Band T-Shirt by Rob Jones

a magazine about band t-shirts.

ÂŁ3.99

Raymond Pettibon Peter Saville Derek Riggs Henry Fong Stanley Donwood Alex Pardee Chuck D

EDITORIAL TEAM.

EDITOR

Lawrence Gichigi

SUB-EDITOR

Rob Jones

SECTION EDITOR

Natasha Emmerson

FEATURES EDITOR

Tom Willmott

ART DIRECTOR

Sammi Cartwright

CONTENTS.

Profiles

Features

Henry Fong

Label Me From cotton to coat hanger

Derek Riggs John Bingle Alex Pardee Chuck D Stanley Donwood Peter Saville Banquet Records Lewes Herriot

Paint it Black The story of Black Flag and Raymond Pettibon Passion Not Fashion High street’s affair with the merch table is more lust than love The Future of Band T-Shirts Will the band t-shirt exist in 100 years? Controversy Sells Taking a look at some of the most controversial band t-shirts around “Isn’t That the Shirt Jagger Wore?” Steve Coe makes dressing like a rockstar physically possible Deconstruction: Misfits Sellouts? When MC5 remformed for Levi’s

A WORD FROM THE EDITOR. What is the band t-shirt? An object of admiration, adoration, affection that is both worthless to many and priceless to few. The band t-shirt is a symbol, a running monologue of a musician’s illustrious career. It represents an era of a place and time, all the while being completely timeless.

Far more than scraps of overpriced merchandise to fob off during lengthy tour dates or a fly-by-night fashion trend, the iconic band shirt fills the wearer with a sense of identity, of purpose and value. In this strange time we call the 21st century, when lovers wear their hearts on their sleeves, secret societies lure us into a false sense of security, and all we have to our name is our word, great bands have emerged to tackle these ways with words. But what will happen when those bands are dead and gone? When the pictures have faded, and the formats they used are extinct, what will be left but the band shirt? A token serving as the perfect memory of a movement struggling towards a utopian existence for all music fans. In the same way tattoos of the skin are made to represent something about you, band t-shirts are a less-thanpermanent cloth tattoo broadcasting a pre-meditated identity loud and proud for all to observe. An anonymous figure once said, “Band T shirts are about a coming of age. They are a part of history and music and passion and all things tangible and intangible.“ Within the pages of this limited edition four-part publication we capture the essence of the band t-shirt and celebrate it. We glorify and exemplify what it means to create an iconic shirt, bringing the worlds of music and design together. We give each shirt its just deserts and admire the impact they’ve had on our identity by giving due credit to their designers. As we talk to some of the creators of the worlds most memorable memorabilia, we get an insight into the inspiration behind it and previously untold stories of some of the most revered bands of our time. Acts such as Black Flag, Public Enemy, Misfits, Iron Maiden and Joy Division are just a number of bands who’s designers are featured in issue #1 alone. So whether you’re a musician, a journalist, 8

a designer or simply interested in the history and context of band shirts, this magazine has something for you to discover. Feast your eyes on our regular six-page photo shoot which resides in the middle pages of our humble magazine. We take on high street stores in Passion Or Fashion and ask whether their commercialising of band t’s is an injustice. We talk to the founder of Worn Free who’s online business boasts a range of replicated shirts donned by the icons of pop culture. Religion and politics are defiled as we look at some of the most controversial band shirts of all time and shine the spotlight on John Bingle and Lewes Herriot; two talented designers of tomorrow. Band T-shirt 1 of 4. Dive in. Lawrence Gichigi

HENRY FONG. BILLY TALENT

Words by: Sammi Cartwright

Hong Kong born artist, Henry Fong, moved with his family to Canada when he was only fifteen years old. He has said that this enabled him to - at an early age - appreciate not only Japanese animation and Hong Kong cinema, but also to appreciate great western classics such as Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wizard of Oz and The Magnificent Seven. This appreciation is evident within his work where his art speaks with hints of traditional eastern painting through the style and colours used, but with themes and subjects more prominent within western science fiction and fantasy artwork. In an excerpt from his website, he explains that his parents were devoted cinema fans; they would take his brother, his sister and himself to the cinema every weekend. This influence shows in his work where he creates hugely cinematic imagery that feels as though it should be just one beautifully detailed cell of a storyboard for an epic fantasy film. He says, “Thanks to their infectious passion, I was exposed at an early age to a world of fantastic imagery that continues to fuel my creativity to this day.” The move to Canada eventually allowed Fong to attend Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, situated just west of Toronto, where he met Billy Talent guitarist Ian D’Sa on a classical animation program 10

they both attended. “I found we had a very similar interest in music and art back then; we often exchanged ideas and music,” he explains of meeting D’Sa. The pair completed their studies at Sheridan College and, shortly after their graduation, they continued to work together at an animation company in Montreal. Fong has told of how D’Sa would drive back to Toronto to practice with his band every weekend, and allow him to hitch a ride for the seven-hour drive. “During those long rides home we came to a deeper understanding of each others taste in music and art, and consequently our friendship deepened. So years later, when he got a chance to art direct his own Billy Talent II, he picked up the phone without hesitation to call me up.” During the creation of the album artwork, Fong worked on another piece featuring the four faces of the members of Billy Talent: Ben Kowalewicz, Jon Gallant, Ian D’Sa and Aaron Solowoniuk. “This was a super fun piece to work on,” Fong explains with enthusiasm. “I was trying to capture each of their personalities and merge them together as a whole; intense looking Ian, angry and full of energy Ben, rock solid Jon and focused Aaron.” As you can only imagine, when someone draws you and the likeness is spot on, the band were extremely pleased with the work. “They were super happy when they

saw this drawing, everybody was loving it big time,” says Fong. The drawing was so well received that it went on to be placed upon a t-shirt for the band that was sold on the 18-month tour promoting Billy Talent II during 2006 and 2007. Jon’s mouth from the drawing also became the front cover of the album sleeve. The shirt is a fan favourite and easily identifiable due to its bold red print and unique style. Fong says of this uniqueness, “The style on BTII is truly a Henry Fong style, no joke.” henryfong.ca

LABEL ME From cotton to coat hanger

When it comes to materials for band merchandise, there are a lot of things to consider, and a plethora of brands to choose from. From t-shirt manufacturing companies such as Fruit of the Loom, Alstyle Apparel and Activewear (AAA) and Gildan Activewear to LA based American Apparel, there’s a lot of choice depending on what you want from the t-shirt. Whether you’re looking to get as cheap as you can, or as many colour options as possible, or even the highest quality, each t-shirt brand has its own pros and cons. To the casual wearer, this may seem unimportant compared to the actual look of the t-shirt and the style of the design, but others see the situation from more than one angle. Ryan Stanikk, a graphic designer and current member of the UK ska-punk band New Riot, expressed on the popular social networking site Facebook, that he has, “become picky with buying clothes… I will only buy stuff printed on American Apparel quality.” When probed about why he believes American Apparel is so much better than other brands, he had this to say, “They’re well made and I believe all their tops are 100% cotton or tri-blend, which is so much nicer than polyester that cheaper stuff is made from.” Taking a closer look, American Apparel do sell tri-blend (50% polyester/ 25% cotton/ 25% rayon)

t-shirts, 100% fine jersey cotton shirts, as well as poly-cotton (50% cotton/ 50% polyester) t-shirts and even 100% organic cotton t-shirts. So, not only does American Apparel have a vast choice when it comes to material, but it also offers a wide range of colours for every product they produce.

variations available. They are well-fitted and fashionable, so the wearer can feel like they’ve bought a quality item, and their ethical stance on manufacturing is the icing on the cake. Eat up.

Stanikk also explained that another reason to print on American Apparel is that, “The company is also antisweatshop.” When you search American Apparel in your browser, you will find that this is correct. The information underneath the link to their online store declares, ‘Sweatshop Free. Made in USA’. It also claims to have ‘the highest earning apparel workers in the world’, paying its factory empoloyees over twelve dollars an hour. Popular bands, such as Chicago’s Fall Out Boy, have printed on American Apparel hoodies in the past alongside less well-known artists like The Stiletto Formal, My American Heart and Circa Survive who have all printed on American Apparel t-shirts during their careers. American music magazine, Alternative Press, also print on their t-shirts. Verdict; American Apparel offers the most choice in materials and colours and is therefore a popular choice for the printing of band t-shirts for the sheer amount of 15

PAINT IT BLACK. The story of Black Flag and Raymond Pettibon Words by: Rob Jones

Raymond Pettibon is the artist best known in the music world for his innumerable amount of artwork for the seminal hardcore band Black Flag. After he became detached from the hardcore scene – and his brother, Gregg Ginn, who started the band - he became a well-known figure in his own right in the contemporary art scene from the 90s through to today.

