When the names Tim Burton, Hunter Thompson, Marlon Brando, Keith Richards and Jonathan Shaw are spoken, Johnny Depp fans or “admirers” think of two things. Sure they all are unique individuals who live life by their own rules, much like Johnny, but they also hold something else. An eccentric benevolence that identifies them as the great innovators of this generation. As we learn more about them we not only see friends and confidants to Mr. Depp, but we learn life lessons and a deep meditation that can mold the way we view life and those we meet during our time here on this earth.
Jonathan Shaw. There are many words different people may use to describe him. What some may see as only a shallow, brash and impetuous incendiary; actually is a true philosophical, transcendent soul. With layers of insight waiting to be peeled away.
When I decided to approach Mr. Shaw for an interview, I was filled with apprehension. Once he agreed to the initial questions, I then developed a great anxiety over what to ask him just imagining the responses I would receive. Stepping out in faith, I sent him a basic group of inquiries with instructions to answer all, or only the ones that moved him to respond. What I expected to learn about this man from his answers was not at all what I brought away from the information before my eyes. I can truly say what had begun as intimidation, turned to pure wonder and enlightment with this man who calls Johnny his soul brother.
Setting The stage?
So it began, sitting at the Fontenoy, an old building in Hollywood where both Jonathan and Johnny were residing at the time, built in the glory days when all was supposed to be glitter and gold. By then the structure was in decay and a low life, level standing. Shaw muses, “It was basically a fancy crack house by the time me and Johnny were hanging out there. Johnny was in a band at the time with our mutual friends and that apartment was like the hangout for us all and pretty much like a shooting gallery for all sorts of beautiful losers and Hollywood dope fiends and so on.” Not yet infamous in any way, Jonathan still remembers Johnny’s presence in the weird surroundings,
“He seemed a bit odd since he was the only one there who wasn’t shooting dope, just hanging out. He wasn’t an actor or anything yet, just another guy hanging out, just another guitar player in another little band in Hollywood. But I remember he was just so NICE. It was impossible not to like him immediately…And I’ll always remember, he seemed really fascinated by Vera (Jonathan’s wife at the time) and me. We were like this weird couple of exotic alien looking gypsies fresh off the banana boat who only sat in a corner and spoke Portuguese with each other and shot dope. Johnny just seemed so interested in us, where we came from, what we were doing there, whatever. I don’t think WE even knew what the f**k we were doing there! But I remember he was just really cool and friendly. “What a nice f***ing guy”, I thought.”
This meeting would flourish into the deep meaningful bond that these two men seem to share with few others. A connection that may not be defined, even in Jonathan’s mind. When asked what he believes binds them together as ‘soul brothers’ he explains,
“You know that indefinable thing that just draws certain people to each other. Who knows? It’s like we just spoke the same language or something, right from the start. And then over the years as we’ve gotten to know each other better, we found out we had all this common background in some parallel universe of art and expression, literature, I dunno, some sort of ironic kinship, a sick sense of humor and vision and common cynical worldview that just makes it comfortable to hang out. Friends, ya know? And of course there was always stuff like music and tattoos and art. We just always liked all the same kinda stuff.”
Can this be just pure coincidence that a soul such as Jonathan’s attracts Johnny Depp? The answer may be an astounding no as you look into the heart of this artist in his own right. Shaw possesses a great knowledge of history in the tattoo realm and also of mankind’s view on what can be seen as the most personal expression. When queried about his first attraction to tattoos he is thoughtful, “I think it was on an almost subliminal, paranormal level. Like it was some strange other-worldly voice calling me, just a sort of primal attraction for this thing, something I really had no idea of the meaning or significance of at the time…It just made me FEEL a certain way.”
Many people talk about the “addiction” of the tattoo world, and it seems to carry on even here as Jonathan muses, “..I got sucked deeper and deeper into the whole vortex of its depth and mystery and power, not to mention the whole historical aspect, the anthropology and magic, the art itself and all the technique and craft involved..”
I asked him if he felt that the true meaning of the tattoo, as he has studied it in many different cultures, has been lost today in a cultural fad. I was slightly surprised, but also amused at his humility, when he responds,
“It is what it is? I don’t think it possibly CAN lose its ‘true significance’. At least not to those people who attach any ‘true significance’ to it as an ancient practice of human expression, ritual, magic…It’s not like I own any claim on any particular aspect of magic. So why would my opinion really matter in the great scheme of things anyway? Different strokes..”
