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Here and there lately, folks have been mentioning some of the great T-shirts they picked up on tour and elsewhere. Several decades having passed in many cases, the shirts are no longer with us. Which ones did you wear till they fell apart, accidentally leave behind at the campground, give to your best friend, or otherwise part with, and now you'd really like to find another one?
Don't laugh
But I'd really like to get a new Year of the Ox, with the original gray shirt. I loved that art.
Also, the tie-dye surfer. I think I bought it in Ventura 83. The design and colors were perfect.
The one I'd really like to find again (fat chance, since I bought it in '81) was a simple Jerry handprint in a circle, in white ink on navy blue. It was in a local baseball card store whose owner was a Head, if I recall correctly. Probably wasn't official. The other two were.
My favorite
was a Deadagonia shirt. It had a Patagonia logo and said "Quality music for your next trip".
I had the Reebok version, Mike...
with 'Life is short, trip hard' in a large blue Reebok square. 'Life is short, play hard' used to be the Reebok motto, if I remember correctly. Got it at Soldier Field in '92 for $10. My ex-wife "lost it" in a move several years later. I'm still trying to forgive her for that.
Post-Lysergic Corporate Rebranding Blues
I'd like to say that of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most, but once the mind has gone missing, there's nothing left to notice the absence of anything, so instead I'll just say whoops on the swoosh (but that's still how I remember it).
yeah, no kidding
it eventually disintegrated, but I loved that shirt.
Fat Albert and the Junkyard Gang
I remember buying this shirt back when I was in high school, and it was that shirt that always got a conversation started or a high five or a thumbs up, etc. Fat Albert was one of my most favorite cartoons to watch when I was a wee lad, so you can imagine how elated I was when I was shuffling through Hot Topic and found it for sale in the late '90s. Sadly, the shirt met its demise while I was doing yard work with my father; we were cleaning up the yard after a particularly bad storm, and a rather sizeable tree branch snagged it and tore it pretty badly. I was...distraught.
Needless to say, I doubt I'd be able to squeeze myself into it now, but I do miss that shirt.
i still have a shirt from 90
i still have a shirt from 90 summer tour. hand drawn with dates on the back and bears dancing all over it. The fabric is so thin now i don't dear to wear it just hangs on the wall reminding me of one of the best summers of my life....gone are the days
Jerry Handprint
I also had the Jerry handprint, white ink on blue shirt. It was designed and made by a guy named Ken (I think) - I remember what he looked like but might have the name wrong) - who lived in Berkeley. This was about 1979 or so . . .
Now that you mention it, I wonder where mine is too? I have a stack of old shirts but just went to look and that one isn't here.
year of the ox
hello, im supposed to be getting 7 or 8 of those t-shirts, unworn, from tim harris's attic, hes getting up there in age as we all are, but ive been in correspondence with him for about a year and a half now, and he is supposed to send me this big box of those shirts, and then the last of the original all-access backstage pass, t-shirts, with the lanyards and backstage passes to match, (supposed to sign all the passes for me), hes not doing this for free, as i wouldnt expect him to, but hes doing it for quite a good deal. i think he has some other things hes looking to get rid of, a bunch of old stuff, one of those j. garcia wetsuits, id have to checkout some of our emails, in fact im going to send him one now, its been like a month or two. anyway, if and when he gets around to it, ill hit you up! peace!
Deadagonia
Had the same shirt Lopezz. It was one of my favorites. As well as the Air Garcia shirts. With an airborne Jerry with Guitar in hand.
Sugar Magnolia music & lyrics
While window shopping in downtown Chicago in the mid-80s, I came upon a small women's boutique called Sugar Magnolia, on Oak Street. They sold pretty feminine things (not particularly hippie-ish), but at the counter, under glass, they had plain white t-shirts (women's cut back when that was rare for a music tee) with the music & lyrics to "Sugar Magnolia" printed in black. The song started on the front and continued on the back.
I have a favorite photo of myself in that shirt with a handful of girlfriends at the JFK Dylan & Dead show in 1987. I wore it endlessly for many years until it got to be as thin and as fragile as tissue paper... and then I slept in it for another few years. Got to the point where washing it was sure to make it disintegrate. Even so, I regret letting it go.
Sadly, the store closed recently after being in business for close to 40 years. Have never seen that shirt anywhere else.
Cool shirts
"Is Live or is it DEAD!!! A play on the Memorex ad. And the Bart Simpson t-shirt from 1990 is one I'd like to own. Halloween 1984 is another one I'd like to replace. How about the "From Egypt with Love" that was on dead.net a few years ago. And finally the one shirt I missed out on and regret it to this day the "Play Dead SYF" L/S t-shirt. Dead t-shirt is art itself. As always Play DEAD & Happy Monday, Deadland
new years 12.31.71
At Winterland, there was a table set up selling t-shirts that were obviously handmade. I don't remember how much they cost, maybe $5.00, but I distinctly remember thinking "that would be my gas money home". I have always thought that was a missed opportunity.