“I started to do some political cartooning in college,” Pettibon later said on how he got into illustration. “I wanted to be a writer. I was taking lots of literature classes, and on the bus back and forth to U.C.L.A., I’d read and do my own things at home.” Political is definitely one way to describe Pettibon’s work. His early, one-frame-of-a-comic-strip pieces questioned (and still question) society with the images he produced as much as the captions that sat along side them.

In 1977 his older brother, guitarist and songwriter Greg Ginn, founded the influential punk rock band Black Flag. Initially, Pettibon had been a bass player in the group when it was known by the name Panic. When the band discovered that another band called Panic existed, Pettibon suggested the name Black Flag and designed their distinctive “four bars” logo that is still seen bared on thousands of t-shirts, posters and stickers to this day. The name and logo fitted in with the band’s identity completely: a black flag is a symbol of anarchy, a traditional emblem of pirates; it was a brand of insecticide and it sounded a bit like Black Sabbath. The bars represented the members; unite and forceful. It suited them perfectly. Gregg Ginn said of the naming, “We were comfortable with all the implications of the name, as well as it just sounded, you know, heavy.”

Although thought provoking and confrontational, many, at the time of his first work, wouldn’t give Pettibon the satisfaction of being known as anything close to a ‘political artist’. To

Around the same time, Pettibon adopted his new surname; speculation suggests that he did so in order to avoid being referred to as “Ray Ginn” (as in Ronald Reagan, already a much-hated figure in

Pettibon was born Raymond Ginn on June 16, 1957 in California, gaining an economics degree from UCLA and working as a high school mathematics teacher for a short period. He then began pursuing a career in art in 1977.

many, he was another component in the disturbance the hardcore scene was in Southern California in the late ‘70s. This was because he had found himself becoming known as the in-house artist for the band that were the poster boys of that scene.

the hardcore scene even before he was elected as president). By ’78, Black Flag were ready to release an EP. The only label that would touch them was Bomb Records, but after they failed to follow through with a pressing, Ginn decided to release it himself. Ginn’s DIY attitude ended up personifing Black Flag. They booked their own tours, promoted their own shows and had their own record label. In January 1979, when they finally released the four-song Nervous Breakdown EP on Ginn’s SST records (catalog #001), the group of individuals involved in the label and band had become a unit; a machine, and Pettibon was a well-oiled cog. He designed the cover for the EP, the first time since his brother had used his services since the original naming and designing of the band logo. The design was a pen-and-ink illustration of a teacher keeping a student at bay with a chair, like a scared lion tamer. It seems after this, everything to do with SST was in vain of DIY and unified defiance. The label’s demeanor encapsulated this ethos and Pettibon’s work simply visualized it into a medium as in your face as the music. After the first EP, Pettibon did all of the

artwork for Black Flag, apart from the damaged LP, and a great deal for SST all the way through to the mid-1980s. This included not only record covers but gig posters too, and with the amount Black Flag toured, there were a lot of posters to make. The artwork Pettibon produced was very disturbing and comically ironic at the same time. His drawings, with troubling, satirical or ambiguous captions, mirrored his brother’s musical output in a visual format. The band were producing songs with lyrics like ‘I’m crazy and I’m hurt / Head on my shoulders goin’ berserk’ and ‘Fix me, fix my head / Fix me please, I don’t want to be dead’ and Pettibon’s work was just as confrontational and alarming. Themes in his artwork included castration, dismemberment, suicide and murder, on a backdrop of everyday American life featuring everyday American figures. His style was reminiscent of religious cult handouts; bleak, scary and thought provoking in a way most would rather avoid. His one-shot images of disturbed pockets of humanity are humorous, violent and macabre all at once. One flyer for a show from the time shows a pair of men fighting with knives headed with the caption, “Your girlfriend called me chicken.” Another shows a skeleton standing on a stage telling an audience, “Life is a joke” with a caption underneath

reading, “This is the punch line.” “(My drawings) are violent,” Pettibon admitted in 1984. “And that’s dictated by the medium, in that I just use one frame. You can’t tell a whole story with all kinds of exposition. It’s like taking one frame out of a movie or one crucial scene out of a book at a critical point. You can’t really be subtle.” Not only was Pettibon able to mirror the tone of the music in his cartoons, he was also producing work that summarized different aspects and attitudes of society too. At the time of Black Flag’s 1981 Six-Pack EP, the original sound of hardcore (fast and viscous) was becoming exhausted and important brother bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains were breaking up. The band were becoming dot-to-dot hardcore and were driving around a stylistic cul-de-sac. So for the cover of the EP, Pettibon drew a prescient illustration of a punk who had literally painted himself into a corner. In the late 70s and early 80s, Black Flag would be constantly hassled by the police. Their shows would be shut down and cops would constantly harass them, convinced they were a threat to their republican society. So, for the cover of the ‘Police Story’ single, Pettibon depicted a terrified policeman with a revolver shoved into his mouth with the caption, ‘Make me come faggot!’

For the artwork, Pettibon wasn’t simply drawing whatever his brother told him to, he was part of the gang who were against corrupt cops and a lying government. If society wouldn’t back them as citizens, then they would make their own community and do things themselves. “We weren’t co-conspirators or anything,” he says of Ginn. “But there was a certain shared attitude. Greg had the idea that he could do things for himself. He was a genius.” Quiet and determined, many shared this view of Ginn and their view of Pettibon wasn’t too dissimilar. Black Flag singer Henry Rollins described Pettibon as “quiet, something of a loner and an avid jazz fan.” But he also said Pettibon, like his brother Greg, was “profoundly hardworking and disciplined, sometimes producing dozens of drawings per day.” In the 1980s, Pettibon released numerous pamphlet books through the SST label; most or all of them are now out of print and sometimes command high prices. With tittles like Tripping Corpse, New Wave of Violence, and The Bible, the Bottle and the Bomb they were in the same vain as his artwork for the band. In addition to artwork for Black Flag, Pettibon’s illustrations also graced flyers for bands like Circle Jerks, Dead

“Punk rockers don’t buy art. I could’ve asked for 50 cents for any drawing; it would’ve been too much.” Raymond Pettibon

Kennedys, Descendents, D.O.A., Fear, Flipper, Germs, Hüsker Dü, Meat Puppets, Minutemen, Ramones and others. He was becoming a well-known figure in the hardcore scene in California. With such a recognizable style and numerous pamphlets and ‘zines under his belt, he wasn’t doing badly in his own right. Despite this, his work outlet was predominately SST related and he wasn’t going to shift his hardcore identity anytime soon with his artwork for the SST shows were everywhere. But Pettibon enjoyed this outlet very much at the time. “The flyers were one of the best things about working with SST,” he said recently, looking back on the time. “It’s more of a general audience when it goes on a telephone pole. It’s not something that you can buy in a store or see on TV. You see it at a glance and you can’t switch it off.” Despite Peittibon’s love for this time, he didn’t do him as many favours financially as it did commercially. “Punk rockers don’t buy art,” he once pointed out. “They never did. I could’ve asked for 50 cents for any drawing; it would’ve been too much.” He also feels, despite his obvious great contribution to punk in the ‘80s, in the punk world “any of the most disliked things would be prefaced with art, [or called] ‘arty.’” 18

This macho-punk elitism could have contributed to him distancing himself from the scene in 1985, a time when many of the SST crowd dispersed from the camp also. Pettibon never cared so much that SST never paid him for his artwork, but he was getting increasingly frustrated that although he was an artist in his own right, he was still best known as ‘the Black Flag guy’. The final straw for him was with Black Flag’s May ’85 release of Loose Nut. Pettibon’s artwork for the cover had been used years earlier as a flyer and Ginn simply resurrected it without telling his brother. To add salt to the wound, Bill Stevenson, the band’s drummer, cut up Pettibon’s original artwork and used the pieces as elements for the lyric sheet. The desecration of his work infuriated Pettibon and that year he and his brother stopped speaking. Now, Pettibon says

he hasn’t seen Greg in years. Many feel Ginn, who has largely dropped out of public sight, might have resented Pettibon’s success, which gradually rivaled and maybe even supplanted his own. Time has proved that Ginn was wrong to undermine his brother and tamper with his work back in ’85. Since then, Pettibon has become tremendously successful in his field of art. Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth praised his work in the April ’85 issue of Artforum and Thurston Moore of the band even cited him one of their “heroes.” Stating him (among others) as they’re “life’s blood” in a Forced Exposure interview. In 1990, Pettibon returned the compliment and provided the cover art for Sonic Youth’s Goo LP. The illustration, in true Pettibon style, is based on a paparazzi photo of Maureen Hindley and her first husband David Smith, witnesses in the case of the Moors Murders serial killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, driving to the trial in 1966. Since then, Pettibon has been acclaimed in the international art scene, gaining notoriety after his participation in the controversial 1992 Helter Skelter exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and having his first major solo exhibition in 1995. His works are included in the permanent collections of public galleries

throughout the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and a large collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2004 he was the recipient of a Bucksbaum Award, an award given every two years to an artist who has exhibited at the Whitney Biennial. The award has increased interest in Pettibon’s work; a few weeks after receiving the award, one of his ink-on-paper works commanded a record $66,000 at an auction.

