Tags Matching: one shirt

One Shirt – Chauncey

By jbil | Published 08/08/2011

Lets start the week out right! I was thinking of what to write as an intro bio for this next One Shirt feature but have no idea what to write. Ive known Chauncey for at least 15 years, if not more. Always a fixture at local gigs and always putting a smile on everyones faces. Youd be hard pressed to find someone who doesnt remember meeting him at least once. Everyone seems to know who he is in every circle. Not just in HC but also pretty much in every other music social scene. He is kind of the man that needs no introduction. If you dont know you better ask somebody. We at TTD are super stoked that he agreed to write something up for us. Hell, we were stoked when he started commenting on our posts! I hope he will come back and write something else for us soon.
———-

When my dude and Fellow CTHC alumni Jay Bil asked me to do a One Shirt write up for Tee Till Death I was effin’ stoked, But honestly I wish I had to think a little harder about it. This was simply too easy for me…

It’s gotta be that CLASSIC Bad Brains Capital Building Design from the Roir Tape. I got that tape during 8th grade summer and I was obsessed with everything about it. The songs. The pictures of the band on the inside. The red cassette tape. EVERYTHING. But I obsessed over the cover the most. I drew it (badly) so many times. On note books at school, on a desk in my room, on a friends basement wall, on an army jacket. I loved it, and still do.

I’ve owned this design on a variety of different color ways / schemes over the years, White T, Yellow T, Oversized Print and even thought that ugly ass Rasta tie dye jawn was a good idea at one point, But the first one I ever got, and still rock to this day, was the classic Black T.

Me and a mob from CT went to CB’s one day (as we often did) to see Killing Time and Merauder and walked down to St Marks Place to get a slice of Pizza, Some under age 40 oz’s and I ended up grabbing my first of many Capital Building T-Shirt’s from one of them bootleg spots that’s probably now a Pink Berry or some shit. Haha. I still rock this shirt, I mean, Not the same OG shirt obviously, as I’ve gone through like 10 of them in my lifetime, But you know what I’m sayin’.

Sorry I didn’t totally nerd out and pick the most obscure, most rare shirt I could think of…Because I could have, But instead I was real with it and picked a classic design from a classic band. Deal.

Aight!?

Smoke weed…Or don’t.

Thank you BASEDGOD. xo.

@ChaunceyCC

One Shirt – Michiel Walrave

By jbil | Published 05/16/2011

If you ever lost a Descendents shirt on eBay I bet there was a good chance you either lost it to me or Michiel Walrave. You may have also heard his name through the various illustrations hes done over the years for HC shirts and records? Or maybe youve see the pic on various message boards of his giant wall of vintage skateboards? He’s a friend of TTD, an all around good dude, and with his fiendish Descendents/All shirt collection a natural choice for one shirt! Surprisingly his one shirt is not a Descendents shirt.

When youre done reading this post go check out his portfolio and get some work done by him! Michiel Walrave

“Even though the amount of t-shirts in my apartment is getting ridiculous, I had no trouble trying to pick a favorite when I was asked to write this little piece. Even though I haven’t worn it in over 15 years, my NoFX Soul Doubt 93 tour longsleeve is special to me in a lot of ways. I had been going to shows for about 2 years (not counting gigs in the local youth centre) when I made my way over to the legendary Willem II club in Den Bosch, the Netherlands for my first ever NoFX show. Accompanied by two friends and my sister, I purchased this shirt immediately after enetering the venue. This became common practice for me everytime I’d attend a show at Willem II. After getting in the merch table would be right there, and we’d all buy our shirts (or records) before the show started, put the stuff in our backpacks, check the bags, and enter the venue.

This particular show was insane..NoFX were super popular among the skateboard crowd in Holland, and ofcourse the show was sold out. I remember sweating profusely because it was so hot, and I distinctly remember sitting on the side of the stage, getting a few stagedives in (one causing me to land flat on my back) and eyeballing this girl who was standing right in front of me.

The Offspring opened for NoFX on this tour and my buddies picked up their merch, while me and my sister both got NoFX shirts (she has kept hers to this day as well).

About the shirt itself, it’s just a great design. Smaller chest print, tour print on the back, and a great sleeveprint depicting the cows (or bulls, rather) from the band’s Longest Line ep. Size XL ofcourse, but that’s how I wore my shirts back then, everyone did. Even though I was easily 40lbs. lighter back then, it’s still way too big for me these days, so it just sits in my closet with a lot of other XL souvenirs from all the great shows I saw at Willem II – to name a few: Pennywise, Strung Out, Black Train Jack, CIV, H20, WarZone, Hands Tied, Ten Yard Fight, SNFU, Down By Law, Kill Your Idols, Avail…and tons more.