More On Johnny?
One thing, Jonathan shared with me is the fact that when he did tattoo art, he was heavily influenced by the interaction he would share with the subject. So how many of Johnny’s tattoos has Jonathan done and were Johnny’s tattoos a collaboration of their great genius together? He shared with me that he has done most of Johnny’s work and that they were always Johnny’s idea.
“I just did ’em the way he wanted ’em done. Johnny’s an artist too, and a real good one at that, so I never questioned his taste or judgment about it the way I used to do with most people I tattooed those days. With most people, it was always “my way or the highway” like that. I really didn’t like being art-directed, but once in awhile you get somebody who knows exactly what they want and has the artistic vision and good taste to not need my two cents. Johnny was always like that. It was always alota a lotta fun tattooing JD.”
So, I asked the next logical question in my mind in reference to Johnny’s ink: what does the question mark that they both share mean? His answer; “That’s a good QUESTION!”
When you mention the name Johnny Depp, there is a strange awe or magnetism that follows it. Something that cannot be defined or explained, like the hush that you feel deep within your being as you step into a cathedral. But to Jonathan, who fondly just calls him JD, Johnny is a brother, a confidant and a connected soul. His life stories are full of Johnny and the adventures that they have shared on more than one continent. From Hunter and Johnny leaving him in the lobby for more than an hour and receiving the gift from him of a cut-off petrified finger, to hanging with Roman Polanski in France, enough threads to weave an afghan of memories.
This Is Me?
Most writers and artists admire and take an interest in other writers? or artists? works. So, who does Jonathan enjoy reading?
“I’d start with all the people Johnny Depp compared my work with in his epic blurb for my new book, “Narcisa.” After that, I’d have to say Henry Miller, Garcia Marquez, Jorge Amado, Paulo Lins, Bukowski, Hunter Thompson, all the classics, the beats, the usual suspects… also a lotta current people like Lydia Lunch, Jerry Stahl, Harry Crews…
There are so many amazing, brilliant and talented new writers popping up every day it’s too hard to even name all the names… Wouldn’t even know where to start. David Icke for sure!”
One frustration he expresses is that because of all his writing, he does not have time to ‘scratch the surface of all the great things out there to read.?
Since creativity is ignited by different things for different people, I asked him what ignites his creativity. His answer was simple: ?In a word, Life…?Day to day life, with all its confusion, suffering, passion, anger, obsession, lust, beauty, ugliness, truth, poetry, hypocrisy, pathos, rhythm, smells, sounds, tragedy and humor. What a great f**king pallet for any painter, no??
Viewing Jonathan’s life as a whole you see that he has inhabited some of the darkest and most hidden societies in culture today and in the past. Hang-outs where shady figures have colonized and loom in corners of unconventional America. Connected to this world are the demons of addiction and dysfunctional relationships. How did Jonathan pull himself up out of these depths? This inquiry I approached with uncertainty. The knowledge he had lived in that world since he was twelve, a fact that I held in the corners of my mind, made me realize how difficult it would have been for him to accomplish that first step on the road to recovery, since it was all he had ever known. Never the timid one, he paints a picture of survival and self preservation.
“I think the first step for me to want to recover from all my addictions was the terrible admission that I was dying. That and the Desire to live and maybe find my way out of all that confusion and chaos and to find a WAY to live without liquor and drugs. That’s really a most terrifying proposition for any real hope-to-die dope fiend or alkie like me..I was up against a wall… And not really having any of the basic values or life skills to live in this world without liquor and drugs, that was the real BIG challenge for me getting sober after all those years.(I went on) a crazy workaholic dry bender for almost ten years.. I really got a lot of work done during those years of abstinence, built the whole Fun City empire, founded and managed the first quality mainstream tattoo magazine, traveled the world and leapt tall buildings in a single bound…but I was a madman, even worse than when I was on drugs. Crazy, violent, stressed, insane. Then I relapsed and went on another long trip to hell. Finally I crashed and burned and nearly kicked the bucket about eight years ago. Then I sobered up again. But this time I finally came to the conclusion I’d better take this whole recovery business serious, might not get another chance? Johnny Depp actually took me to my first meeting that last time- not that he’s a recovering anything, just a real friend and I needed a kick in the ass to start me on my merry way again?