Whether this is an issue or not, Pettibon’s work in the late ‘70s and ‘80s will be as seminal as the band that his work embodied. In many ways, the band’s work and his work embody each other. He’s comfortable, yet modest about his artistic output of the time. He retains he doesn’t “have any delusions of how important my work was in the context of punk rock, If my work wasn’t there, not that much would be missed.”

A point to easy to disagree with; maybe Pettibon feels if he has made such a difference, why hasn’t much more been highlighted throughout his work than a silly rock band. Maybe he sees his work taking on a larger purpose; “If the pen was actually mightier than the sword,” he said recently, “I would have a field day. It would be a fucking bloodbath.”

Many of Pettibon’s flyers and sleeves for Black Flag and SST have been turned into t-shirts. Whether original SST prints or bootlegged and fan-made fakes, many of them still grace the torsos of both original and newer fans alike. Sadly, the image Pettibon created has since become much more than what a normal band t-shirt is for. These days, instead of wearing it to show someone likes the band, people often wear the four black bars across their chests to show what kind of person they are, because it’s become iconic or simply because it’s cool and fashionable rather than because they love the band. Maybe people want to link themselves with hardcore for all to see, and the best way they can do that is by wearing Pettibon’s Black Flag designs, as many see them as the seminal hardcore band. 19

PASSION NOT FASHION.

High street’s affair with the merch table is more lust than love Words by: Tom Willmott

It’s not unusual these days to come across individuals who seem to have an identity crisis. Trust me, I’ve witnessed this plenty of times. Like, for example, the elderly-looking gentleman in a Linkin Park hoodie, James Smith in a Slayer shirt and one memorable encounter with a septuagenarian in an Iron Maiden shirt. Can you really believe for a second that these people have actually engaged in any meaningful way with such bands; or are they just complete posers? Harsh words, you may suggest, as clearly it’s not always possible to know somebody’s interests from their general appearance. But I’m often puzzled by some of the individuals sporting such t-shirts and would love to ask them three simple questions about the band they are advertising. Maybe that would identify the true fans from those who have just got knock-off gear from down the pub or cast-offs from their grandchildren or the charity shop. Traditionally, most fans buy their t-shirts from the merchandise stands at shows. In many respects it’s a way of saying thank you for giving them some of the most brilliant moments of their life as well as an identification with their band. Others may shop online, although it can occasionally be a risky business buying authentic clothes via the internet, unless it’s directly from the website of their chosen artist. But what opportunities are there on the 20

high street to grab a decent band t-shirt? To find out I conducted my own brief survey, making a foray into Kingston, Surrey, which is one of the indiest towns in the UK to see what the outlets there had to offer. Heading for the Bentall Centre I stumble into the somewhat unusual-looking Hollister Co. Claiming to offer ‘the original Southern California lifestyle brand, laidback and effortlessly chic’, their concept of a ‘summer house’ gives a definite sense of warmer weather on the way but pretty much all that was on offer was surf gear. There was some half-hearted pop rock playing in the background as well as some CDs on sale Yes, you heard that right! But not a band t-shirt in sight... So on to TK Maxx. What is it about TK Maxx that bothers me? I guess it’s because it resembles pretty much everything I hate about society and is the type of place I imagine goons who listen to Hurts happily waste their pennies. Still, you never know, there could be a hidden Deicide shirt lurking there somewhere. But no, not a single offering. So drawing a blank there, too I move on to Topman. Now this is definitely not the “coolest” of brands (some have said that the only good thing about the student riots was the complete destruction of Topman’s

sister shop, Topshop, in Oxford Street but I couldn’t possibly comment). And students are certainly not the only ones to make known their opposition to this chain, as Rolo Tomass vocalist, Eva Spence, recently tweeted “Fuck You Topshop, P.S. We shall be suing you.” Apparently, this was because her friend’s dress shrank in the washing machine, adding “Who will be my personal lawyer for this?”. I would certainly raise my hand, if I had a law degree, and I can’t even pretend to have bought one of their shrinking dresses. But I digress. Topman is the sort of place that most people who read NME are likely to associate themselves with. The brand even has its own music TV show on Channel 4 entitled “Topman Ctrl Mix” presented by Radio One DJ Huw Stephens (How dare you stoop to that, Huw?). But looking inside, it isn’t long before we find a Jimi Hendrix shirt tucked in a corner. Of course, the main attraction of this item is that the subject is now dead and therefore respectable, since it’s highly doubtful that the individuals who buy this garment will have ever had the chance to witness him live. The same could probably be said for the likes of Joy Division and Nirvana, although they are not visible here. But let’s not despair, I’d had my first success - now in search of living musicians! Another place I thought that was

worthy of a gander was Levi’s. They are renowned for offering a load of cash to reform late 60’s drug-fuelled rock act MC5. Quite impressively the band was willing to sign up, given that they had been inactive for just over 30 years. Levi’s have also been responsible for successful advertising campaigns that have pushed songs like “Flat Beat” to a relatively high position in the charts. But sadly, no band t-shirts to go with all those lonely jeans, though I did linger there longer than was strictly necessary as they happened to be playing Incubus!!

somebody wearing the iconic t-shirt with the tongue symbol and complimented them on it, saying “That’s a nice shirt”, only to get the response, “Who the fuck are you?”. It’s rather like the girl who proudly sported a Ramones bag but when asked what her favourite song was replied, “Hey Ho Let’s Go,” revealingly confusing lyrics with the song title. There are even people out there apparently who when questioned about Motorhead thought it was chiefly a clothing label. For the true fan there couldn’t be a more facepalm worthy moment.

Surely there must be somewhere in Kingston that offers a reasonable range of t-shirts, including bands that still happen to be alive? Well, yes. It may only be just alive itself but HMV can definitely be relied on to merchandise t-shirts from across the music spectrum. Here I found everything from Kings of Leon to Slipknot to Justin Bieber. (Did I say reasonable?). But at £20 a shot they’re not exactly a bargain.

And what does the wearing of the t-shirt signify anyway? Is the fan saying this is who I am, or this is who I’m not and would like to be? A few years ago the frontman of Hadouken, James Smith, was sporting a Slayer t-shirt. Now, was he being a pretentious tool or just telling the world that he was in awe of this band whose quality he could only aspire to? Another example is Morgan Quaintance’s video “That Number”, where you will find him in a Mastodon t-shirt. I suppose the generous interpretation of this is that he was trying to spread the message that he has diverse taste in music.

So there we have it – on the whole, a fairly paltry offering from the retail outlets of Kingston. But perhaps more annoying to the genuine fan is, as mentioned above, the flip side to this - the poser who sees the band t-shirt as a fashion item but has no empathy at all with the band. A classic case has to be when Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones noticed

The point is – and without being fascist – no-one should dictate what t-shirt you should or shouldn’t wear, but for the music fan the t-shirt will always be about passion not fashion. 21

DEREK RIGGS. IRON MAIDEN

Words by: Lawrence Gichigi

Twisted or inspiring, dark or colourful, horrendous or beautiful. However you view the art of Derek Riggs, it is hard to deny the effect he’s had on millions with his signature style of surrealist pieces. The Portsmouth-born artist has a number of individual collections, though he is best known for his time designing for multiplatinum British band Iron Maiden. With a style and work ethic which reflected the band’s early musical ideology, growing with their success, he has been on a rollercoaster ride with the world’s most successful heavy metal band for over a decade. Riggs is an all-round self-taught artist, both in his traditional paintings and illustrations, as well as his digital works. Although he attended art school in the 1970s, he was expelled and claimed they “didn’t know much about illustration anyway”. Iron Maiden approached Riggs after they came across a zombie-esque design he had created in 1978, who would be used for their 1980 debut album cover and later be known as the infamous Eddie (or Eddie the Head). Eddie the Head became a mascot for the band’s illustrious lifelong career appearing on a number of album covers and even at concerts. Riggs went on to create artwork for the double-figure award-winning act right through the ’80s and into the ’90s. 22

