When a band is nearly 30 years old and his songs are still giving goosbups to the crowd of Halle de la Villette in Mondial du Tatouage, that means this band is a real legend. From New-York Hardcore side, Madball, which comes from the Miret siblings, let his marks years after years in hardcore history. Beyond heavy riffs and the singer charismatic personnality : the singer Freddy, the band never let a doubt on their values. Since « Set It Off » or « Demonstrating my style », their catchword has always been « Honnor, respect, loyalty ». Values that are inherent to a musical subculture and tattoo and one place : the Lower East Side, where they grow up. Those underdogs became one of these pillars. Inside their crew, DMS, a name coming from the boots they used while stomping lower Manhattan's neighborhood, from CBGB's scene to underground boutique of Johnathan Shaw, they always shared the same story. Let's meet the two band funders : Freddy Cricien and hoya Roc
How old were you at your first tattoo ?
Hoya : I was 17, it was fun i was actually talking about it with Norm we all got tattoo probably around me seventeen and probably everybody elses between 15 or 17... Freddy : i was 15 … we were young kids . I was probably 15 and probably 17 when MQ did my last name on my stomach (Cricien) and i did that in Hoya's basement actually and who knows what happened to my organs. I think he tattooed my organs when he did that, cause the needle was on wrong but ten hours later he figured it out. That's how you do it, there is none of numbing creme stuff, we don't do that you know you just have to take the pain.
Tattooing yourself is a good way to express yourself and your ideas ?
Freddy : yeah, it is a very big part of Hardcore culture, especially in New york, a lot of people are heavily tattooed and even in comparison to other hardcore scenes, around states and stuff, i thing New York guys , as really took it to the next level. It was another form of rebellion, and just that all things you know, nowadays, you see people who look like hardcore kids, but are really not completely related to that. Its just becoming more fashionable, which is not a bad thing i guess for the tattoo industry, but when we were growing up it was very much about being rebellious and all that. And you like them , its because you want to do that. Hoya : when you se the stitches ont them, yo uknow what it is, you have got to see them, you know what i mean Each tattoos you get has a meaning to you ? Freddy : usually it does. Yes ! Hoya : a lot of pain Freddy : i have meaningful tattoo, same for me, yeah usually, they have some sort of meaning,some more than others but another right of passage thing, he is the same way, we didnt get tattooed over night, we like to took our time, luckly we know good artist, over the years ,whose came from our scene. It never has been like a big rush to like nowadays kids just get like necks and all bodies tattooed in like a week. We never did that, i mean i still have my back empty, my all back is almost completly empty, i still have many part of my body that are not tattooed.
And these guys dont have any tattoos here …
Freddy : yeah thats weird, i dont want to talk crap and i dont want to sound like an older guy who's talking down to the youth but i use to earn them, as you did things in your life, as you accomplished different you things you would get more tattoos... Hoya : they use to be called « The jobs stoppers » because they became job stoppers now job stoperrs are face tattoos, then before it was just elbows or sleeve tattoos. So usually you would get something on your back and then ok something still not visual. Its a commitment, you know, i think people, they dive into quick and in five years from now, lasez removal will uprising a lot, they will use probably laser removal and its gonna be operating a lot, cause its already, if you go to a beauty salon they already have laser removal for face tattoos... And you don't want to remove any of them ? Freddy : Never, i will never remove any even the worst terrible. Hoya : its a part of your life, even if you like it or not. You know so i dont understand, even the dummest tattoo. When you get a tattoo you know who you are with, where you are at, where you at mentality. Why would that change ever ? I don't understand why people get some tattoos because they saw their favorite tv star get it. If you want a tattoo, wait a year. You still want it in a year, wait another year, your body aint gonna nowere. And if you really want it you're gonna get it.
Do you have any favorite or most important tattoo ?
Freddy : yes family tattoos, family for me its always the most important for me, i have my sons name on my side, and i'm suppose to get my daughter too, i'm actually pretty late on that, i'm suppose to get my daughter on this side, family ones are always the most important ones Hoya : yeah family ones are always the top, some of them we have got from different countries, we got stuff in japan from our first tour Freddy : Hoya and i got this from Japan, maybe our first time in japan, Hoya and i got these Hoya : so some of them means we were member, and we went to japan so we wanted some japanese traditionnal tattoos, Freddy : we got something in new zealand together so i got this on my thigh and he got it on his thigh too, we do have some which mark a time in your life.
What kind of tattoo style do you have on you ?
Freddy : we have different style, black and grey, we 've got a lot of religious art, cause of the culture we grew up with, we are catholic, so that imagerie always was cool to us. You Freddy also have been tattooed by Juan Puente ? Freddy : Juan Puente , Chris Garver, Mike Ledger, Chris Garver started out, Chris Garver moved to New York from Pittsburg, and he grew up with Will Chepler original member and drummer so we had a friendship a connection with him even before he was working with Jonathan Shaw in the city, we were getting tattooed from him, i 've got my jesus head from Chris Garver in brooklyn, in his appartment, when he was actually in Jonathan shaw shop which was illegal *, we get stuff from garver and ledger, and those guys are legend in the game now, even to us, and we grew up in the scene with them, just like anyone.
You met them early on ?
Freddy : early on yes, early early on in their carrier, we were early on doing Madball, that kind of funny its all the same circle. * In 1961 the city of New York takes measures, supposedly temporary at first, in order to ban tattooing, at the time in full expansion. The big apple being nevertheless the cradle of modern tattoo. Charlie Wagner sets his living room there and Samuel O'Reilly's electric machine is in full swing. Back then no official reason was given. Some speak of the proliferation of Hepatitis B the same way as a love affair becoming a personal Vendetta - legends are numerous. Working in a "private" way, the tattoo artists violate this law and tattoo until late at night, hand-picked clients. The ban was only lifted in 1997, 36 years later.
