Tags Matching: DCXX

Jules SBS Charity Auction Round 3

By Casali | Published 04/28/2011

The fine fellows at DCXX have just upped a new batch of Jules’ records for auction. If you will remember, every penny will go to relief efforts in Japan. Click the picture below to check out the items. There are not any MEGA rare records in this batch, but wouldn’t it be nice to have a item in your collection that had such an interesting previous owner?

Speaking of interesting, the boys also dropped the fourth installment of their interview with Jules. As usual it’s an interesting read from a man who has managed to stay out of the spotlight for many years. Be sure to click on the pics to read this one. You won’t regret it.

One Shirt — Tim DCXX

By Casali | Published 05/28/2010

Our second installment to the One Shirt feature is from the other co-founder of DoubleCross webzine, Tim McMahon. These DoubleCross guys sure know how to pick some winners. They have also made me realize that my two favorite hardcore shirts are in fact navy blue. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Murphy. Now onto Tim’s selection…

I’ve been collecting hardcore shirts for the better part of 24 years now and I think I’ve gathered a pretty decent collection. I’ve had a lot of shirts come and go, some I wish never went, some I wouldn’t miss if I never saw again, and some that will be with me when I’m buried. At the forefront of my collection there’s been a handful of mainstays: all the Schism shirts, all my Youth Of Today shirts, my Hi-Impact Turning Point shirts, my Axtion-Packed Release shirts, my Cro-Mags shirts, my Bold shirts, my old Smorgasbord shirts, my Wishingwell shirts, my old Danzig shirts, my Dag Nasty shirts, etc.. With that being said, there are really only a few that I actually wear on a regular basis, mostly because so many of these shirts are 20+ years old and although they’re in good condition now, I’d like them to stay that way.

One shirt that has stood the test of time for me, remains at the top of my list as a personal favorite and I actually wear somewhat regularly would be my original navy blue, puff ink, Chain Of Strength “True Till Death” shirt. I’m actually on my third original of the navy blue “True Till Death” shirt, but I can assure you, the current one that I have will not be going anywhere. Two others I have ridiculously traded away, but I promise you that I have learned my lesson. This shirt is not an easy one to find…bootlegs maybe, but originals are just super tough to track down.

As the story is told, Revelation printed the navy blue, puff ink, Chain Of Strength “True Till Death” shirts for Chain to sell on their second east coast tour. I’ve heard that Chain’s drummer, Chris Bratton, always hated this shirt because it broke away from the standard white/green/black color scheme that Chain had adopted, so once that first batch was sold, they were never to be made again.

What I love about this shirt is for one, the huge, classic Chain Of Strength logo across the front of the shirt. It’s tough to beat that logo, the classic SSD style font (City Bold), the bars (similar to Bold) and the tastefully dropped in X. Navy blue shirts have always been a favorite of mine (as well as red), the awesome use of the white puff ink for the words Chain Of Strength, the flat gray bars and X… it just makes for a timeless, clean, classic design that respectfully gives a nod to the influential bands that came prior.

As for the back, the large bold, typewriter style font, “True Till Death” and the perfectly captured Chain Of Strength 7″ cover photo all combine for a flawless front and back shirt design. An extra thumbs up for the X that’s shaved into the back of Alex Pain’s head that is clearly visible in the photo.

If I’ve got one complaint about this shirt, it’s the fact that every one I find happens to be a size Large. Out of the three that I’ve had, only one of them was an XL and that one is long gone. My current one is a Large and although it fits fine, those late 80′s Signal brand shirts tend to run a bit slim. But hey, I’d rather have one that keeps me on my toes and away from the ice cream than none at all.

And as a matter of fact, yes, it is the one thing that still holds true. -Tim DCXX

One Shirt — GORDO DCXX

By Casali | Published 05/19/2010

Like most of you, Tee Till Death has Double Cross webzine on our list of daily (sometimes hourly) reads. One of the features we have enjoyed the most is the “What hardcore/punk album has stood the test of time for you?” post. Borrowing a page (with permission and enthusiasm) from the DCXX crew, we are adding a running feature called, “One Shirt”. We could think of no better way to kick things off than with a kicker from Gordo of DCXX. Thanks for the inspiration boys! And for all you other folks, keep thinking of your favorites because we come knocking soon.

