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Jerry Ware
The Cannonball
Interview by Jerrett Spaeth

Some years back while I was living in Seattle I wandered into Lucky Devil Tattoo Parlor. I was pleasantly greeted by a short, stocky, man with thick-rimmed glasses. With a very comforting smile on his face he asked if he could help me with anything. I spent some time looking at his work and talking with him. With a handshake and a smile I stepped out of the tattoo shop and went on about my business in the rainy Seattle streets.

A few years later I traveled to Portland, Oregon to get some work at Atlas Tattoo. I entered the shop and noticed a familiar face working at a station in the back. It was the short stocky man with the thick-rimmed glasses! After so many years I felt extremely lucky to meet up with Jerry Ware again! The more I hung out with Jerry, the more apparent it became to me that he is just a simple guy who treats people fair and does some really amazing tattoos. I personally think Jerry is one of the most under-rated tattooers around but because of his truly humble nature I don't think he even notices. It was a comfortably painful experience to get tattooed by Jerry. Not to mention the off the wall stories he told as he worked. Jerry described himself in one word ... cannonball. His reasoning was appropriate but I personally think subconsciously he described himself this way because of his approach to tattooing. Jerry jumps right in and kicks ass! No ego, no ridiculously high rates, no mood swings, no bullshit-just honest work and a fair price. Of course he keeps himself grounded by remembering where he came from. After all, how the hell are you going to be able to tell how far you've come if you can't remember where you started?

Jerry rules...

For the complete Jerry Ware interview from Issue #4,
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