Today is The Lizard Man’s birthday. Show some love! And participate in LizardManDay!
He will be performing at the Tattoo Hollywood Convention in August and the Black Hills Tattoo Convention in September.
The Lizard Man was interviewed on Beer Can Hill earlier this month.
[/caption]
Erik Sprague/The Lizard Man needs little or no introduction. He is an accomplished sideshow performer, public speaker, and body modification veteran. Recently he was kind enough to give me some of his time.
Carrie: Every now and then, there’s articles about implants gone awry and migrating, mutating, or infecting. Is this a concern for you? Can your implants shift over time?
Lizard Man: I’m not aware of implants mutating per se but the other things you mentioned are real concerns and I have seen examples of them happening. I am not particularly concerned since my implants are healed (which along with during the procedure is when most problems occur) and while they could shift it would be minimal at worst.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="Photo by Allan Falkner."][/caption]
Carrie: Which healing methods do/did you use on your tattoos, piercings, implants, tongue..?
Lizard Man: I have found that I tend to heal best using the ‘just leave it the hell alone!’ method.
Carrie: Do medical professionals or dentists try to lecture you about your modifications?
Lizard Man: Not really – most of them are curious and have a lot of questions.
Carrie: Do you have any tattoos that are non-Lizard related?
Lizard Man: Yes. My inner lip tattoo, my ‘mom’ & ‘dad’ tattoos under my arms, the Erisian golden apple on my hip, the crossed x’s under my left eye, and the ‘WASD’ gaming tattoos on my fingertips
Carrie: What were you like as a child?
Lizard Man: Smaller.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Erik & Meghan's ferret Houdini. Photo owned by The Lizard Man."][/caption]
Carrie: How did you get in to ferrets? What do you think about states like mine (California) who prohibit their ownership?
Lizard Man: Meghan (my wife) had a ferret when we met and was already a big ferret lover. I was very quickly won over by them. The law prohibiting ferrets in CA is probably the only case of legislation I can think of that makes even less sense than marijuana laws (which ironically CA leads the way in reversing). Domestic ferrets have been kept by humans for over 2000 years and they cannot survive without our care, feral cats are far more dangerous, they do not pose a risk in any real sense. Hopefully the CA law will change soon and the many ferret owners there will be able to keep their pets without fear of them being confiscated.
Carrie: Have you had any problems with people bothering/stalking you or your wife?
Lizard Man: Nothing too bad, the occasional person getting a little bit creepy but nothing really threatening.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="Photo owned by The Lizard Man."]
[/caption]
Carrie: I noticed that you were pretty vocal about the Octomom fiasco. Would it be fair to say that you believe that people should be more responsible for themselves?
Lizard Man: Absolutely, and I also think that they need to stop reproducing!
Carrie: Do you consider yourself to be childfree?
Lizard Man: Yep.
Carrie: Do you consider yourself to be an atheist?
Lizard Man: With god as my witness, hell yes I am!
Carrie: Do you have a dietary or work-out regimen you adhere to?
Lizard Man: I have some I TRY to adhere to.
Carrie: My friend Cassandra wants to know if you’ve ever eaten a lizard.
Lizard Man: Nope.
Carrie: Several friends and customers of mine have questions about oral sex with a split tongue.
Lizard Man: Oral sex is a skill like any other, a split tongue expands your options but you have to develop a proficiency – it is not a magic bullet for success
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="276" caption="The Yamaha Majesty (2007 model)."][/caption]
Carrie: What kind of motorcycle do you want to get after you get your license?
Lizard Man: I’m looking at some cruisers and smaller tourers but also looking very seriously at some larger scooters like the Yamaha Majesty. I want a reliable, low maintenance ride I can put plenty of miles on.
Carrie: What do you have going on in the new future? I kind of think you need your own talk show.
Lizard Man: I think I will also do live shows, that’s my crack, but I am working on trying to do some more interesting and unusual TV and video projects. I also have a music project going with my buddy Mossy called Lizard Skynard.
Carrie: What are your band members like ?
Lizard Man: Well, they are crazy enough to attempt a band with me. I have essentially no musical talent whatsoever but they are incredible and great at taking my odd ideas and working with them to create some really cool stuff.
Carrie: How many tours have you done? Do you prefer to tour with bands or side/circus shows? Has anything really funny or strange ever happened while you were on tour?
Lizard Man: In traditional terms I have done 12 national tours of the US, besides those I have done countless one-shows around the world often stringing them together in my own little mini tours. I don’t really have a preference between other types of acts to be out with – its about the people not the genre. More things have happened on tour than I could possibly relate in anything less than book
Carrie: Who are some of your favorite performers and why? Other than Wittgenstein, who has influenced your art?
Lizard Man: Some of my favorite current performers are Joe Rogan, Penn & Teller, Slipknot, Mastodon, and Brian Posehn – I will go see any of them any chance I get. For influences, I usually cite Joseph Beuys, Andre Breton, Duchamp, Burden, and the Great Omi.
Carrie: Do you think that the tattoo/piercing/modification industry should be regulated?
Lizard Man: In principle yes, but as a practical matter it is very complex.
Carrie: What do you tell people who think they want to do what you’ve done?
Lizard Man: I tell them they need to very carefully consider the risks and commitment it entails.
The Lizard Man supports Coney Island USA, Child’s Play, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The next stop on his tour schedule is June 27th & June 28th at the Lethbridge Tattoo Weekend in Lethbridge, Alberta Canada.
He can be reached at the following:
The Lizard Man is also mentioned or shown in the following:
My interview with Erik Sprague The Lizard Man will be up!
![[Valid RSS]](valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")