My all time favorite hardcore t-shirt has to go to the Project X Schism longsleeve. Although less than a dozen were originally made, and I’ve never even come close to owning one, this shirt is still the pinnacle of SEHC perfection in the form of cotton clothing if you ask me.

Some background: the story goes that Alex Brown screened the originals in his Brooklyn apartment along with Porcell in early January of 1988. They were printed terribly on low quality navy longsleeves, and were not sold, but given only to close friends within the youth crew. A couple days later, Gorilla Biscuits, Side By Side, and BOLD played the Anthrax and some of the youth crew cruised in wearing these while onlooker fans shit their pants. “What is that shirt and who is Project X?!?!” This would also be the night the Project X seven inch was offered for sale along with Schism issue #7, complete with BOLD stamp (I think my timeline is correct? I was 6 years old and playing with Transformers in suburban Pennsylvania). While you could cruise up to Porcell and buy that zine and mystery seven inch, the longsleeve was friends-only.

The cover of The Way It Is showcases Gus SE wearing his in mid-singalong/stagedive during GB from this night, a perfectly captured iconic photograph (you can also see Alex Brown wearing his). I remember when I first bought The Way It Is, I just stared at the cover for a couple days straight. In addition to thinking it was the coolest photo ever and simply summed up a world I was trying to learn everything about, I also remember thinking “what is that shirt dude is wearing? It looks incredible.” For that reason, I always attach some of the significance of this shirt to the power of that photo. Of course it doesn’t hurt that I absolutely love Project X and anything that says “Schism” is straight edge cocaine to me.

As for the design, it’s just a perfect Alex Brown creation that epitomizes the look of 1988 New York City SEHC. Loud, bold, clean, in your face, and unapologetic. Essentially it’s a gigantic billboard that says “WE ARE AWESOME, CHECK THIS SHIT OUT, WE ARE COOLER THAN YOU,” and that same design ethos would end up the standard recipe for probably every other SEHC shirt design of the era and even up through today – gaining tons of fans as well as critics and hecklers along the way. Much like the music played by Project X and their Revelation-era contemporaries, this design is basically a big nod of appreciation to the original early 1980s forefathers, combined with their own dose of bravado and youthful over-the-top energy.

Perhaps the ONLY way this classic design could have been even cooler is if the front had the large Schism fist artwork that was seen on the cover of Schism 7, and later used on the front of the red or black Wide Awake Schism “jumping X dude” shirts. The large Schism fists on the front with the Schism logo is maybe the BEST front shirt design ever. That Wide Awake shirt creeps up very high on my all-time favorite shirt list for that front design alone (the back design pulls it down a bit). I personally love the Schism fists so much that they are my only tattoo (I even considered getting them on my forehead – and no, the one weirdo big thumb on the one fist doesn’t bother me). Brian Clark aka Billy Bitter – if you are reading this, thank you for drawing those fists, they have brought happiness to my life. So anyways, where was I…yeah, the Project X longsleeve…if it had the big fists on the front I wouldn’t be typing this because my brain would have ruptured upon seeing such a design.

As it is, the whole design is perfect: the navy shirt, the white and red/orange hybrid ink (I still don’t know exactly what that color is, and I scoped out Alex Brown’s shirt when he was wearing it during a GB set at CB’s a few years back), the Schism logo, the Project X logo, Sammy’s X’d hand, “New York City Straight Edge”…it’s all there. Like you, I’ve had to settle for bootlegs or the Porcell/TTD re-print from a couple years ago, which was actually done pretty well. The fact that the shirt is as rare as it is and the current owners aren’t looking to part with theirs just makes the appeal that much stronger.

I love Misfits shirts, Black Flag shirts, COC shirts, Cro-Mags shirts, 7Seconds shirts, BL’AST! shirts, UC shirts…tons of shirts…but this is where my heart is at the end of the day. Project X Schism Longsleeve. Straight in ’88. Fuckin’ A.

-Gordo DCXX

Double Cross “Dedicated to Hardcore” shirts

By Casali | Published 03/10/2010

Tim and the gang have just put up an awesome batch of new shirts for your purchasing pleasure. It’s easy to get stuck in the past(what’s up CHIP) when talking about bands, records, shirts and stories of yesteryear. Now you can rep the present which is DCXX webzine, which will also have you repping the past at the same time. Got it? I think you do.
Anyway, click the picture below and get into the action. There are some great color ways going on here, but that’s to be expecting when Tim’s on the case. Keep up the good work boys!
XXX