Star Trek Shirt
Never owned the shirt, but one of my favorites from the parking lot. In the background, Jerry & the boyz jamming away with hippies dancing around the stage. In the foreground, Captain Kirk, Spock, & Bones. Bones is holding a Tricorder and stating,
"THEY'RE DEAD, JIM!". God, I wish I had purchased that one.
t-shirt
One of my all times was a group dancing on the front with "the kids they dance and shake their bones" and the back was skeletons dancing with "ashes to ashes they all fall down." Faded to threads I wore it so much. Still have the Memorex "Is it live or is it Dead"? shirt.
re: Air Garcia
I have the graphic in bitmap if anyone wants it. I gets pixelated at larger size, but cool nonetheless...
email me @ strodec@gmail.com, I'll be happy to share, who knows someone may be able to make a printing out of it.
in the course of conversation over the weekend
I remembered another one: The DEC-heads shirt. Digital Equipment Corporation (a company that was huge at the time, and has since been devoured by Compaq and HP in turn) apparently had enough Heads that they had their own shirt. On one side, a woodblock-style image of a skeleton at a keyboard. On the back, an image of the company's iconic headquarters, with the caption "All along the clocktower."
That one only gave up the ghost recently, but I fear replacement prospects are dim.
Vintage Skull & Roses
I'd love to get my hands on the original Skull & Roses with the circle around it that said Grateful Dead - on a plain white t-shirt with nothing on the back. Not the later, updated cartoony version, but with the logo that was on the sticker that came in the Skull & Roses LP. I wore mine out in the mid 70's and have been on a constant search for one ever since.
wake of the flood
The Wake of the Flood LP cover Tee that I bought at either the Louisville show or at the Cincinnati Gardens show and wore to take tests in when I was an undergraduate. It served me well until it finally turned to dust. I also had one I bought from a small vendor when I was at Alpine Valley in the mid-80s that was black with a white outline of a smiling Jerry and the quote, "nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!" I gave it to a lady friend. I don't think she still has it but wore it down to nothing herself.
Vintage Skull & Roses
LocoBrian, I had the same shirt and wore mine out also. It was the first Dead shirt I ever owned.
Tee Shirts
I've had (and still have) quite a few Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Tee Shirts over the last 43 years (my first show was at the Fillmore East in June of 1970) but my favorite was an American flag within a rose. I'd love to get another one like that (large or extra large or medium) if anybody knows where one is available.
The one that got away
was a Squaw Valley Festival shirt from 1991.
Still have the I Scaled the Mountain for Jerry that they gave out for those that didn't take the gondola, but I loaned the shirt to a "friend" that spilled on her shirt, and I let her pick one to wear home. Of course she picked that one, and I refused at first but she begged and I relented after making her PROMISE that she'd return it. She moved soon after unbeknownst to me and I still miss that shirt. Purple wolf silhouette on front, all the bands on the back. I never bought official shirts, but had to have that one. Such great memories, Bill Graham knew how to throw a show!!
old t shirts radio city 1980
My mother in law threw mine out,, thaught it was too worn out,,clueless
Had a grate tee...
...that was bought for me from a friend that was on tour Summer 90. It was a blue tie dye, 25th Anniversary (unlicensed) tee that had 4 pics of the GD from all eras on the front and on the back it had a map of the U.S with one of the freak brothers with the words "Ain't no luck, we learned to truck". I remember he also bought me a colourful tie dye that had "It's a Beautiful Day" on the front. On the back was a giant psychedelic mushroom. They were both Shakedown specials. Thanks to Dave Hickey for those.
old shirts
my wife is making a comforter for our cal king bed with about 60 of my old shirts.
T shirt I wish I had
Although I couldn't find it in the archive list of shows, it had to be 1979. The band played at the U Mass, Lowell, MA. stadium. One of the dates, Oct. 2, was my birthday.The event staff T shirt was yellow, Skulls and Roses on the front, with event info on the back. I bought the shirt from one of the event guys for $20, and wore it out. Ah the memories......
"Zoo-Mass" , '79
I think you might be speaking of the famous show at Amherst at Alumnai Stadium on 5/12/79. The students doing security had yellow t-shirts and looked like zoo-keepers trapped inside the zoo while the deadhead animals who couldn't get in snapped and growled at them, eventually creating a massive vortex of energy by continually circling the Stadium until when a gate came open they poured in around the time the show opened with Jack Straw. Really stupid planning to sell a very limited amount of tickets to the Deadheads (like 5000 out of 25,000)
My favorite t-shirt spotted that day was "Owsley Factory Team"...
