PAUL BOOTH: How SEPULTURA Drummer Introduced Me To Violent Joys Of Brazilian Futbol

Tattoo master Paul Booth inked a deal with the MTV's Headbanger's Blog to write a weekly column about his numerous experiences on tour, and interactions over the years with various rockers. An excerpt from his latest column, dubbed "Thrashin' Ink", follows:

"About six years ago, SEPULTURA drummer Igor Cavalera invited me down to Sao Paulo, Brazil to do a guest spot at a new clothing store that he had opened. I've tattooed in a lot of places and I figured, what the hell, why not a clothing store, too?

"He had plenty of space for me, and I tattooed my ass off while I was there and had a lot of fun. I had already known Igor for quite a while before that, but this was the first time I had made it to his turf. I worked hard, but there was still plenty of time for fun and I can't say enough about the Brazilian barbeque. Now, one place you don't want to bring a fat man is an all you can eat steakhouse full of every exotic meat you can imagine. As great as that one, the best part of the trip was going to a futbol game with Igor.

"I'm not much of a sports guy — for some reason, I never could really get into the whole thing — but this was an experience like no other. For people in Brazil, futbol is like a religion. Igor had warned me that it was probably going to be crazy, but I had no idea what to expect. We went early and stopped at a little cafe near the stadium, where things just progressively got crazier. People were marching through the streets, chanting some crazy Portuguese futbol mantra, as if they were marching to war. At one point, I turned and noticed a bus rolling by, fighting thru the crowd. I guess that's not that big a deal, except that the bus room for around 50, but was loaded with 150 crazed people. They were sitting on the roof, the hood, hanging off the windows on the outside, and were all screaming that same mantra. With all the bodies crunched together, it looked to me like some giant human Chia Pet (cha-cha-chia!)."

Read the entire column at Headbanger's Blog.