• 147 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    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?

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • radtek
    Joined:
    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.
  • unkle sam
    Joined:
    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.
  • sportiqe
    Joined:
    That's awesome
    Did your wife ever make a comforter from your t-shirts Zomby D Wulf?
  • Olivia_Jade
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    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
  • deadhead102
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    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.
  • walstib68
    Joined:
    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
  • wilfredtjones
    Joined:
    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!
  • Anna rRxia
    Joined:
    "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...
  • mbreese@hotmail.com
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    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......
  • Zomby D Wulf
    Joined:
    old shirts
    my wife is making a comforter for our cal king bed with about 60 of my old shirts.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
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?
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

16 years 11 months
Permalink

It was a Liquid Blue release.Black blue purple tie dye with white dancing skeletons spiraling around the front.
user picture

Member for

13 years
Permalink

My blue Year of the Hare t-shirt since I was born in the year of the rabbit.
user picture

Member for

9 years 8 months
Permalink

1992 Lithuanian Olympic Basketball Team shirt. I TOLD him not to wear it!
user picture

Member for

16 years 6 months
Permalink

My avatar one. OMG, I'd kill for an XL again :-(
user picture

Member for

17 years
Permalink

The font was the same as the old Federal Express from the 80's but instead read "Grateful Express...when you absolutely positively have to be there every night"
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 8 months
Permalink

Calvin hobby sky was yellow sun was blue strangers stopping strangers picked up in vegas 93 and my favorite Chariot of horses tie dye believe it was liquid blue...many more lost over years but these are my favorite ones
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

one of the series that absolut vodka put out in early 90s. blatant commercial but who cares? classic Jerry pose on the back with ABSOLUT JERRY caption. i wore that to tatters I have searched and searched...and can't find it anywhere,
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 8 months
Permalink

What was the shirt that Mickey Hart was wearing? It looked cool as hell, a skeleton on skis.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

13 years 8 months
Permalink

With ......what do you do when when surrounded by bears... on front...Yogi, Boo Boo,sundry Dead Bears, Paddington Bear, Smokey D Bear....standing around a camp fire.... On back Play Dead with all above critters shaking their bones around said campfire.....priceless...and copyright infringement....
user picture

Member for

17 years
Permalink

My buddy had that shirt. We were talking maybe 5 or 7 years ago and he mentioned that he wished he would have kept that one. I remember it. Under the skis were bands of color. That skeleton was surely shredding!!
user picture

Member for

17 years
Permalink

Calvin and Hobbs. Jerrymeister and yaba graba doobie!!
user picture

Member for

17 years 4 months
Permalink

I think of them often-where did they go?? The old long sleeve Deadercise shirt with the dancing skeleton wearing sneakers,wearing it in my avatar, loved that shirt as well as a Mardi Gras shirt, don't remember the year, that had a nice Mask and ribbons on it-beautiful artwork. The closing of Winterland show shirt with the blue rose, I later modified mine and added the show dates from Aug. 4-5 1979 just cuz those shows really blew me away. They were testing a new sound design and I thought the ceiling was going to cave in on the Oakland Aud. There was a terrific earthquake on our way home the following morning in Gilroy as I remember. So many have worn out or disappeared over the years, left in other folks houses, vans, busses, where are they now. I still have a few -Most proud of is the show shirt from Brent's first show at Spartan Stadium 4-22-79.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 5 months
Permalink

When they released the Ace LP, there was an offer inside to buy the cover design on a tee shirt. This was in 72 when $5.00 was serious moolah, so I passed and have regretted it ever since. I've looked in all (I believe) of the usual places and have never seen it. Any help would be appreciated.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 9 months
Permalink

It was a v neck light green tee with an Escher- ish black rendering of Jerry's face. Upon closer inspection, his face is made up of endless imagery; roses, bones, naked people, Humpty Dumpty, suns, moons, animals, wizards, etc. Gorgeous! Procured in Buffalo 79, I think. Still have, but died a natural death to time. Best I ever had.Honorable mention to a pocket tee says Alpine Valley. On back 4 large bears with goggles and skis with "I Spent Alittle Time On The Mountain" - worn to shreds. Both too fragile for Chicago...
user picture

Member for

17 years
Permalink

The one with a picture of Jerry's face surrounded by the classic Grateful Dead on the front and the two dates of the shows with a frog jumping off the shirt on the back. I believe it was two days of GD and Santana. Camping too.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

if it's an L or bigger and you get tired of having it around, sell it to me!
user picture

Member for

17 years 2 months
Permalink

Well, Mary, it's a Medium....stains & all....no rips, though.....I'm tired of all my extra t-shirts
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

Watcha got? Is it women's or unisex?
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

(if it's the gray one I remember) If it's a unisex medium, I'm definitely interested. If women's medium, probably too small. But either way it's also okay with me if you sell it to wilfred instead, whichever works better for you. I realized the other day that my Jerry Smiles shirt is about to fall apart. Wish they'd re-issue that one!
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