In short: great shirt from a great show from one of the best times in my life. I’d sooner get rid of every other shirt in my house before giving up this one.”

Michiel Walrave

One Shirt: Julian Berman

By b. murphy | Published 04/22/2011

I’m guessing not many people would recognize Julian Berman. If I asked you what he looked like, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell me. You see, Julian is always on the other end of the lens. Each generation has its share of excellent photographers and designers, Julian is working his way to the top of this generations list. He got immediate world exposure courtesy of Odd Future and Billboard magazine. Cover photos (yes, a cover photo) have a way of accelerating exposure. We can’t wait to see what Julian puts out in the near future. He was gracious enough to give us some of his time so check out his One Shirt. Peace.

Though it has been done time and time again, the Smorgasboard rip-off design is absolutely timeless. As typical as it seems, just the way the letters flow, the way the type face works with the contours of your body, no matter the situation… the Smorgasboard style design will always be badass.

My personal favorite shirt is one actually designed by a really good friend of mine, Julian (the not-as-cool-floridian version) over at Stray Rats. The moment I saw this shirt, I knew I had to have it. STRAY RATS – SEWER BRIGADE, honestly how can you not love that? There seems to be more of a crew aspect to this rip, as opposed to the obligatory _____ STRAIGHT EDGE wording, and I’m into that. It does not necessarily help that I am the biggest sucker for pocket print tee shirts either.

As an artist, the simplicity of this design honestly takes the cake for me, and of course knowing that it was designed and printed by an actual friend brings a bit more sentimental value to the shirt. People seem to get far too carried away in tee shirt designs these days, whether it be band merch or the zillions of streetwear brands out there, simplicity and proper execution will always reign supreme. (Yeah, that was lame as hell.)

Regardless, Strayrats.com – Get with it.

Ed: good luck finding these shirts. (the other) Julian sold out of them right quick. Anyone in Miami want to hook me up with a medium or large??

One Shirt – Gil Sayfan

By b. murphy | Published 11/22/2010

Everyone knows Gil. It’s hard to not know this easy going, laid back dude. When he’s not shelling tees or Triple B merch, you can find him behind the mic with Free Spirit. This may sound weird, but Free Spirit is a band WITH music, not just a merch making machine. Head over to Triple B Records and pick up their EP while it lasts. Gil has also been known to sport some excellent tshirts over the years. We were super psyched when he offered to participate in our One Shirt feature. So without further ado, here’s Gil’s choice. PS. If you have one of these in a large, contact us. Gil needs one. Oddly, eBay is sadly devoid of them lately. Weak.

Stop and Think “Stacked” – The shirt that says it all.

free spirit

Hardcore aesthetic can take so many routes good or bad, and the one that has remained above all – in my opinion – is that which puts the message right at the forefront. The simplicity and deliberation of this approach sums up for me so much of what I love and respect about hardcore music. As perfect as Abused skins and Outburst graffiti are, this for me is where it’s at. Three words, bold type, “slate blue” – it all comes together just right. I sweated this thing hard for a while, got it in a period where I got lots of Stop and Think gear. I recall a time I wore black/blue Jordan Is to a band practice and Kenny just gazed on em and remarked on how cool that blue color is even though he had seen it a million times – this applies to the Stacked so much.

This shirt will always be my go-to, even as it begins to fit more and more like the way Josh P wears his shirts.

One Shirt – Wim Berchmans

By jbil | Published 11/11/2010

For this installment of “One Shirt” we caught up with Wim Berchmans aka Steif the Positif. You may know him from his involvement in Justice, Loud and Clear Europe, Powered Records, Rhythm to the Madness, and his new band Joshua’s Song. I first got to know him in 2004 on the Mental 2004 EU tour and since then hes become of my favorite people in the whole world. The s/t Justice LP is still amazing and gets weekly play. Im proud to have him be part of this series.

“The only shirt I ever bid on on ebay was the AF ‘rejected cover art for CFA’ shirt. I lost the bid, so I never ever got a shirt off ebay.
I do however, love every shirt of every hardcore band I own, because, in most cases, I got them from trading shirts for shirts of my own bands during tours/shows, so there’s stories attached to them and I know, when I’m a worthy old man, who understands nothing of the modern world he’s living in, I’ll find a big box of shirts on my attic and go through them and think of all the great times I had.

