People's Reactions to You Wearing a Band Tee Shirt

I have a homemade shirt that says "MILES DAVIS IS GOD." It frequently gets responses of "He is, maaaan!" Once I got "Hey, Bird Lives! Do you know what that means? Bird Lives!"

My favorite story with the Miles shirt, though, is the one where the hobo followed me for four blocks pointing at me and yelling "GOD IS GOD! GOD IS GOD! YOU ARE A DECEIVER! GOD IS GOD!"

I have another homemade shirt that says "BIRD LIVES!" The most interesting response I ever got from that was a guy yelling "Hot peanuts! Hot peanuts!" at me from across the street.

Best t-shirt story ever, though?

Walking past a meeting of the campus Hip-Hop Congress in my Wu-Tang shirt led to a guy asking me skeptically "Maaaan, whatchu know about some Wu-Tang?" One thing led to another and eventually a crowd had gathered as this guy and I tried to outnerd each other by quoting increasingly obscure Wu-Tang couplets. Then they told me I needed to join the Hip-Hop Congress. And the rest is hoostery.

In the late '90s, some older gentleman at a Publix in south Florida asked me exactly what type of Ministry I belonged to.

And the rest is hoostery.

Diplo told me he liked my Can shirt once, and I wore it another time at a Serena-Maneesh show and both the lady at the merch booth and the drummer (like, during the show) told me that they liked it, and also this lady at Repo Records on South St in Philly

and one time while I was wearing my Slint shirt this guy like pointed at it and gave me a thumbs up

also my homemade Aphex Twin/Rephlex shirt has gotten a few props I think, but a majority of people just ask if it's from counter-strike

exactly what type of Ministry I belonged to.

"Mathematics Outreach"

"hey i like wolf parade, too"
"thanks"
"have you seen them live?"
"no"
"oh, me neither"
"yeah i would love to, though."
"me, too"

ha

umm...I made a t-shirt says 'holocaust' that gets a few looks

i'll bet

Laughing in disbelief at my Pop Group "We Are All Prostitutes" tee worn at the age of 12/13 or so (w/Thatcher giving the "up yours" fingers). Thumbs upped by Robert Hood, wearing an UR "Escape The Chains On Your Music" tee at the massive (Zurich) Energy rave in 95 or so. Friend made several "original" tees (Real Kids, Residents, Stooges) which got absolutely no reaction.

"Hey, I was at that concert, too!" leading into hour-long music-nerdy discussion.

(re: an A Tribe Called Quest shirt. The actual concert in question was kind of meh.)

Mahjongg t-shirt leads to the most discussions:

Why does your shirt say "moron"?
-kid in school

Yeah, I mean, you know you're an asshole, but...
-other kid

"what does your shirt say?"
"man man"
"oh, where does it say that?"
"it's spelled out in the birds there"
"oh"
"what does that mean?"
"it's the name of a band"
"oh, are they good?"
"yeah, i like them"
"oh"

of course, the flip side of this is when you see a dude with an "Eric B. For President" shirt at the mall and you really want let him know he's totally awesome but you don't want to creep him and/or his girlfriend out

ha for real

The only band shirt I have that gets reactions is my High On Fire shirt. I've gotten compliments from a wide range of dudes (and a chick or two) for that one. Metal fans really are the most devoted.

That band Wives covered a Negative Approach song for me cos I was wearing a NA badge. Unfortunately I didn't know the song, whichever one it was, well enough to appreciate it much, and probably looked kind of ungrateful

"What is that thing on your shirt?"
"It's called Boognish, and it's the sort of mascot for the rock band Ween."
"Oh. Cool!"

Best reaction I got wasn't for a band shirt. I wore a blue flannel shirt to a Mike Watt gig. I went up to shake the hand of The Man Himself after the show and he immediately said: "Hey man, nice shirt!"

"What is it with you and fishbones?"

haha

I usually get a few weird glances whenever I where this one:
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/21D6ND0JPGL.jpg

I also usually get some eyerolling when I tell them that I actually like Gary Numan.

i used to have a bon jovi shirt that i used to identify fellow NJ expats

I wore a Black Watch (LA band, not the Scottish guard) shirt to a David Kilgour show in Boston and this guy comes up to me, clearly excited, asking where I got the shirt and how I knew about the band. One thing leads to another and we're rattling off favorite bands and it turns out we're both huge Chameleons fans.

That was in 1994 and we're still good pals. And he's still easily excitable.

