too many tee shirts

Day 98: Teenage Bottlerocket, be stag.

I got this shirt when I saw TBR on March 21st, 2008 at bottom of the hill! It was my first time seeing them and it was really exciting for me cause “total” was one of my favorite albums at the time! I remember after they played I tried to talk to Kody about them playing a show at Gilman next time they came through, and he told me they had already played there. I thought it was kind of a weird response but whatever. The next time they came through San Francisco, Miguel remembered me because of that encounter, he was super nice and that made me feel less weird.

Brandon the drummer was also nice and came over to talk to me because I was wearing an it’s alive records hoodie! Actually maybe that was at the other TBR show I went to at Bottom of the Hill? Talking to people based on what tee shirt they are wearing has been a long time strategy for me, I kind of just tell people I like their shirt and that we should be friends, sometimes it works!

This show was with Dead To Me, Nothington and the Femurs. It was a super incredible line up and the first time I had ever heard the Femurs. It was magical. This shirt totally says “BE STAG” on the back but I forgot to photograph that part, so just try to use your imagination. 

Day 97: Beatnik Termites.

I got this shirt in June of 2010 at Insubordination Fest in Baltimore Maryland! I had seen them the previous two years at the Fest but I never bought a shirt, so I finally did!

I remember buying this from a lady who was in a snack shack type space and she was nice. I had to come back a couple times because I didn’t have enough money and had to go to the ATM or something. I think I tried to get her to give me some free stuff since I was playing that year too but it didn’t work!

On this shirt, what look to me like cartoon members of the band, are underneath the street sign for 53rd and 3rd, paying homage to the Ramones, and a song Dee Dee wrote about male prostitutes killing their johns. Should I read into this? Are the beatnik termites male prostitutes?? Do the beatnik termites want to kill their johns? I hope not, I hope they just really like that song, or maybe that corner. Maybe they just love Dee Dee so darn much, he was super cute in the shower during Rock and Roll High School. The world may never know.

I am totally not hot linking the Ramones because seriously, if you don’t know who they are you probably don’t know how to use google or hot links either so there’s no point. 

Day 96: Mates of State, the one with the lamp.

I got this shirt the first time I saw Mates of State on March 19th 2001, I was in high school and couldn’t drive yet but I got my friend Chris to go with me. They played at a tiny art museum place called the Cayuga vault in Santa Cruz with Track Star and some band called Aden which I don’t remember seeing.

I remember watching them play and wanting to sing along so loud but no one else was singing along and it was so quiet so I just mouthed the words silently and smiled the biggest smile in the world. I could tell that they were in love, just the way they looked at each other and sang at each other and smiled the whole time. It was magical and wonderful.

This show was the first time I talked to my friend Avi, I now consider him a lifelong friend cause we were just kids back then. I asked him about this local college radio station KSCU because I knew he was a DJ, and I wanted to be one too. Which totally happened thanks to him!

Day 95: Cursive.

I bought this shirt when I saw Cursive at the Fillmore on October 23rd 2006 with The Thermals, and Chin Up Chin Up. I don’t remember watching the Thermals or Chin up chin up so maybe I was late. I went to this show with my friend Vito, because cursive was his favorite band and he got me into them and stuff. I remember that I had fun but not much else.

I really love seeing bands at the Fillmore because I get a cool poster at the end (sometimes) and I get to eat free apples (also sometimes). They also have cool old posters all over the walls of tons of shows they have had there, it’s really awesome to see all the bands that have played there.

Day 94: Tenement, the one with the creepy person on it.

I am pretty sure I got this shirt at Awesome Fest 5 in San Diego in September of 2011! Tenement didn’t even play but Amos was on tour with Chinese Telephones and had Tenement merch out for sale!

Tenement are an amazing band and I bought this shirt despite already having two other tenement shirts because that is how super fantastic they are. This shirt has some creepy person on it, it looks like a dead person that was suffocated with a bag. I am not sure I even noticed how creepy this shirt was until now. A lot of the times when I wear shirts I can’t really tell what’s on them because the image is always stretched out or hiding in some curves or something. I am the distorter of shirts.

Day 93: Mikey Erg, Fucifier.

I ordered this shirt off the internet in February of 2012! I also bought a Mikey Erg flexi 7” that was the main thing that I wanted but it’s hard to turn down a good shirt! I ordered this from John Wilkes Booth Records but I think it’s a split release with Bloated Kat Records. Both are cool DIY labels that some of my friends run. 

This was the first time I wore this shirt, so I don’t have any crazy memories of things I did while wearing it yet, but I will make some, I promise! I think this shirt is funny because it is so mean, and Mikey is the nicest guy ever.

Day 92: Armalite. 

I got this shirt at the Fest 6 in Gainesville, FL in October of 2008. It was the first time I ever saw Armalite, and it was so much fun. They played at Common Grounds and it was a big deal for me cause I was super into Atom and his Package, and Lifetime/Kid Dynamite in high school and this band had members from those bands!! I had always meant to go see Atom and his Package but always put it off for some reason, and then he broke up with his drum machine or something, so I never saw them. 

I remember walking down the street on my first morning in Gainesville, I turned around and asked the first people I saw for directions, they were walking a few feet behind me, it was Dan Yemin and Atom! They gave me directions and then, in the calmest coolest way I knew how, I told them that they are awesome and went on my way. 

Along with this shirt I also bought one of the best pieces of merch I ever bought from a band. It was a vegan recipe zine that Armalite made, I think it was called “cooking with Armalite” or something like that. All the recipes insulted the reader and called them a pig and it made me laugh so hard, and it also had some super delicious recipes. 

Day 91: The Parasites.

I bought this shirt at Insubordination Fest in June of 2008, when the Parasites played (well just Dave Parasite backed by the Ergs) it was the first time I had seen or heard of the Parasites but it was awesome. 

Sometime after their set, I went to the merch table to buy a CD and this shirt. The shirts came in lots of different colors but I am partial to yellow and black so I wanted this one. Dave Parasite was selling me the shirt and he didn’t have it in my size, but I wanted it anyway. It took a lot of convincing to get him to sell me the shirt I wanted in the wrong size. I remember it taking a lot longer than it had to for me to buy this shirt.

While I was there I also mentioned to him that I booked shows at Gilman in Berkeley and I would love to book the Parasites should they ever make it out there. He told me that they had already played at Gilman and left it at that. I thought it was a really weird response. Overall my one experience with the guy from this band was uncomfortable and unforgettable, but I think that makes me like them even more. 

This is one of my favorite shirts, I really like the parasites and the color scheme and I think I altered it really well. I wear it a lot in the summer, this summer is going to be weird because I have all these other shirts to wear. Ugghh. 

Day 90: Guantanamo Baywatch.

I saw this band when they played with Mean Jeans at thee Parkside on March 7th, 2012. These guys are this super rad surf band from Portland, only they are more than just a surf band, every once in a while they mix it up and throw in a weird yelly song too. They also totally don’t look like the beach boys. The bass player was this really cool blonde girl and her hair was all wispy and I think it had some blue in it and she was pretty and I had a crush on her for their whole set.

My boyfriend bought one of their records and they gave him a free shirt, since he didn’t think he could pull off a pink tank top he gave it to me! SCORE!