors are fucking crazy.
but as far as bands go, no matter how famous or whatever....its the same shit. dude played guitar, got good, rich. played drums, got good, rich. bass.....anyone can be good at bass so whatever. that fucker just got lucky.
but dude....i got good at art, i do that. yeah its a "rockstar" job, but i make nothing. someday ill be makin stacks. big ballin. if i could be local famous. booked 3 or 4 months advance...im set. but ill still be the guy that just got good at his talent and figured it out, i could travel the fucking world on guest spots and conventions but id still be me.
thats why id never get star struck. its just a normal dude that was good enough or lucky enough to make it big. ITS JUST A NORMAL PERSON.
and like i said....if i deal with a couple randoms saying im their tattoo artist and not their friend....these musicians and actors must have that "damn i just wanna hang out" feeling 100000 times worse.
i cant do it. i could meet my biggest idol tomorrow and just talk about normal shit. fuck being the gay "EEEEKK!! IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!!!"
how many days a year do you hear that shit?
fuck that. everyones normal as fuck. except tom cruise.
i consider you a friend, although we arent that close. still closer than aquaintances i'd like to think. and i totally understand the feeling almost like you have groupies. lol. i get emails and friends requests from clients all the time and it always kinda weirds me out. at least you know people think you are top in your profession. :)
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