Oh, one time when I was like 14, I was at the mall wearing a Phish shirt, and as I was getting out of the elevator, this guy coming in had a KMFDM shirt, and I said "oh, hey, nice shirt!" and he friendlily smiled and said "you too".

but looking back he was probably just making fun of me

pix of homemade t-shirts, please?

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2764/birdlivesiw3.jpg

ffs what was i thinking with that neckbeard

I was just thinking about neckbeards yesterday and wondering where they'd all gone! Those are some cool homemade shirts.

gratzi

I once got my boyf a Grizzly Bear T-shirt, and it is really nice and he gets compliments on it all the time, but neither of us can ever figure out what exactly makes it a Grizzly Bear t-shirt. I sometimes think I can read RI in the middle somewhere, sometimes not. It is a very nice shirt though....

c/d band shirts that don't indicate that the shirt is related to a band.

i.e. when i saw sufjan on his last tour he was selling these shirts that said "ride the hatch" and it had a picture of a hatchback on it. no indication that it involved sufjan steven in any capacity, yet people were buying the stand out, including two friends who still wear the shirts regularly. i mean, they basically look like urban outfitters shirts... and i don't think this is an uncommon occurrence.

I wore a Black Watch (LA band, not the Scottish guard) shirt to a David Kilgour show in Boston and this guy comes up to me, clearly excited, asking where I got the shirt and how I knew about the band. One thing leads to another and we're rattling off favorite bands and it turns out we're both huge Chameleons fans.

That was in 1994 and we're still good pals. And he's still easily excitable.

So wait, where in hell did you find my clone?

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/5362/spa1540qr5.jpg
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8439/spa1541ze9.jpg

xpost, there's something about this t-shirt that looks just like a Grizzly Bear t-shirt though. Hmm.

Anyway, basically every girl I know (almost every girl I know is a fashion student) bought the YeahYeahYeahs t-shirt at a concert last year, it is so annoyingly YYYs-ey that t-shirt. There is something about the way that band seems to just want to whore itself out to girls with a particular haircut and no-one else that pisses me off.

There is something about the way that band seems to just want to whore itself out to girls with a particular haircut and no-one else that pisses me off.

I think this is true of a lot of Pitchfork-friendly bands.

Maybe its because I don't really get on with certain people who I live with who only seem to be able to alternate this, Silent Alarm and CSS. I used to like CSS y'know!

eh CSS. how are they popular in britain and britain only?

Britain? They're HUGE in Ireland. They were one of the big headline names at Oxegen, which is the biggest festival and sold out in about an hour, and everyone loves them apparently. They seem to play here every five minutes, although if you look at their touring schedule it seems like they might be about to die any minute from exhaustion. But whatevs.

"let's make love" charted top 40 in britain, but it didn't chart anywhere else, which is basically what i was basing my statement on.

they do seem to be pretty high up on a lotta euro festival bills...

They're one of those bands you can mention to anyone and they'll know who you're on about. I like them a lot better than YYYs for that reason alone. Let's make love is a great single.

Kind of a different subject, but I wonder if people here are aware that you can get Ramones, Sonic Youth, etc. t-shirts for infants these days. People always (profess to) love my 5 month old in his "Dirty" shirt. We're still trying to decide if a Suckdog "Drugs Are Nice" shirt would be pushing things too far.

My friend's toddler has a punk/indie shirt for every day of the week.

HOOS is friends with Alex in NYC???

this old guy followed me around the dining hall because I was wearing an Echo & the Bunnymen t-shirt

Sorry about that.

"What is that thing on your shirt?"
"It's called Boognish, and it's the sort of mascot for the rock band Ween."
"Oh. Cool!"

Similar, except "Boognish" was literally the first word that my son ever said as a baby. I mentioned this to Aaron once and he seemed pleased about it.

Hoos, love them yarns!

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/LPG/51071~Bad-Religion-No-Cross-Posters.jpg

Back when I had never ever heard of Bad Religion I once bought a Bad Religion t-shirt because I liked the "message" and I thought that was the only point about the shirt.

Obviously, I wasn't the only one who had never heard of the band, because I got several strangers reacting in a rather hostile way.

a man of mystery, our geir....

For some reason, I tend to pick out shirts that elicit confrontations from people. It's not like I ever went around trying to offend people, but often enough I'd be totally oblivious that my garment was causing someone distress.

When I finally got to see the Dead Milkmen, I bought one of the classic logo shirts, which had a slogan on the back promoting their new record, "Not Richard, But Dick." I tried to explain to my principal that "Dick Is Coming" didn't mean what he thought it did, but he didn't listen to me.