It’s all been relatively smooth sailing for me since then. Not always easy, but smooth. I know what I gotta do to keep it this time and I’m willing to go to any lengths to do that. That’s one of the reasons I finally quit tattooing and became a writer. They say “to thine own self be true,” and that’s an important concept to me today. Writing has been the most important tool in my recovery too, so I don’t take that s**t lightly. Hopefully some of the stuff I’ve been putting down may actually help somebody figure their own s**t out and wake up.
Cuz at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”
The New Beginning: Writing?
Watching Jonathan tattoo, you notice his hands move with the fluency of a painter as he applies his brushstrokes to the canvas. Reading his newer art form writing, the same feeling of an artist’s soul glimpsing out from beyond the shroud can be seen. I asked him if he felt this in one form more than another.
“Tattooing was just… easier. Less demanding on my soul and, being a natural artist, I just went with that, almost by default cuz it fit in nicely with my lifestyle, traveling around the world and all that. So it was very convenient to me as a career, a trade… and I did pretty good at it, even though somewhere deep inside I think I always knew I was just treading water till I could grow the balls to really dedicate myself to writing full time…That’s how important it is to me now.”
What was it that instigated this change in profession in the timeline of his life? He describes it as more necessity than anything else.
“The fact is I’ve been retired from tattooing for nearly a decade now. There’s a reason for that. Basically, I got sick of it. Sick of doing it every day. Tattooing isn’t a part of my life at all today and I can’t say I miss it. It’s just something I did for twenty some odd years and It took me wherever it took me and I’m grateful for it all with no regrets.”
It does seem Jonathan may look at life from an outside point of view now, removing himself mentally to see the total screen. His wisdom which may have come with age, or just experience shows as he states:
“I almost feel as if I just got sidetracked for twenty years by something else, and now I’ve finally just gotten back on track, back to doing what I’m really supposed to do. For me writing was always my first love, even during all the years I spent as a full time tattooer. I guess I just wasn’t ready to fully commit to it yet or something, like there was a certain maturity of vision and experience and, I dunno, honesty still lacking in my consciousness that kept me from just going for it for such a long time”
Morphing himself from one entity into another is one more item that Jonathan can check off on his list of accomplishments. His gift of self-expression has carried over into his new endeavor of writing. Not lost on mundane fiction, the blunt honesty that is a part of his personality is portrayed in his fluent storytelling. He shows his passion:
“For me writing a book is like having a kid or something. You love it and nurture it and obsess over it and raise it the best you can. Then one day it just goes out into the world and does its own thing. Could turn out to be a Nobel Prize winner or a serial killer. Or any f**king thing in between…Whatever. It’s really none of a writer’s business where it all goes once it’s out there in the universe. This is just what I really love to do, express myself with language, paint pictures with words. Storytelling.
Poetry…And I guess I always did love it.”
His new book, “Narcisa” is out now in the states and is selling more rapidly than they can print it. Jonathan is in Rio working a rewrite for a major publishing house. How much better could it get? At the point where Johnny himself ?actually broke into a cold sweat when I read him some of the first chapter. He had to take his coat and hat off! It was pretty funny, watching him get that strong a reaction to it.? There are many who are already pointing towards a screen version. How does Jonathan react to this? Certainly in his honest to himself behavior….
“Maybe they’ll wanna make it into a movie someday… Folks have been telling me they could easily see that. Like people In the film business, people in the know. That would be really cool! So I guess we’ll see where it all goes. That would be some big fun I think, but I don’t really care much. I just wanna hang out and keep writing my crazy little stories. Where it all goes from there, who the f**k knows.”
As with most genius minds, Jonathan views life on the edge of his own eccentric perception, an understanding that only other minds like his own can truly comprehend.
“It’s no wonder so many writers end up blowing their f**king brains out. All writers are insane. You gotta be. And if you’re not, you will be by the time you’ve written a book or two, believe me….Words are very powerful. And if one isn’t careful with them, they can easily pave the road to Hell.. Or Heaven. Or some terrible limbo somewhere on the outskirts of Purgatory. Whatever..”
After a generation of surprises and accomplishments, Jonathan Shaw is not yet finished. The sun is rising over the mountains of his career and life. It seems he is gazing towards the horizon ready to face the dawning of a new day. The new world is open to him and the possibilities are infinite.
~Lizzy Cline
Related Links:
Jonathan Shaw’s blog
Jonathon Shaw’s Official My Space
Narcisa: Our Lady of Ashes My Space Page
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