Forward for 'High Voltage Tattoo' by Kat Von D

Some things about Kat Von D are just plain obvious.

She's wall-to-wall heavy metal, a B-52 bomber dropping nulcear F-bombs on full-tilt boogie, guns blazing, all the while balancing on top of eight-inch stripper platform shoes--and that's all before most people are out of bed. A statuesque beauty with a smile so addictive it hooks you in, when she walks into a room her presence completely overpowers you. That's why, for three seasons now, her fans have been watching Kat and her crew on the TV show LA Ink for a weekly Kat-fix. Like the wart on Lemmy's face, there's just no ignoring her.

She's definitely a top-fuel funny car, a superhero cartoon character with a tattoo machine firmly in her hand twenty-four hours a day. The saying "I'll sleep when I'm dead" doesn't even apply to her, 'cause she'll be tattooing an angel on Satan's shoulder when her time comes, and he will fucking love it, 'cause she is Kat Von D, Mistress of the Ink.

Now, here's what's not so obvious about Katherine Von Drachenberg. She can sit down at the piano and play Beethoven's Sonata in G Major from top to bottom with her eyes closed. She loves music and knows more about it than just about anybody I've ever met. She hates violence, and literally cannot hurt a fly. She always says "thank you" and "please," and feels bad when the bellman at the door tries to carry her bags. She loves fashion but hates to shop.

Okay, so you get it, every coin has two sides, but the saying is, there are three sides to every story. Here's the side of this girl that blew me away right off the bat: She has to tattoo. If she doesn't tattoo, she gets her panties all in a wad, and the wrath of Kat Von D isn't one you want to see. Point is, the girl fucking loves tattooing. She can name any tattoo artist who has mattered, does matter, or is going to matter off the top of her head.

She's a true artist and she doesn't care about the celebrity (even though she's a fucking rock star). When she's done filming her show, she takes appointments and tattoos late into the night. She doesn't spend a lot of her time off going to chichi clubs and hobnobbing with the beautiful people. They come to her.

When she's in her element, she feels honest. In other words, "She ain't fucking around by hanging around!" She's got work to do. So you'll most likely find her with a lucky soul as she lays out a piece of art on their body that they'll carry around for the rest of their lives, and that means more to her than just about anything in the world (except maybe peanut butter).

I've seen it a zillion times, when they walk out of the shop, and she's beaming, like a proud mama who's just given birth.

Last but not least, she gives credit where credit is due. I can't tell you how many artists she has turned me on to. Her voice rises in volume and her brows arch as she declares that "Not enough people know about Michael Hussar!" or "Kore Flatmo blows my mind!" or "Nikko has set the bar high!"

The list goes on, and you'll find out about these amazing artists and many others in this book. I've enjoyed watching her put this monster together, hours and hours of rewriting, scanning, digging in her past, and sometimes finding things that even she forgot about.

Her family, friends, and peers all proudly shouting from their lungs..."KAT VON D!"

If I know this woman as well as I think I do, she'll be the first tattooer on the moon.

~ Nikki Sixx

This is here for entertainment purposes for those who do not have the book. We do not claim ANY part of this foreward.
Nikki Sixx/Kat Von D ('High Voltage Tattoo')