I had a Reptilian Records shirt with "Fuck You" written on the front and an upside-down pentagram on the back. I didn't really want to get chewed out by bitter old men - I'm really quiet and introverted - but that's what happened. I ended up giving it to a gutter-punk friend who relished that sort of confrontation.

I keep buying band shirts and keep being embarrassed about wearing them. My Thrice shirt faded completely after like 6 months, which meant that I didn’t have to be embarrassed anymore. That was a great attribute in a band shirt.

Someone should make a shirt saying "HOT PEANUTS!" and wear it in Hoos' neighbourhood until someone comes along and proclaims "Hey, Miles Davis is god!"

i met a future boyfriend because i had a sleater-kinney t-shirt on.

cool indie rock guy at my college only started speaking to me because i had a Big Black t-shirt on one day. at the time, it didn't cross my mind whatsoever that it was anything but a band t-shirt but i'm sure other ppl were pretty offended. i sold the shirt on ebay eventually to some 14 year old kid and his dad wrote me feedback that said "he really likes the shirt. went over big at the mall"

i also wore a pavement t-shirt to a sort of theme party (more college) in which i was dressed as a slacker, which of course drew the snide comment "well you ARE a slacker."

I used to teach math in my Cop Shoot Cop - Piece Man t-shirt, and my kids seemed to get a kick out of it. One kid's only comment on the semester-end evaluation was "Cop Shoot Cop".

That kid's goin' places! I have about six Cop Shoot Cop t-shirts that I'm now way too much of a pussy to wear.

I once completely offended both my grandfather and the wife of an old high school teacher by wearing one of several CIRCLE JERKS t-shirts I used to own. Similarly, I managed to unintentionally alienate an entire classroom full of people via an MDC t-shirt (the "Blue By Day/White By Night - Millions of Dead Cops" design).

I was once stopped by someone while I was wearing a Prong shirt (from the Cleansing era). Guy says: "Why are you wearing a swastika on your chest?" I didn't dignify him with an answer (if you can't tell the difference between a fork and a swastika, you're a much bigger asshole than I am).

In about 1982, I had a complete stranger -- a mustachioed douchebag from Staten Island or somewhere -- come right up to me and say, "Yo, man, DEVO SUCKS!" when he saw the New Traditionalists shirt I was sporting. I was heartened that it bothered him enough that he felt compelled to say something.

I guess the most interesting incedent I've had was when I was wearing my Killing Joke "Eighties" shirt. My step dad's friend's son, who is like 3 years old I think, saw the shirt and just kept telling me how much he hated it. It was ugly. And he hated me because I was wearing it...So, I put it on backwards. No use. Still hated me. Then I put my jacket on over that. He still was upset and left me for about 10mins...That was really weird, but I guess I understand. It is one creepy looking design.

It's a brilliant design and you shame the band for apologizing for it.

One evening in the Summer of 2001, I was wearing a London Calling t-shirt while standing outside a club in Austin. A bald man walked by and told me "Cool shirt, Elvis Costello is awesome!"

About seven years ago, I was at some shitty party at Chelsea Piers and there was some dink walking around in a "vintage" Queensryche t-shirt (specifically the cover of Queen of the Ryche). Given the nature of the function and the type of crowd gathered, I was quick to suspect that the dude was wearing it "ironically." Having already imbibed the first of a few too many, I accosted him about it. "So, are you wearing this shirt because you're actually a fan of the band?" I asked. The guy looked immediately uncomfortable. "...or are you just wearing it for its kitsch value?" I continued. "ummm...both?" he offered, unconvincingly. I believe I spat at the ground in front of him and walked away (`cos I'm a jerk like that). And I don't even like Queensryche, and never have.

I saw the Dismemberment Plan just before "Is Terrified" came out and bought a t-shirt. A few weeks later I was wearing it around Tacoma Park, Md., and this dude stopped me and started to talking to me about the Dismemberment Plan, about how they were really good and going places, how his band played shows with them. It turned out he was the drummer for Jawbox. FIN.

Primal Scream KILL ALL HIPPIES t-shirt is always fun to wear in San Francisco.

One of my most uncomfortable evenings ever was when I wore my "Cop Shoot Cop - Ask Questions Later" to the Minnesota State Fair in the post 911 cop-friendly summer of 2002. Foetus shirts get some nasty stares sometimes. I also have a Honky shirt that I never wear, but mostly because the band sucked a lot more listening to them sober than seeing them drunk.