Surprisingly, even after Iron Maiden openly stated that Riggs was like a sixth member of the band, he’s made some astonishing claims on his professional web site. Riggs claimed that the band were jealous that the artwork got more attention than the music, that he refused to renew his contract with them and said ‘they wanted me to leave anyway’. Proving his work goes beyond the success of that particular project, The Iron Maidens: Worlds Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden also hired Maiden’s chief designer in creating Edwina T Head for their artwork. The female counterpart to Eddie The Head is inspired by Iron Maiden’s Killers album cover. Work with other bands unrelated to Iron Maiden has been underway for a few years as the direct influence of international metal band fades. Bands such as Stratovarius, Gamma Ray, Artension have also sought his illustration skills. In 2006, Darville Books published Run For Cover The Art of Derek Riggs which features Eddie the Head in all his monstrous glory, as well as a number of his other works. Martin Popoff transcribes the life of reclusive Riggs and uncovers the underlying meanings in his artwork, his style and technique and writes about his near-debilitating health problems that have plagued him. Although he seems

bitter about his relationship with Iron Maiden, Riggs seems upbeat about life, the work he’s produced so far and the evolution of his art over the years. Derekriggs.com

THE FUTURE OF BAND T-SHIRTS. Will the band t-shirt exist in 100 years? Words by: Sammi Cartwright

As the record industry struggles to stay on its feet, it’s not a far cry to wonder whether music merchandise, in particular the medium of the band t-shirt, is about to suffer a similar fate, and consequently for us to question its future. Mike Woods, lead guitarist of Santa Barbara based band, Heart of the Void, and self professed supporter of the band t-shirt thinks there is definitely a future for the medium. “I pretty much almost exclusively only wear band merchandise,” he explains. “I wear it because I would much rather support a group of talented individuals making music and working hard by touring and traveling to get their name out there; much more than some stupid clothing company that just makes their shit for money such as A&F or American Eagle.” He goes on to say, “The corporate clothing industry is all the same boring bland stuff that has no heart or purpose behind it.” This is true enough; the point of a clothing company is to make and sell clothes that the masses will buy, regardless of thought or meaning. Woods expands on this by explaining, “When you buy a band shirt, you are supporting a group that you enjoy that may have certain morals or a message to their music.” This support is something that every active band needs; “You help them by putting them through their tour, supporting them and promoting them by wearing their shirt out in public.”

Alongside telling of the support that the consumer offers the band by purchasing their merchandise, Woods has revealed that he’s grown to understand that it’s not just the band that need or want the shirts. “Playing in a band that has merch, I understand even more now than I did five years ago how important band merch is not only to the band but the consumer as well. Before we had our shirts made, we had people begging for us to get them made. When it finally happened, we had sold out of eighty shirts in two days.” Woods moved on to enthuse about the modern merchandising industry, saying, “Bands nowadays are coming out with such awesome designs as well. I really think band shirts are here to stay. I think

the future of the band shirt is consistent with its history. It’s the best marketing material, and people that love music will always want to support or show off what they love.” Joe Oliger and Jon Longley of New Jersey based band Flash Fire agree with Woods on how important the band t-shirt is to the bands and fans of today, explaining “The band t-shirt is an essential part of the touring artist’s income in the modern industry. It’s important for bands to have shirts and whatnot so fans can represent the band they love and help define its brand.” However, unlike Woods, they can see a negative shadow falling on the glory of the band t-shirt. “In the ‘80s bands would rock their own shirts proudly and even at shows for self promotion. Since then, the scene has dictated whether or not stuff like that is still cool and acceptable. Now certain people refuse to wear band shirts, seeing the whole style as being overplayed. Unfortunately, with the industry being over saturated, many ‘scene kids’ consider themselves above wearing band shirts because they are, or know someone in a band.” Despite the negativity that has befallen the idea of self-promotion and wearing merchandise, they still feel that true fans will persevere and that the promotion via shirt still exists. “Others will wear any band shirt 25

“Certain people refuse to wear band shirts, seeing the whole style as being overplayed. Many scene kids consider themselves above wearing band shirts because they know someone in a band.” Jon Longley

so long as it has a good design and fits well because they’re proud fans. Many bands and industry workers will wear other artists shirts to help promote friends and collaborators which can end up being very effective.” The Flash Fire boys touched upon the current trends in band merchandising, saying, “Nowadays there’s more of an emphasis on the material and colors used, such as American Apparel and bright, neon designs.” An anonymous user of the popular micro-blogging platform Tumblr has said, “As long as we’re still wearing t-shirts as items of clothing, I see no reason why there wouldn’t be a band t-shirt in 100 years.” They make a fair point; as long as there are t-shirts, why wouldn’t bands still print on them? It’s one of the best ways for a band to advertise. But what if the t-shirt doesn’t exist? What if it changes? What’s to say that the way we make or wear t-shirts won’t change in the next 100 years? Someone’s bound to come along with a revolutionary idea that will change the way we look at the simple, arguably boring, cotton t-shirt forever. We all know that companies have tried to make t-shirts more interesting by using smart materials like photochromatic 26

inks to make certain designs on your shirt change colour when you’re out in the sun. At the beginning of the ‘90s, a clothing brand named Hypercolor experienced great popularity with their thermochromatic t-shirts; a t-shirt that changed colour not with light, but with your body heat courtesy of a Japanese company, Matsui Shikiso Chemical, who manufactured the dyes. This colour change was not isolated to certain areas of designs like photochromatic shirts were; the entire shirt had the capability to change colour. At the beginning of the noughties this technique was improved upon by Body Faders, who then went on to provide the technology to American clothing giant American Apparel, bringing this retro trend back. With American Apparel being a popular printing material for bands, don’t be surprised if you spot someone strolling down the street this summer wearing a band t-shirt and seeming bizarrely proud of the fact that their armpits are glowing a different colour. With developments like this in the way that the t-shirt is physically before printing, and stores like Cyberdog selling t-shirts with animated digital panels, perhaps the clothing industry is going to suffer a similar fate to the traditional ways of selling and listening to music. All it would take is one innovator, crazy enough to see it through. Why, if we can

have LCD panels on a t-shirt, can we not make the entire t-shirt digital, or at least a panel big enough to cover the entire front? When asked about the future of the band t-shirt, post-punk laptop rap artist MC Lars stated that it will definitely exist but, “It might be a digital hologram you wear on a space suit or something.” Why not? If digitisation of the shirt were to happen, it could open up a huge window for an entrepreneur to come along and turn the idea into a huge market, much in the same way that Apple did with the iTunes store once they realised that they could market the mp3 online. Is it so crazy to think that in the future it could be possible to have one, master shirt which you can download content for? To have an iShirt and an iWardrobe store where you can browse through thousands of possible t-shirt designs organised by movies, music, books and more? It would revolutionise the laboured task of picking what t-shirt you’re going to wear, and you would be able to change it whenever you liked to suit whatever situation you could possibly end up in; wherever you go. Imagine how much of a saving grace it would be if you showed up at a gig – potentially on Mars, who knows? – wearing the exact same shirt as someone else. Instead of hiding in the toilet or zipping up your hoody in shame,

you could just choose a t-shirt from your iWardrobe or buy a new one on the store and pretend that the embarrassing situation had never arisen at all. People could easily make you t-shirt designs on Photoshop, which you could then effortlessly upload onto your t-shirt. But perhaps this revolution wouldn’t be what it seems. Joining the iGeneration could be a fate worse than death for the band t-shirt. Despite the fact that bands would never be able to sell out of shirts and they could potentially sell more, it wouldn’t be the same money. Bands can make a £5 profit on a t-shirt, but how much can you sell a digital image for? This would see a fall in the amount of money made unless the lessened production cost would even out the loss. On a positive note, it would definitely expand on opportunities to collaborate with other artists and designers and on new band’s opportunities to advertise and merchandise. With that in mind, perhaps this isn’t all as golden as it may appear. The 21st century has seen a rise in the amount of people able to make music at all through programs such as Garage Band; and not all of these people now able to make music are necessarily good. The theoretical easy advertising that would come with the iShirt could turn this already oversaturated industry into

a minefield of overrated, undeserving bands as the ‘work hard and you’ll make it’ ideal turns into ‘got Garage Band? Got Photoshop? You’re going places.’ It seems that no matter what happens, there will be a band t-shirt in 100 years. As technology develops this could be a good thing, or a bad thing; but as long as people are still making music and people are still buying and wearing t-shirts, the band t-shirt will still be there. As MC Lars stated, “The future of band shirts is awesome.”