The night before there was a show closer to Lowell at Billerica, but that was not in the UMASS system...
That's funny...
...I still have the 'Deadagonia: Quality Music for your next trip...' (white shirt) and the American flag within a Rose t-shirts (a black shirt). Both I believe are circa 93-95 era when I picked them up from GDM almanac. Both are still decent condition but definitely worn over the years. On a related note, I had a funny sight this summer when my Dad (a non-Head if there ever was one) was decked out in my extra large (unofficial) tour '95 shirt and sweatpants after he needed a quick change of clothes on a hot day. I wish I could have taken a picture of that...what a sight!
chicago '90...I think
It was summer tour '90 I think....It was a multi rainbow-colored dye with a stealie melting ice-cream cone on the front and summer '90 dates on the back. I wore that shirt til the sleeves fell off!! Then I wore it some more until it was riddled with holes from multiple washings and dancings..... :P
Dead On The Road '77
This is the one I miss the most, I don't know what happened to it but I suspect my Mother. It showed a pile of broken bones with a skull in the foreground with a bus or semi in the distance, after having traveled this twisted road. The vehicle had a GD lightning bolt on the back. At the top it said, "Dead On The Road '77." It was a simple white on black T-shirt. I'd really be interested if somebody has one they could part with.
Shakedown
One of my favorite things to do in the lot was support the artists making jewelry, t-shirts, posters etc. These days I keep the memories of tour alive by printing lot tees. If there's a shirt you lost along the way, let me know... I may have it. Here's my store. Much love!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/GratefulDesign
That's awesome
Did your wife ever make a comforter from your t-shirts Zomby D Wulf?
gone but not lost
Many a shirt have gone the way of the dodo, but some show up on ebay if you want to go that route. My pic is a very nice design I had on a shirt from the 85 fall tour, if you look at it just right, and under the proper influences, all kinds of things seem to change and move right before your eyes. Fun times indeed.
Always bought a shirt.
Part of my GD ritual was to always buy a shirt at each show I went to. Licensed or parking lot. I still have all those shirts (funny, they don't fit too well anymore).First shirt I ever bought was at Universal Amphitheater shows '73. Plain white T with Bobby's Ace album cover design on it. Those shirts hold memories.
They love each other
I am happy! I found the groovy GD shirt skeleton kissing a long haired girl on front, on back skeletons holding hands. From the Fall tour 1982 He could pass his time
'round some other line
But you know he chose this place beside her...on back
I always liked the shirt. Never had it but my friend did! Yea!! Small joys make happy daze! And today it arrived!
DH102
Apparently you seek the holy grail of tour tees...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/GRATEFUL-DEAD-VINTAGE-TEE-ON-THE-ROAD-1977-/370…
Edit: Just noticed the remote date of your solicitation...hope you're still reading AND have recently won the lottery! /k
Edit II (9/24/14): 2 months later and it's still there...I wonder how many of the 4 watchers are "us" waiting to see if it actually sells! Also, it strikes me that the $10 shipping fee is just insult to injury... :)/k
OJ
Nice inventory...I love the LLRain tee; after staring at the design for about 15 seconds the image of the umbrella distilled itself and I let out an "oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" at my keyboard! :)) /k
P.S.: Unfortunately Rhino is in possession of all my available disposable income at the moment ;)
P.P.S.: Just saw the MD shirt to NY's "Harvest" motif - neat!
Cow Palace Hoodie
Hi everyone, I am ISO the hoodie that was released at the same time of the 76 Cow Palace show cd a few years back. The hoodie has the exact same design as the cd.
New or gently used in a size of Large.
Thanks!!
sorry unkle
Gone now. We get these fools from time to time. Lemme know if you run into any more such things.
thanks Mary
Totally not your fault, just kinda got my goat when I read it, next time I will practice compassion and wait a couple of minutes before I rant.
Shirts I wish I had
I remember one from the Greek Theatre in Berkeley that was a drawing of the theatre and campus in Cal's colors (the sky was yellow and the sun was blue) and the motto, "It's all Greek to me."
One from the Who/Dead show at Oakland Coliseum stadium with the Dead logo on one side and the Who's on the other.
A cartoon of Calvin and Hobbes - he's on the psychiatrist's couch being analyzed, and the word bubble quote is "The bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began . . ."
"It's all Greek to me." nice
"It's all Greek to me." nice motto btw :D
Get your Euros ready!
About 79 of 'em to be exact, or 229 if ya love purple! Still, a nice T./K
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=grateful+dead+its+all+greek+to+mes…
Edit: It scrolls off-screen, but you can still highlight/copy/n'paste to browser...