I have this shirt...

http://www.backstreetmerch.com/images/products/bands/clothing/pav/pav04_thumb.gif

...which has resulted in

1. A girl in college accosting me in the cafeteria and asking if I could drive her to a Pavement show in Grand Rapids. She was a weird girl. She kept a locket with a photo of Stephen Malkmus in it, and I think she had another one with a photo of Marilyn Monroe. On the way to the show, she wore a leopard-print skirt and kept talking about how she wanted to be a fashion designer. I never really talked to her after that night.

2. Exchanging smirks with a guy in Chicago walking down the sidewalk wearing the exact same shirt.

3. My advisor in college, who headed the women's studies program, pointing out that the eggs on the shirt were awfully suggestive. When I said I hadn't realized that (and, dumbly, I honestly hadn't), she retorted, "Well, you would if you were a woman and had to deal with people staring at your chest all the time."

I used to always take my Young Gods long-sleeved tee shirt to gigs to put on when I left instead of a jacket and several times at gigs I had people come up to me to talk about the band.

i had an atari teenage riot "burn berlin burn" t-shirt that i wore on a trip to universal studios in florida. in line for the "Back to the Future" ride some german tourists were looking at me funny.

i was kind of embarrassed. oddly enough i had another ATR shirt that said "all governments are murderers!" on the back and never got any shit from anyone, even from teachers at school.

http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/images/hatefuck.jpg

This one used to get me in an awkward spot or two.

"From The Hate Fuck Capital of the World..."

At the San Diego Comic Con this year, some guy at a booth that was playing death metal gave me a severed finger because I was wearing a Soilwork shirt.

Also, one of the girls in my screenwriting classes in college refused to be in the same room with me when I was wearing my Gwar "Violence Has Arrived" T-shirt.

Metal shirts rule.

My buddy has that Microphones death shirt. It's awesome. People think it's a metal shirt. sept it has a big K records logo on the back.

My advisor in college, who headed the women's studies program, pointing out that the eggs on the shirt were awfully suggestive. When I said I hadn't realized that (and, dumbly, I honestly hadn't), she retorted, "Well, you would if you were a woman and had to deal with people staring at your chest all the time."

Us guys, goin' around not noticing things that look sort of like tits. What are we like?

My high school English teacher was of the frame of mind that heavy metal fans aren't very bright. One day I was wearing a Motley Crue shirt (Theatre of Pain), and he singled me out with the obvious intention of making me appear foolish. "Tell me, what is a Motley Crue?" I just knew he was expecting a dim-witted reply along the lines of "they're a band..." but instead I gave him the correct definition of a group of mismatched people that by outward appearances have nothing in common. Ha.

These days I don't get much of a reaction to my band shirts other than the occasional "I like your shirt".

It's a brilliant design and you shame the band for apologizing for it.

-- Alex in NYC, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 6:17 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

Oh, Alex. :)

I forgot how much I missed you!

Who designed the shirt? Is it a Mike Coles? (God...I feel stupid for asking...something tells me I should already know this...)

- in elementary school with the dead kennedys shirt and trash pinned to my clothes, my principal said to me: "you know, you dress like you're 16. god, your mother..." and then she walked away.

- rage against the machine shirt: some dude trying to pull a "what do you know" on me, and i just gave him the names of my favorite songs, then the finger, and skated away (ice-skating at the time).

- Suburbia (old punk one) shirt in 9th grade, new school. pretentious kid who later befriended me said, "jesus, that is the worst fucking movie ever. what's your problem?" i just shrugged.

- the home-made Rapeman shirt my friend gave me and was lost one night post nekkid swimming... got a lot of flak about that in my vegan co-op at the time.

To return to the thread opener: I've seen maybe 10? people in NY and DC in the past week with an Unknown Pleasures shirt! Is this an industry thing (T shirt makers getting the rights to reproduce) or just a coincidence? It reminds me (in a less extreme way) of the rash of Raomes T shirts wo or three summers ago (kids, grandmas etc wearing 'em). It's interesting how some cult bands are suited to a graphic identity, while others (er, MBV) are not.

-- paulhw, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 4:02 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

Well...about the Unknown Pleasures shirt...I think it's just a coincidence. I haven't seen those shirt sold in "hip teenage stores", or any chain stores, like the Ramones T shirts...Funny though.

Some douche bag adolescent emo kid ironically shouted "BLACK SABBATH!" at me when I was wearing a Black Sabbath shirt, to which I replied "Fuck you!" very loudly.

One evening in the Summer of 2001, I was wearing a London Calling t-shirt while standing outside a club in Austin. A bald man walked by and told me "Cool shirt, Elvis Costello is awesome!"

-- C. Grisso/McCain, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 6:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

LOL!