“It might be a digital hologram you wear on a space suit or something.” MC Lars

JOHN BINGLE Designer of tomorrow Words by: Rob Jones

Q & A

Alexander Ponting is a promising young designer and t-shirt-maker from Gloucestershire, who works under the name John Bingle. Recently, he was involved in the screen-printing of a band t-shirt for Kingston-Upon-Thames, altrock foursome, Tubelord. Here, he tells us about John Bingle, Tublelord’s t-shirt and why he’s most inspired by things he hates. How are you? I’m alright, thank you. Tell us about yourself. I’m 24 years old. I was born and raised in Stroud, Gloucestershire. I’m about 5’10” tall and I have blue eyes and brown hair. I try hard, but I’m not very clever. I’m also colour blind. Tell us about your company, John Bingle, and how it got started. John Bingle isn’t really much of a company; I like to think of it as more of a hobby. I think it’s important for me to maintain the distinction between things I do for enjoyment and things I do to make money. The name John Bingle was used by one of my schoolmates whenever he got in trouble, and I always thought it was pretty funny. Apparently it’s also the name of a real person from a nearby town, but I haven’t heard from or met him yet. I mostly make small batches of hand-

printed clothing. I am self-employed, and I do some freelance graphic design jobs if the right client comes along. To pay the bills etc, I work at Other Criteria Publishers, which is owned by Damien Hirst. What kind of background in design do you have? I studied foundation art and design at Stroud College. After that I attended Leeds College of Art, where I studied BA (Hons) in Graphic Design. I was lucky enough to make some money from a print exhibition just before I graduated, and I was also awarded some money by the lovely print room staff at Leeds College of Art. I used this money to buy some of my own screen-printing equipment, and pay the deposit for an industrial unit, which I use as a studio. What made you want to become a designer? I think at first I was interested in being a designer because it seemed the most income-focused way to be creative. Nowadays, I just like having the means to express myself, and publish my opinions to a wider audience. How did you end up designing a t-shirt for Tubelord? I was approached for the Tubelord job by one of the band members. I had printed

“When something really irritates me, it makes me want to publish some sort of alternative option, or antithesis.”

Alexander Ponting

some t-shirts for his (Tubelord’s guitarist/ singer Joseph Prendergast) brother’s poetry night, Neutral Norway, and I think he liked those. I was really pleased to get the Tubelord job, because I was already a big fan of their music. Tell us about the t-shirt… My involvement in the design of this t-shirt was actually fairly minimal. I was told from the start that the design would only use one silkscreen, and should incorporate a seven-colour blend. The Tubelord guys had already prepared a few images of their own, so I asked them to send over a draft design. The original design was a bit too intricate for my homemade light box, so I had to make a few amendments. Once I had explained the limitations I was facing, we sent the design back-and-forth until we had something that the band members were happy with and which I felt confident I could print. The final design is essentially the silhouette of a wrestler cutout from a photo of a puffin. There are also some quotation marks and other bits of punctuation dotted around. Printing with a colour-blend is always fun. I like the way that the initially crisp bands of colour merge to form a smooth blend as the print run progresses. Are you particularly interested in music t-shirts? If so, what are some of your favourites?

I don’t think I actually own a single music related t-shirt. I really like some of the designs, but I don’t usually have enough money to buy clothes. I really like some of the Glassjaw t-shirts, and my friend has a few Have Heart t-shirts that I quite like. Most of the time when I see a nice t-shirt for sale, it just makes me want to (try to) make nice t-shirts of my own.

What designers inspire you and what type of design are you interested in? I like it when an artist or designer encourages their audience to examine aspects of everyday life that are usually overlooked, for example by pausing to consider a commonly-used turn of phrase, or by knitting jumpers for tree trunks.

What kind of music do you listen to? I’m not very good at identifying music genres, but I really like Grizzly Bear, Mewithoutyou, Shield Your Eyes, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Maps and Atlases, Animal Collective, Holiday Shores, Meet Me In St Louis, Jonquil, Colour and many more.

You seem pretty interested in images of people in popular culture - you’ve printed a Myra Hindley tee and also a series of shirts with a different philosopher on each one - and slogans? - You designed a shirt featuring the slogan ‘Not Jack Wills’. I think I’m just trying to draw attention to the things that I consider important, and make fun of things that I don’t. If Michael Jackson, then why not Rick Roderick? If Jack Wills, then why not John Bingle?

What are you working on at the moment? Things have been a bit slow as of late. I find that any body of work can become a bit of a chore when I focus too much on a specific outcome, so I’m just trying to print some stuff for the fun of it. I’m hoping that after a while I’ll have enough stuff to collate into a little hand-printed publication of some kind. What inspires you most? I think I’m most inspired by stuff I dislike. When something really irritates me, it makes me want to publish some sort of alternate opinion, or antithesis.

johnbingle.blogspot.com 29

CONTROVERSY SELLS.

Taking a look at some of the most controversial band t-shirts Words by: Tom Willmott

When it comes to selling your band through your t-shirt, it appears that some try a lot harder than others. There’s no doubt the easiest method to get noticed is simply to slap a provocative message on the front. That way, it’s safe to say you’ll get some sort of reaction. Take for instance, Scottish post-rock band, Mogwai, who produced a shirt simply entitled “Blur Are Shite”. Originally released for the T In The Park Lineup of 1999 where both bands were playing, Stuart Braithwaite explained it was about their dislike for one of the weakest bands on the planet. Hilariously, when Blur reformed, they re-issued the shirt now entitled “Blur Are Shite Once Again”. For some, a political tack has been the way to grab attention: American skate punk band NOFX brandished a shirt declaring “Not My President” during George Bush’s presidential reign. This tied in with the release of the Rock Against Bush compilations at a time of great discontent with the US Republican government. Typically, though, bands who play a more extreme type of music are more likely to cause more controversy. Swedish death metal act Bloodbath ran into a spot of bother when designing a shirt sporting the slogan “Mock The Cross”. The image was a demon vomiting on Jesus on a cross, surrounded by snakes, vultures and skulls. This seemed to draw the line for even followers of extreme music.

The band therefore had to issue an apology after receiving messages from existing fans saying they had lost faith in them, not to mention the fact that the printer of the merchandise declined to produce it. Another controversial case was that of Marilyn Manson. Before he gained notoriety following accusations that his music was a factor in the high school massacres in Columbine, the androgynous cult figure released a provocative t-Shirt declaring in blood red font: “Kill God, Kill Your Mom and Dad, Kill Yourself”. This was on sale during the Antichrist Superstar tour, well before the American shock-rocker became a wellknown figure across the world’s media. Religion was also the source of controversy in the case of British metal band Cradle Of Filth. They were already infamous for upsetting a load of religious organisations and being arrested by the Vatican, but by far their worst act came when they produced a shirt entitled “Jesus is a Cunt (See You Next Tuesday)”. The shirt portrays a nun involved in sexual activity, and it was no surprise to see a number of fans getting arrested for wearing it in public. It seems a touch ironic, therefore, that frontman Dani Filth was nominated for the Suffolk Icon award, although he was subsequently dropped for this particular accolade.

light hearted, if perhaps less well publicised, designs in recent years. A good example is upcoming UK metalcore band Asking Alexandria who produced a hoodie entitled “British And Proud”, yet spent most of their time in America promoting and gaining themselves a reasonable fanbase over there, making this statement somewhat ironic. But perhaps the most amusing one on offer at the moment is a hilarious depiction of Justin Bieber in the style of the Slayer logo. Imagine walking around Bloodstock showing that one off! So there you have it. If you happen to come across a t-shirt that seems slightly provocative, be sure to invest wisely!