America Rules – Steif, Me, Flip / Paris / Circa 2008

My absolute favorite shirt is the ‘regular CAF artwork’ AF tee. I got it from one of my best friends, Wim, who used to play bass for the Belgian band ‘True Colors’. He knew I loved that particular shirt and I was really stoked when he gave it to me one day. The shirt though, was in such a poor condition that we dubbed it ‘DE AGNOSTIC VOD’. Which translates into something like ‘the agnostic rag’. Nonetheless I wore it during a lot of shows of the ’04 – ’07 era, and I wore it during one of the coolest sets of my life; when Justice played CBGB’s in NYC. I have really fond memories of that day and that shirt was a part of it, so that’s also why that’s my favorite t-shirt.

Best AF record -> Victim In Pain
My favorite AF record -> Last Warning, recordings for their ‘final show’ in cb’s.”

Check out his new bands record over here at Quadrofoon Records
Check out his record label here Powered Records

One Shirt – Ned Russin

By b. murphy | Published 08/26/2010

For this installment of the One Shirt series, we caught up with Ned Russin. You may recognize him from one of many acts: Title Fight, Stick Together, Back To Back records, … and likely, a shit ton more. Ned is a quality dude, and unlike the other gentlemen we’ve interviewed, he’s not an old man (just kidding dudes**, jeesh). For a young edgemin, he already has a bevvy of great tshirts, and an eye for quality tees. The next generation of hardcore dudes aren’t all girl jeans and neon tees (thank god!). Check what Ned has to say.

“I decided to not write about an old shirt that I wasn’t around for, but rather a shirt that defined my generation: the 2000′s era Wilkes-Barre hardcore kid. This shirt is important to me for a couple of reasons. Frostbite were the main powerhouse in WBHC when I first started going to shows with the release of their s/t 7″ on Dead by 23 Records. They were just starting to tour and come out with their debut LP when they broke up in January of 2004. Frostbite had a whole slew of shirts, but this one is at the top of the list. The front pocket print is a nod to Floorpunch, even though Frostbite only had 1 remaining edgeman by the time the band had finished. The pocket print can also be seen on the “USA hardcore” shirt that FB did (which Title Fight also borrowed for the GAHC fest). The back drawing prevented me from wearing this shirt around the house when I was a young boy. A skin beating a chained up cop didn’t really fly in my house. Overall though, this shirt is a great reminder of WBHC’s past to me.”

** not really kidding, those dudes are OLD.

ONE SHIRT-Jeff Terranova

By Casali | Published 07/02/2010

Our latest installment of the One Shirt series is brought to you by Up Front’s Jeff Terranova. We hope you enjoy!

“This was a tough one, but I would have to go with the Uniform Choice “Use Your Head” 4 sided Wishingwell Records shirt.

Growing up and going to shows on the east coast, it was pretty easy for me to get my hands on t-shirts by all of the east coast bands. I remember seeing the UC Wishingwell shirts and being blown away by them and needed to find a way to get my hands on them. Long before Up Front had the opportunity to travel the US and meet people and trade t-shirts, Jon Up Front and myself both decided to mail order direct from Wishingwell Records. We had been seeing their ads in tons of zines and we both owned the UC “Screaming For Change” LP, so we felt confident that they were legit. We both ordered one Straight and Alert and one Use Your Head t-shirt around the same time. After a few weeks of excitement waiting for the shirts to arrive, a month passed, then two, then three and we were both getting pretty bummed out at this point and figured the shirts would never arrive. I honestly cannot remember exactly how long it took, but Jon’s shirt arrived via UPS, which was weird for me because at that point of my life I was used to being excited about the mailman, so now my focus was on a brown truck pulling into the driveway. I waited anxiously every day and looked out my bedroom window anytime I thought I heard a vehicle in the driveway. Then one day when I was least expecting it, that magical brown truck pulled into the driveway and I ran to the door and signed for a box of vitamins for my mom, what a let down. A few more weeks passed and I started thinking that maybe my order was lost and my shirts were never going to arrive, I pretty much gave up all hope. Then one day I came home and my mom had left a package for me in my room and I couldn’t believe it, they had arrived! I opened the envelope and all I could smell was brand new screen printed t-shirts and man was I psyched!

I have sold the majority of my t-shirts over the years, including the UC “Straight and Alert” and other UC/Unity/Wishingwell shirts that I acquired, but I just cannot part with my Use Your Head shirt… there is something about that shirt design that is amazing to me!

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