That remindes me of when I was wearing a BLUE shirt with a pic of their self titled album on it. I was actually talking to Evan Dando...don't ask how that happened...

(I think I was 13 when this happened)
Evan: Cool shirt.
Me:Thanks.
Evan: It's supposed to be green you know.
Me:What?
Evan: You know. The album cover was green.
Me: Oh yeah. But they had blue and green at the store, and I liked blue better.
Evan: But it's supposed to be green.
Me: But I like blue more.
Evan: Ok. But it's supposed to be green.

Then he walked into the venu we were standing infront of. (I forget where he was playing that night...)

I wore my Type O Negative T-shirt to a Moonspell/Katatonia show (Gothic metal type bands, for those unfamiliar), and loads of people complimented me on the shirt, which sort of confused me. Not that people were complimenting me on it, just that it's not like that was an obscure band shirt to be wearing at that show.

As far as bandmembers complimenting shirts, I was at a party with some guys from In Flames after one of their Los Angeles shows, and one of the guys told me he liked my Sentenced shirt, which is funny since I got it at a show where Sentenced was opening for them.

(I like metal.)

i'd pay you a compliment for wearing a sentenced shirt too. i think they're pretty cool

My friend wore a Stryper t-shirt (a red one, no less) to see the Sisters of Mercy in 2000. I believe he also wore madras shorts with it. Heroic!

isn't that Andrew Eldritch's standard wardrobe these days anyway???

only instead of Stryper it would be Georges Sorel

Who designed the shirt?

You continue to shame the band. Absolutely astounding.

when i wore my ramones t-shirt on a trip to mexico in '86, i stepped off a bus and the driver said, 'ramonays!'

I saw the Dismemberment Plan just before "Is Terrified" came out and bought a t-shirt. A few weeks later I was wearing it around Tacoma Park, Md., and this dude stopped me and started to talking to me about the Dismemberment Plan, about how they were really good and going places, how his band played shows with them. It turned out he was the drummer for Jawbox. FIN.

-- n/a, Wednesday, 1 August 2007 18:33 (Yesterday) Link

ha! i know zach, he's a good guy.

You continue to shame the band. Absolutely astounding.

-- Alex in NYC, Thursday, 2 August 2007 17:15 (Yesterday) Link

My god. You are such a bitch!! It's hilarious!!

Look....I shouldn't even know who Killing Joke even are, but for some odd reason I do...Ok...I'll give this ONE MORE SHOT...

Was it Paul Ferguson?? God, this would be a lot easier if I WAS ALIVE WHEN THIS STUFF WAS MADE!

Take care Alex.

how old are you these days, Aja?

16

It's weird being somewhat familiar with the goings-on of ILX, but not familiar enough to know whether TWEENER AJA is some joke that everyone's in on, or if it's indeed 4 real.

I want to believe

Ok...whatever.

I'm 16. If you don't believe me, that's your problem.

It's your posts from 3-4 years ago that trouble me. I wouldn't be surprised that a precocious kid might find her way onto ILX, but that whole Dante thing, I mean.... what?

Yeah...Sorry about that....I don't talk to him any more...Thank God

Hen Fap.

I'm sorry...but what?

One evening in the Summer of 2001, I was wearing a London Calling t-shirt while standing outside a club in Austin. A bald man walked by and told me "Cool shirt, Elvis Costello is awesome!"

-- C. Grisso/McCain, Wednesday, August 1, 2007 6:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

wtf austin knows better than this

this would be a lot easier if I WAS ALIVE WHEN THIS STUFF WAS MADE!

ilx: the new class

;_;

<i>Well...about the Unknown Pleasures shirt...I think it's just a coincidence. I haven't seen those shirt sold in "hip teenage stores", or any chain stores, like the Ramones T shirts...Funny though</i>

Urban Outfitter has been selling Unknown Pleasures shirts for years, albeit without any mention of JD...just the design.

Anyone caught wearing an Unknown Pleasures shirt who can't name at least three songs from the album (let alone hum them) should be immediately bludgeoned with a ball peen hammer. Here endeth the lesson.

Except when they're wearing a tshirt with 100 successive pulses from the PSR 1919+21 Pulsar, obviously.

No, them too. KA-POW.

It's weird being somewhat familiar with the goings-on of ILX, but not familiar enough to know whether TWEENER AJA is some joke that everyone's in on, or if it's indeed 4 real.

-- wanko ergo sum, Friday, 3 August 2007 01:10 (14 hours ago) Link

well, she did post a picture on the "unnaturally-colored hair" thread