By contrast, there have been some 37

ALEX PARDEE. THE USED

Words by: Sammi Cartwright

Californian artist, Alex Pardee, claims that art has become a healthy distraction for him when he feels low; “There was a long stretch of my life where I felt like I was going to die every day, for no reason.” He explains that he got into art because, “I got committed to a mental hospital when I was 14, and in there is where I had no choice but to find something that would distract me from feeling bad. And drawing is what became that distraction. I still have to do that today and it still helps.” In the February of 2004, The Used contacted Pardee to discuss the artwork that would appear on their second studio release; In Love and Death. “Their guitarist, Quinn, found my website from a friend of his and just showed it to the band and they all liked my stuff, so they called me up. The following week I was working for them,” he says of the beginning of their relationship. For this, he created an entire album booklet, giving every song its own piece of art. Along with this release, he co-directed their music video for ‘All That I’ve Got’, and designed their stage set up alongside creating an extensive amount of merchandise for the band, including t-shirts, hoodies and more that were sold on tours and on the band’s official website around the time of the release of the album. Of this experience, Pardee has said, “Everyone in the band is so supportive of my work; it almost feels like Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out and tell me 38

I’ve been Punk’d or some shit.” Since then, Pardee has been involved with the band continuously, creating artwork for their DVD; Berth. He also worked on a collaboration with front man Bert McCracken for the cover of the band’s extended EP, Shallow Believer. Perhaps his biggest contribution to The Used, Pardee also collaboratively created the character Chadam who appears on the front cover of the album Lies for the Liars. He worked closely with the band on this project to take the artwork and merchandise further than they had gone before. “We decided to build a whole universe, based on some of my paintings and drawings. It evolved into the birth of this iconic character ‘Chadam’ that kind of acted as a representation of this world that the new music was going to live in.” During the creation of this character, a symbol was created that would go on to become the most iconic symbol relating to the band. The symbol was first seen on the box that Chadam is holding on the cover of the Lies for the Liars album and has now become synonymous with the band. It was put onto a shirt and a vest, which fans of the band would recognize instantly. Pardee has said, “I love collaborating with musicians because the creative processes in music and art is similar, but

the outlet is different enough to where we aren’t stepping on each others’ feet. There’s a good amount of respect so usually the bands will just let me listen to what they’ve done, and let me feed off of that and they trust me to visually represent that. I definitely have to listen to the music first, and meet with the band to see if there are any specific emotions or symbolism that they want to come across in the art.” He has worked on artwork with other bands, such as Swedish band In Flames, and Billy Idol but still remains fond of his time spent with The Used. He has expressed that the band, “both as friends and as musicians, has collectively had a huge positive impact on my inspiration and career path. They continue to remain some of my best friends.” eyesuckink.com

“ISN’T THAT THE SHIRT JAGGER WORE?” Steve Coe makes dressing like a rockstar physically possible Words by: Natasha Emmerson

There’s a new trend entering the world of band t-shirt fashion. Whilst many of you are sporting t-shirts with iconic designs such as Joy Division’s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and the yellow, cross-eyed face which screams Nirvana, others are rebelling and displaying a completely refreshing take on this music obsessed style. It’s been inspired by England’s love for vintage clothing, looking back at some of the most memorable t-shirts our idols were wearing during their most monumental performances. The fashion portrays a deep sense of nostalgia, with each of its main retailers (such as Worn Free and Worn By) selling replica t-shirts that you can immediately associate with the appropriate musician. The ‘Hi, how are you?’ t-shirt, worn by

Kurt Cobain, and the ‘Girls, girls, girls!’ t-shirt, worn by Keith Richards. Then there’s the ‘Palace Laundry’ t-shirt, worn by Mick Jagger, plus the ‘Fuck Dancing’ t-shirt, worn by Axl Rose, and so on... Each of these t-shirts celebrate all the thoroughly unforgettable moments in rock ‘n’ roll history, and are made existent, thanks to the original artists, musicians and photographers helping to revive the original imagery and designs of which were upon them during their time. This music-smothered t-shirt fashion has spread rapidly across pop-culture. For many television shows such as Entourage, the t-shirts are almost becoming amulets, acting as an immediate driving force for fans, and even celebrities to purchase them. They have been listed in the ‘hot item’ style blurbs of Entertainment Weekly and Us, and they have been seen on the very much favourable torsos of celebrities. They are collectable as well as comfortable and there is an effortless sexiness about them, on guys and girls. Steve Coe, owner of t-shirt brand Worn Free says the t-shirts are “designed to relate to musicians as people – rather than simply wear the band’s logo or photo, fans can partake of a kind of secret history of cool.” Worn Free is where the trend began,

several years down the line being followed by its main competitor, Worn By. Worn Free is based in city of angels, LA, although is owned by Brit, Steve Coe. Amongst Worn Free, he also owns the slightly less relevant labels, Bogus and Special Lucky Winner. It stocks all the described rock-star t-shirt replicas, but also sells t-shirts by graphic design god, John Van Hamersveld. Each t-shirt comes with a tag, which displays a photo of the artist wearing the t-shirt and additional, historical information that tells the story of its magnitude in music history. It not only costs Coe to use the likeness of a rock icon, but also the logo or other graphical information on the t-shirt. A large battle has been carried out in order to gain the right of essentially copying someone else’s work – but for Coe it proved to be worth it. Worn Free’s licensing deal is nontraditional, but utterly even-handed. The artists and designers receive a fair, pre-set portion of royalties from t-shirt sales, rather than a case advance. He highlights: “It makes things easier because I can offer one deal, and people can either do it, or they can’t.” Coe was born in Ilford, Essex and fell in love with the marriage of music and imagery at a remarkably young age. It was his father and childhood that drove

“From an early age, the message I got was not to worry about a 9-5 job.” Steve Coe

him towards achieving his dream of owning his own, successful business. “My Dad was a drummer when he was younger and wanted to be a recording engineer, but he ended up taking a telecommunications job to earn enough to raise his family.” Coe reminisces. “He didn’t want me to have to make the same choice. From an early age, the message I got was not to worry about getting a 9-5 job.” Coe gained photography skills from his Grandfather, who owned a dark-room, and by the age of 12 he had learnt to play the guitar, worshipping the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and as he grew older, The Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and The Stone Roses. It was at acid jazz nights that his love for graphic design began. A DJ’s box of vinyls introduced him to the graphic genius of vintage record covers. Inspired by what he had witnessed, he studied a course in Media Design at Farnborough Technical College. It taught him the likes of photography, animation, graphics and editing. After graduating, he strove to seek freelance work immediately. His first job was at a production company called Planet 24. It allowed him to be involved with late-night television programme The Word, amongst Big

Breakfast and Hotel Babylon. He worked as a library overseer, as well as an editor. “I’d help people out with deadlines,” he says. “I was good at getting things for free, so they’d say, ‘We need six people to appear nude tomorrow morning on The Big Breakfast,’ and I’d find them. I loved doing that kind of stuff. I just learned what I could.” Soon after this career, he decided that he was more suited to photography. He wanted to avoid the cost of getting his own work developed, so he took a ‘one hour photo’ job in order to save money on film. “People would come in with their holiday photos and I’d always be doing my own stuff,” he laughs. This job was short-lived; however it did help him put together his portfolio, which he successfully pitched to several ad agencies, magazines and other companies, leading to his work being seen on MTV, the BBC, Channel 4, plus appearing in Tank Magazine and on album covers. He began to move towards t-shirt design when he and his friend Hickie decided to start a t-shirt company named Bogus, whose audience comprised skaters, surfers, and other sport-culture contestants. The company gained success after receiving significantly large orders from high-street fashion retailer

Urban Outfitters. However, at the same time, Coe had been toying with the idea of a different kind of t-shirt company. “I was watching a Cheech and Chong movie, and Tommy Chong had this shirt I really wanted,” he says. “Then, years later, that movie Hardcore, with George C. Scott, came on TV – and I wanted every single shirt in that film. I had this idea of licensing and reproducing classic shirts that had that pop-culture vibe.” He rummaged through iconic photographs of rock ‘n’ roll idols, noticing several occasions where the artist was wearing a t-shirt which displayed the names of obscure watering holes and local radio stations, amongst homemade slogans. Coe figured that this would be an exciting, unique way of connecting fans to the personal histories of their idols, which, in a sense would confer an insider status on each wearer. The concept of Worn Free was born. One of the first supports he gained for Worn Free was Arturo Vega, who’d created artwork for The Ramones. This was then followed by Coe receiving an email from a lawyer representing Yoko Ono, who shared an interest in Worn Free. “Yoko is an artist, and she 41

appreciated this idea of making shirts that celebrated the history of the artist and their personal style, rather than hawking some exploitive merch knock-off.” Bearing in mind the world’s obsession with disposable couture, Coe clarifies the importance of comfort and quality. “I want you to buy a Worn Free shirt and feel it’s great and comfy right away,” he demands. “I just won’t make any shirt for the sake of it,” he emphasises. “Sometimes I don’t think the graphics are strong enough or cool enough or the original photo is good enough.” Not that he’s struggling for choice. “We have over 70 designs. I tried to crop it down for the season,” he admits, “But I couldn’t!” Coe has recently been working on ideas for his spring/summer collection, which comprises a range of tank-tops with designs worn by Alice Cooper, Gram Parsons, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Muhammad Ali, Nudie Cohn and Rodney Bingenheimer. The collection is now available on the Worn Free website.

“That movie, Hardcore, came on TV and I wanted every single shirt in that film.”

