People's Reactions to You Wearing a Band Tee Shirt

A group of friends and I were invited to see some Christian bands from a girl I liked at my church. I mustn't have liked her that much because I put this t-shirt on.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/54310090_9153af2314.jpg?v=0

She said she was so embaressed by me that night. The music was pretty bad even for Christian music, especially Nathan Tasker's song about stalking a girl who worked at McDonalds.

Another time, I was stopped in the middle of the street by another GbV fan.
Another time, I was freaked out because I have never seen anyone else in Sydney wear a GbV t-shirt but there was another Asian guy on George Street wearing that shirt the same day I was.
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A member of Skulker once thought the guy on the front of my t-shirt looked like one of the guys from Veruca Salt. It was a "Who the f$#k is Eddie Van Halen".
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Christians have really lame taste in music. So far, the only comments I've ever gotten is a general "cool t-shirt" to my Ramones logo shirt.

omg aja still posts here wtf lol

Yup...on rare occasions...

blood brothers hoodie...'what are those horses doing to each other?'

all my other band shirts tend to generate a pretty generic comment about the band

I used to adore band shirts. In my Britpop heyday I could go almost a month without recycling one. The best one I ever had was definitely the black Radiohead shirt that had hearts and stars on it and said "TEAM RADIOHEAD: Unzip your pants." Oh, how I miss it. I don't have too many people walking up to me, possibly because I wear shirts advertising Blur or Elastica - though today is John & Yoko.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/489155543_6dc7a1b14c.jpg?v=0
A PJ Harvey shirt I made for my friend, detail here: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1023/538001205_69e1a5587e.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/235/453241113_95dcf5cf0c.jpg?v=0
I made this for myself. I look like a tool, but that's pretty much the opinion of Modest Mouse fans on here anyway, no? (Plus I stole the head artwork.. I am bad.)

Freshman year of college, I had the album cover of "Nail", by Scraping Foetus Off the Wheel (cut from a t-shirt) pinned to the back of my jean jacket for most of the year. It was my unconcious mind's awesome plan to sabotage my desire to actually meet people and make friends.

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

Oh, Ned, we're pals by proxy too. I'll post on the official Ned Raggett thread just to boost yer ego.

The other shirt I used to wear that got a reaction was a Robyn Hitchcock shirt that said, "He'd never make love to a load of bread, unless of course he found one in his bed" with a picture of a snake crawling through a loaf of bread.

i've got a home-made "i prefer the early stuff" tee that gets lots of laffs at festivals, esp when watching "heritage" acts. my ex has one that says "play the one we know" - possible contributory reason why we're no longer together!

stellen Pavement shirt - just quizzical looks mostly. One guy said "hey, cool shirt"

Stax t-shirt while in SF - thumbs up from Amoeba clerk. Another guy stopped me on the street and chatted about Stax (and other things) for about 10 minutes.

I miss Skulker.

I was wearing an iLiKETRAiNS tshirt at the Cactus festival in Bruges a couple of weeks ago when they came out to watch one of the earlier bands. They spotted me, I waved and they waved back. Wild, eh? :-)

Stan, that's as wild as you'll get at the Cactus Festival. Was it still a "family" festival? Man, there's more kids and volunteers than paid festivalgoers.

Thanks to my Buzzcocks t-shirt my neighbour gave me all his old punk records. Other than that, I rarely if ever wore bandshirts or got any reactions if I did.

Man, there's more kids and volunteers than paid festivalgoers.

Very much so, yeah. But it was very very very clean as well (kids of all ages run around all day, picking up plastic drinks cups (they get a tshirt if they turn in 50 of them or something), even standing looking at you if they see there isn't much left in your cup, just staring and waiting until you empty it. Pretty funny, though. You just sit on the grass, and when your drinks cup is empty, you just stick your arm in the air with the cup and four kids IMMEDIATELY run in your direction.

They were staring at your t-shirt, Stan. ;-)

lol!

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".

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.

Maybes it's tied to them sneakers with the UP cover on them.

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.