Tattoo Talk: Workhorse III Drummer Eric Perfect Talks KISS Ink and His Own “Kadillac Tattoo” Shops

While Philadelphia, PA’s Workhorse III trio are too rock for metal and too metal for rock, that doesn’t stop them from kicking total ass with their tunes! Their 3rd album, Closer To Relevance, is due to be self-released on December 9, 2016 (pre-order yours here) and we thought we’d have some fun in helping them to promote it. So, when we found out that drummer Eric Perfect was also an ink master with his own shop, we flipped him our interview “Tattoo Talk”!

When and where was you’re first tattoo?
Perfect: I got a small spider skeleton on my upper left arm back in 1988 at a place in Atlantic City NJ. I actually was so nervous that during the tattoo I got super-woozy and almost passed the fuck out, haha! It’s amazing that now I’m almost completely covered and became a tattoo artist not too long after that first one!

Do any of your tattoos have a particular special meaning behind them? If so, do share man!
Perfect: The ones that actually have meaning have a name or date worked into the design, such as my kids’ names, wife, dead pets and shit like that, but for the most part I’ve always been into traditional American tattooing, getting and giving them! I like tattoos with a bit of humor as well, I have a Jewish looking Jesus. It has Hebrew style lettering that says “Meshuggah” and kind of makes fun of my Jewish/Irish heritage. I have a KISS Rock And Roll Over tattoo as well; that album and band really changed everything for me as a young kid.

Do you have a specific shop or artist that you frequent?
Perfect: Well now that you mention it, YES! MINE! Kadillac Tattoo, 7102 Germantown Ave, Philly, Kadillac Tattoo Deuce 6722 Rising Sun Ave Philly. A good portion of the guys that have tattooed me have either worked at the shop for a while or have come and sat in at one time or another. I’ve been tattooing a pretty long time and most of the guys are some of the most sought after artists in the world; I’ve been really lucky to know so many great guys and have a good rep in the tattoo world. My favorite artists are Eric Inksmith and Mike Wilson from Inksmith&Rogers Tattoo (Jax Fla), Sailor Eddie from NJ (and Camden NJ fame), it doesn’t get more old school than that, dude!

Do you have any tattoos planned or underway?
Perfect: Yeah, I have a huge traditional dragon/dagger tattoo started on my ribs (by Mike Wilson) that needs to get finished, as well as wanting to get a big eagle on my belly and finish my back up. But god damn, do these last spots fucking hurt!

Have you seen any fans with band tattoos, anything crazy or memorable?
Perfect: As far as Workhorse III tattoos, not yet, but I think I’m going to get the character that’s supposed to be me on our new album cover! Hopefully we’ll get to the point where we have rabid fans like that. Years ago, dudes used to come in the shop with hand poked Blue Oyster Cult tattoos or the Twisted Sister “TS” logo.

We know you have one…tell us about that drunk/stoned joke tattoo you once got…
Perfect: Gotta be honest, never got fucked up to get a tattoo. The ones I regret were the ones with my ex-wife’s name and they’ve all been covered or altered. (Yes, I got her name more than once… that’s the power of pussy, man!) I had gotten her name on my lower back years ago and and used the 3 letters to spell out “oy Gavalt” in Hebrew style letters to alter it, hahaha!! Like I said, man, I like funny tattoos, so there’s a few. The deal is this, man, once you’re dead, they’re fucking gone; it doesn’t matter and no one gives a shit, so instead of trying to impress other people, I get shit I like just to get tattooed sometimes.

Do you have tattoos now you hate, want to replace, or have covered up?
Perfect: I have an arm full of actually nice-looking fish scale pattern but I’ve gotten bored with it so I’ve been slowly blasting tattoos right over them, I figure fuck it, why not? I’m able to get new tattoos on my arm so that’s a bonus!

Have you had anything covered up? If Yes, we want details!
Perfect: Like any young kid I got a couple shitty, poorly done ones when I was younger and had them covered with really good ones I’d say there are probably 4 or 5 of those.

Have any tattoos that were painful, like made you cry, see white light, and regret being born?
Perfect: YEAH!! Every fucking one of them!!! Hahaha. Straight up though, the ribs and sternum fucking blows to get tattooed, man! But if you want something bad enough, you just sit there and deal with it.

If you had to get someones face tattooed on you, who would it be and why?
Perfect: I’d get (and probably will) my wife’s face on my inner/upper thigh, right next to my junk looking up at me, haha! That’s where I want her to be anyway, and then she’d be stuck there!

Photo credits:
– Eagle/Dagger and Jesus by Freddy Corbin (Temple Tattoo, Oakland CA)
– Clipper Ship by Sailor Edddie (Camden, NJ)
– Kiss RnR Over by Mike Wilson (Inksmith&Rogers Tattoo, Jackson, FL)

Check out the song “Closer to Relevance”