Steve Coe

CHUCK D. PUBLIC ENEMY

Words by: Lawrence Gichigi

Many bands prefer to keep design work in-house and hip-hop is no exception. Still in its 30s, many of its artists have fought viciously to become one of the genres most remembered acts. One band has undoubtedly achieved such legendary status from the outset. Public Enemy have risen to global recognition and remain a strong figure in music even after decades of hip-hop evolution. Designed by Public Enemy founder and key member Carlton Douglas Ridenhour AKA Chuck D, the logo played on the group name and anchored their highly politicised lyrics. The band have been inducted into the Long Island Musical Hall Of Fame in 2007 and their 1990 single ‘Fight The Power’ is widely regarded as one of the most influential songs in hiphop history. Public Enemy, consisting of Chuck D, Flavour Flav, Professor Griff, DJ Lord, and Terminator X who was later replaced by Daniel McGowan, rose to fame in 1988. It took their band logo to heights previously unseen by a black music group, covering all of their merchandise items from t-shirts and jumpers, caps and jeans and even wristbands (to make you that little bit tougher). Like their music, the logo superceded colour, class, gender and most importantly time. Decades later, it’s a simple yet classic design, not widely known to be created by Ridenhour, that’s still associated with opposing authority 44

and fighting oppression. A common myth associated with the Public Enemy logo is that the silhouette in the target is of a state trooper. This is something Chuck cleared when he went into detail about the making of the logo. ”I designed it in 1986. As a graphic graduate, I did it as a combo of two former groups.” said Chuck D in an anonymous interview. “When the Public Enemy group and concept was signed to Def Jam in 1986, I simply moved the logo from the other dormant situation to PE. It was tightened up for the upcoming ads and album “Yo! Bum Rush The Show” in 1987 by New York artist Eric Haze. For the longest time, rumours had said it was a state trooper in the target scope, but the truth was it was a b-boy of that time where fedoras and Kangols were the hats of choice. I silhouetted E-Love, LL Cool J’s right-hand man, in a fanzine named “Right On” with Magic Marker, X-acto-knifed it out then layed a target scope over it, using Wite-Out within the blackened figure. After some runs through the copier - presto.” Though the band’s activities eventually died down in the mid-90s, a number of successful and critically acclaimed bands cite Public Enemy as an influence in their work. From Kurt Cobain, Bjork, and Nine Inch Nails to Prodigy, Aphex Twin and

M.I.A, the lyrically-conscious group have inspired a generation in pop culture. As one of the most respected hip-hop acts of all time, the sight of Chuck D’s design not only revives nostalgia of Public Enemy’s music, but also represents the fighting of oppression and the strength in numbers. The design will prevail as an iconic piece of artwork for as long as hip-hop exists... and then some.

DECONSTRUCTION:

MISFITS The Misfits identity has proved itself to be iconic and seemingly timeless; you see the skull and you just subconsciously and instantaneously accept that it’s the Misfits. So the last thing you would expect, or would want to hear, is that it is completely ripped off. However, it is what it is. The skull, which has become synonymous with the band, was nabbed from a poster for the 1946 television serial The Crimson Ghost which aired again in 1966 as a television film under the new name Cyclotrode “X”. The skull image was first used by the Misfits on a poster advertising a show at The Max in Kansas City on March 28th 1979, followed by its use on the Horror Business single released on June 26th of the same year. Following its first usages, the skull continued to appear as the bands logo for the rest of their career, and consequently graced their merchandise including shoes and t-shirts which are instantly recognisable as Misfits items. The so-called ‘Misfits font’ is actually compromised of letters lifted from a magazine entitled Famous Monsters of Filmland, which was published originally from 1958-1983. The word ‘monsters’ on this magazine is painted in the horror font that grew to be associated with the Misfits once they adopted it for their band identity as it suited their genre of horror punk. It appears as though they have literally cut up the magazine logo and stuck it together to create their logo, which out of sheer curiosity has been tested; it takes two Famous Monsters of Filmland logos to read ‘Misfits’. On the bright side – depending on which side of the fence you’re sat (designer or band) – it means that all you need to create a logo as iconic as theirs is a DIY ethic, a pair of scissors and a Pritt Stick.

STANLEY DONWOOD. RADIOHEAD

Words by: Natasha Emmerson

Most recently known for his latest exhibition titled ‘Work on Paper’ at Outsiders gallery in London, Stanley Donwood is the man behind some of Radiohead’s most iconic album covers. From the likes of The Bends, Amnesiac, OK Computer, Kid A, Hail To The Thief, In Rainbows, The King Of Limbs, and even Thom Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser. Stanley Donwood holds a close relationship with Radiohead – particularly with Thom Yorke, having both met as art students at the University of Exeter. It was in 1995 that Donwood was asked by Yorke to produce the album cover for Radiohead’s second album, The Bends. Ever since, a collaborative, working relationship followed between the friends, resulting in various Radiohead art and promotional material. Donwood shared in an interview that his first impressions of Yorke were that he was “Mouthy. Pissed off. Someone I could work with.” On the album artwork for The Bends, Yorke is credited under nick-name ‘Dr. Tchock.’ For Radiohead’s album Kid A, released at the start of the millennium, Donwood produced an array of mountainous landscapes, middling around a Minotaur. For this work, he drew inspiration from the likes of landscape painter Casper David Friedrich, moral and religious concept painter Hieronymus Bosch, 50

amongst visiting war museums and several mountain landscapes. Together, this is how he achieved his bleak, postapocalyptic style.

flood. The exhibition was located at the Lazarides Gallery in Soho, London. The prints were also used to form the artwork for Thom Yorke’s solo album, The Eraser.

One of Donwood’s most challenging pieces to produce was the artwork for the 2003 album Hail To The Thief. Nine ‘acrylic on canvas’ paintings were created, inspired by Paul Scher’s map paintings. They provided the basis for the look of the album cover, creating maps of war-damaged cities, such as Kabul and Grozny - which were made using brightly coloured blocks, joined by politically driven words and phrases.

Donwoods artwork titled ‘Work On Paper’ of which was most recently exhibited is due to be used as accompanying artwork for the newspaper version of Radiohead’s new album ‘The King Of Limbs.’ Fans who pre-ordered the album will each receive copies of the artwork on May 9th, 2011.

In 2006, Donwood established that CD cover sized prints of his work didn’t quite do them the justice they deserved, so he began creating and selling large screen prints. It was in an interview with antimusic.com that he described the effects of quality when printing in small formats, “It’s a way of getting the pictures out in the way they should be seen; not as 4-colour litho on cheap paper, but as real pieces of artwork which have a much greater, visual impact.” Ever since producing screen prints, he has begun exhibiting his work on a much more regular basis. One of his first few exhibitions, titled ‘London Views’ comprised a series of fourteen various lino prints, displaying several London landmarks being destroyed by fire and

slowlydownward.com

BANQUET RECORDS. Words by: Rob Jones

Kingston-Upon-Thames’ Banquet Records prides itself on being ‘More than your local record shop’, and what with not only running the store, doing in store shows, putting on gigs around their area, offering a flyer printing service, P.A hire and playing in their own football team, it’s hard to disagree with them. Banquet is one of few independent stores that are flourishing rather than struggling. Originally part of the Beggars Banquet Records chain, it became independent after Beggars went down from ten stores to just two in 2003. Other than Kingston, Beggars Banquet’s only other store was in Putney, and that was flooded, leaving only the Kingston store open. The chain began feeling they were throwing money away and gave the store to the stores then-manager. But after an unsuccessful and apparently very badly managed year, employees of the store Jon Tolley and Mike Smith bought the shop in February 2005. When they bought the shop from the old manager, the store was £50,000 in debt. A figure that would seem over-whelming, Tolley felt they “knew what we had to do to turn it around, that if you took away an oversized manager’s wage and put in a bit of extra work, I always thought that we could turn it around. It did turn around but in a different way than we thought it would, but it got there in the end.” It 52

wasn’t simple though. “We had to come up with a business plan, it was a lot more serious than, ‘Yeah, I think we can make it work’. We had to convince people with money, that them giving us money wasn’t a stupid thing to do.” Banquet understands that, like their store slogan, they have to be more than your local record shop. With the obvious threat of illegal downloading and the frightening statistic that there were 734 independent record shops in the UK in 2005, falling by over half to 269 in 2009, the reason Banquet not only stay afloat but also thrive is because of the extra work they put in. “I think that what we’ve tried to do is to sell music as not just audio” Tolley said. “You know, people who like CDs also like going to gigs, may also be in bands, may also need PA hire, and just try and bring in more than just selling audio and make more of a 360 degree package.” The gigs Tolley is talking about are held in and around Kingston in different venues, but the leading night the store puts on is New Slang, held at the Hippodrome. This night, held every Thursday, has become a staple in every indie kid’s diet around the area. These days, the guys at Banquet are able to get big indie names like Vampire Weekend and The Cribs to play as well as showcasing new bands they’re excited about. In addition, after every gig there is the New Slang club night, easily the best

indie club night around. Not only do they focus on solely indie, but they also have a rock/punk/alt night (New Noise) and a dance night (D.A.N.C.E) on other days of the week. The store has made a few promotional shirts. One of the most interesting t-shirts they produced is the ‘Not My Prime Minister’ shirt after the Conservative government got into power last year. The shirt was designed to mimic the ‘Not My President’ t-shirt Fat Wreck Chords produced a few years ago to coincide with the Bush election. Tolley told us, “I think it was to get across the notion that a certain bunch of the voters didn’t vote Cameron/The Conservatives in and people were reacting to that. We gave all the money but the VAT to the Electoral Reform Society so we weren’t profiting of it. Just to make a statement.” The shirt we’ve chosen to feature was produced two years ago and is a play on the show Lost. The line, ‘Stay Away From the Others’, across the back kind of encapsulates what Banquet is about – community. It’s about a community of bands, of gigs and a community within Kingston’s (thriving) music scene. But not only that, it’s also about community in the traditional sense of the word. “I think it’s quite important that Banquet do stuff in its local community,” Tolley said. “It’s quite nice to show these people that not only are we a successful business in

the community, but that we’re also giving something back to the community.” He goes on the explain that “For the same reason we take work experience kids from the borough…the whole deal is that we can’t just be this company that takes money off people, we’ve got to give something back, and it’s quite a fun thing to be involved in.” 53

BANQUETRECORDS.COM 54

LEWES HERRIOT This issue’s designer to look out for Words by: Lawrence Gichigi

With a long flowing head of brown hair, the illustrator and designer known as Lewes Herriot has built (and is still building) a solid name for himself as a much sought-after visual artist. From the creative region of Northfield, between the midlands and South-East England, he is illustrating his way up in the world and has uploaded hundreds of orignal designs for his minions to drawl and speculate over. At just 28 years of age, he’s coined artwork for bands like Tubelord, Alan Moore’s Dodgem Logic, Charlotte Hatherley, although he’s best known for his work with indie rock trio Johnny Foreigner, who originated from his hometown of Birmingham. He and the band have always had a healthy and highly-publicised relationship in which Lewes provides all of their release artwork and merchandise designs. As their chief art director he has created and replicated a number of ghost-like figures which have inevitably become a part of their visual identity. As well as his work with musicians and bands, Lewes’ past clients include Topman, NME, Big Scary Monsters, and Alcopop! Records. Feast your eyes upon his online portfolio and you’ll find that the bulk of Herriot’s work is seperated in three categories This Is Tomorrow, The Dark Inventory, and Band Artwork. The first are a set of posters designed for a live music and club night in Birmingham. The second is

a collection of his professional pencil and brush strokes which he holds for sale. The Dark Inventory also happens to be the name of his blog where he highlights some of his personal best. Making the most of out the social and media networks at his disposal, Herriot occupies a Myspace for his commissioned work, a Flickr, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook and Carbonmade account. You could say he’s the most internet savvy freshman of the art and design community.

Unknown to most, this particular visual artist was once part of his own band called (a) Pars Defect who combined a mixture prog rock, punk and jazz. His own words state that he is open to freelance work. At the moment there are visual clues indicating that Herriot is currently working on a new project entitled Elspeth & The Sub-atomic Dredge. Although little is known about this project, we can say without speculation that it is part of his Dark Inventory. We trust that all will be revealed.

There are two main attraction to Herriot’s art. The first is the heavy use of colours and the way that he often separates each colour using black lines or small shapes. By using this method there is no colour merging or shading and yet, dense areas are avoided by breaking them up with these lines. Despite this handy trick, there are a small number of colourless items found within his dark inventory. A second distinctive trait is the way the size of objects are juxtaposed in almost 90% of all of his works. Animated mammalesque creatures are depicted with high consistency in a surrealist world, usually with one towering over the other. This contrast in size adds an interesting dynamic to the image, and with his ability to express crystal clear emotion on the faces of each character, we can start to see a real narrative come together. 55

SELLOUTS? When MC5 reformed for Levi’s Words by: Tom Willmott

There was a time when MC5, the late 60s garage rock act from Detroit, weren’t just out for the money. In the mould of bands such as The Stooges and Up, MC5 were all about providing honest to goodness rock and roll gigs: loud, volatile and in-your-face, with not just a hint of anti-capitalist invective thrown in for good measure – until their demise in 1972. Fast forward 30 years and enter jean’s giant Levi’s who in 2003 organised a very different gig for them at the London’s 100 Club. By now two of the original members, vocalist Rob Tyner and guitarist Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, have moved on prematurely to the great rock and roll stage in the sky but remaining members Wayne Kramer (guitarist), Mike Davis (bassist) and drummer Dennis Thompson have agreed to appear before a very special and invited audience. The giveaway is in the official title of the gig: “Levi’s Vintage Clothing Presents Sonic Revolution - A New Energy Rising Featuring the MC5 and Next Generation Rockers” and the whole event is about capitalising on the company’s limitededition retro MC5 T-shirts. The pre-gig interviews are conducted in the basement of a central London Levi’s store and the band are kitted out in Levi’s Vintage Clothing – a sorry sight for some who can remember the original band and their often stated Marxist leanings. Perhaps this is the best known case of selling out, but in these times of recession, you’ll find a number of bands similarly reforming simply because they can see a profit to be made in live music, despite the tough times generally in today’s industry. In fact the trend has even given rise to so called Frankenstein bands (bands that have run out of all original members). And to think it all started way back with a company selling t-shirts. Levi’s you have a lot to answer for.

PETER SAVILLE. JOY DIVISION

Words by: Sammi Cartwright

Having studied graphic design at Manchester Polytechnic, which has now been re-named Manchester Metropolitan University, Peter Saville is one of the most experienced, original and well established graphic designers of all time. He is known world-wide due the iconic design he created for Joy Division’s last ever album, ‘Closer,’ amongst album covers for bands such as New Order, Roxy Music, Ultravox, Duran Duran and Wham! Saville was heavily influenced by his fellow student Malcolm Garrett, who had just started designing record sleeves for Manchester punk group, The Buzzcocks. He also took inspiration from a book he read religiously, entitled ‘Pioneers of Modern Typography’ by Herbert Spencer. In the book, he stumbled across Jan Tschichold, chief propagandist for the New Typography. He recalls: “Malcolm had a copy of Herbert Spencer’s Pioneers of Modern Typography. The one chapter that he hadn’t reinterpreted in his own work was the cool, disciplined “New Typography” of Tschichold, and its subtlety appealed to me. I found a parallel in it for the New Wave that was evolving out of Punk.” Joy Division’s last album release ‘Closer’ was released shortly after Ian Curtis’ suicide in May 1980. The design Saville produced for it was entirely controversial, 58

morbidly depicting the body of Christ, lying in a tomb, surrounded by a man and a woman who appear to be mourning for their loss. Fans believed the design was chosen deliberately in order to mark Curtis’ death; however rock magazine NME was able to confirm that it in fact pre-dated his death, as proofs of the artwork had been displayed on its walls for several months. Saville’s design style comprises a reappropriation from art and design. Design critic Alice Twemlow noted “...in the 1980s... he would directly and irreverently ‘lift’ an image from one genre – art history for example – and re-contextualise it in another. A Fantin-Latour ‘Roses’ painting in combination with a colour-coded alphabet became the seminal album cover for New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies (1983), for example.” After producing numerous pieces of artwork in the ‘80s, it was in 1993 that Saville moved to Los Angeles to join ad agency Frankfurt Balkind with Brett Wickens. However, this was short-lived as he then decided he wanted to move back to London with designer Howard Wakefield in order to restart his design studio. For three years, the studio became known as The Apartment for the German advertising agency Meiré & Meiré. Together, Saville and Wakefield devised words for clients such as

Mandarina Duck and Smart Car. Six years later, Saville moved to offices in Clerkenwell, soon renaming the studio Saville Parris Wakefield. Demands for Savillie’s professional help grew and grew, as a younger generation of people from the fashion and advertising industry had grown up being surrounded by his work for Factory Records. His career hit creative and commercial success, asking to work for design consultancy clients such as EMI, Selfridges and Pringle. He then achieved further success, working in the field of fashion, including designers John Galliano, Yohji Yamamoto, Christian Dior and Stella McCartney. Saville’s work still continues to be displayed before our eyes, most recently being responsible for the design of the 2010 England football team shirt. petersaville.com