But if you have other unisex medium shirts I'm game.
user picture

Member for

17 years 2 months
Permalink

I'll look thru them, Wilfred & see what else is Medium....:) Probably quite a few-i'll send you the list....
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

send me a PM and I'll send Paypal or whatever works!
user picture

Member for

15 years 6 months
Permalink

I got a white shirt at my first show in Long Beach, '87, with blue lettering that said 'Come on along, come on ahead, you'll not see nothing like the Grateful Dead'. I think I was in the lot not more than an hour before I scored a quarter sheet and hastily took a hit. I was 18 at the time and had a serious sense of urgency to get fully immersed in the experience. No time to waste! Heheh. I was probably tripping pretty hard when I saw the shirt and was blown away by that line. I don't think I had ever heard The Mighty Quinn before, or if I had I didn't know what a cool song the shirt was referencing. All I knew was that I had to have it. I hadn't even seen the Dead yet but I was in for an awesome show the next night, which I believe ended with Quinn! My college dorm buddies and I had just arrived from Flagstaff. It was Friday afternoon and when we went to get tix we were told that there were only Sunday tix left. After a fair bit of hand wringing about the prospect of hanging around all that time just to see a concert I decided to buy a Sunday ticket just in case I didn't get lucky and score a Friday or Saturday ticket in the lot. So, we proceeded to trip in the lot that Friday night, zoning out on the laser discs and other tripper toys people were selling, and when the show ended the buzz in the scene was palpable. I couldn't imagine what everyone was so stoked about. I had been to some fun concerts but... I think I finally laid down in my sleeping bag right there on the tarmac sometime around 2 or 3 am. Someone had an 8 track of Steve Miller Band's 'Fly Like an Eagle' playing fairly loud nearby. I was cool with it since I was nowhere near capable of turning off my brain but after the 2nd or 3rd go 'round it became obvious that the owner of the car had passed out. I think I probably listened to Fly Like an Eagle 4 or 5 times before dawn broke and was pretty pissed that nobody bothered to turn it off. I think I was feeling about as rough by then as I ever had in my life up to that point. 'Paint by numbers morning sky' indeed!! The depression I felt gradually mounting as the day wore on was intensified a few hours before showtime when I started noticing the ragamuffins with their fingers in the air and earnest looks of longing on their faces. These people were serious about getting in! I realized it was no longer about the drugs, that there was something much deeper go on there. I started thinking about the prospect of spending another night on the asphalt and actually having the energy and mental fortitude to go to the show the next night. The awareness that I would have to drive back to Flagstaff immediately afterward didn't help my state of mind either! So it was then I realized I had to make a decision. It was either put my finger in the air and see the Grateful Dead that night, Saturday, or make the drive back to Flag while I still had some shred of the will to carry on in life. As the time grew near the sense of urgency started building. I was looking in all the faces of the people in need of a Miracle and I knew I lacked whatever personality trait it was that would inspire some stranger to sell or give me a ticket. My friends and I, a few with tickets, a few without, joined the flow of Heads moving toward the venue. As we got closer I sensed a growing excitement that was sort of the polar opposite of my growing sense of dread. The flow of people finally stopped at some point near the gates and I felt more alone and depressed than ever. It was clear to me that I wasn't giving off the vibes that would attract a Miracle ticket and I couldn't bear the thought of missing out on party. 'Ya can't go back and ya can't stand still'... It was then that myself and my other couple of ticketles friends would try to get in with our Sunday tickets. We got to the no mans land in front of the row of turnstiles and one of my friends headed for a ticket taker he thought looked cool. There was a brief exchange then he was turned back, crest fallen. Then it was my turn. I felt like a ghost ,wracked with shame, but somehow I managed a smile and hello and the lady took the ticket without a second glance and I was in! My very first Saturday Night unfolded with my seeing only one other familiar face but it didn't matter. I spent the first song or two sitting down low and a little off behind the stage before I took a cue from my acquaintance and got up to boogie. Before long he was absorbed by the crownd and so was I. I think I ended up taking three or four hits of the blotter i had on me during the course of the show. I had never tried to trip two nights in a row and I think it just basically gave me the energy to shake my bones. Anyway, wow, I didn't mean to go off on a long ramble! So I think my first Dead shirt had a print of the cover of Ram Das' book 'Be Here Now' on it. Ironically, my first college dorm mate had found a copy of the book earlier that year in the dorm laundry room. He grabbed it thinking it looked like something I would be into.
user picture

Member for

9 years 6 months
Permalink

Hey ya'all, I'm trying to get some support for a Kickstarter project on a book I wrote MEAN PEOPLE SUCK. Its the story about the DEA's undercover sting operation that targeted Deadheads for drug crimes (LSD) and how that all went down during the summer tour of 1992. It's a crazy story, you may have seen some of the recent press. Do me a favor and pledge the CASH FOR YOUR EXTRA level which gets you a book and all the promo goodies that we are dropping on the fare thee well concerts. Your support is greatly appreciated! When you are done, share a link to my page on your facebook! Peace and Love www.MPS92.com
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 3 months
Permalink

By the time i made it to the stands, there were only XXXL left.... i REALLY want to get my hands on the shirt... if anyone has one in M, L or XL, and can bare to sell it to a fellow fan... i would GREATLY aprpeacite it.... but i would prefer to not pay non-deadhead/ebay prices of 195$ for a 45$ shirt... if you're kind, and have one you would part with, i can either trade for the turtles shirt i have, or buy it from you. Thank you so very much in advance. You can reach me at treichson@gmail.com.... Have a great day!
user picture

Member for

9 years 9 months
Permalink

Oh how I wish I had the hot air balloon shirt to trade you ! I purchased 2 dancing turtle shirts in Chicago and lost them to some lucky person !If you are interested in selling your shirt please let me know. And yes it sickens me to see them on ebay for 200. !
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years
Permalink

the original Jerrymeister LS T-shirt (circa 1990) had the words 'Drink Down the Bottle and You're Ready to Kill' on the back. these are very rare. the words were changed to mellow out the theme. I still have one, a men's large worn twice. the key to preservation is not to throw them in a hot dryer.
user picture

Member for

14 years 10 months
Permalink

It's not the coin. ...just have stuff people might want in a trade if they have excess DP 16's Offer: I need a few copies of DP 16, numbered. I know they're very avail. and will be but. Some items to trade: Road Trips 1.1,1.2,1.4,2.1 or DP 7,11 or Pure Jerry 1,5,7,8 are avail. I'm 'trade valuing' DP 16 @$55. If interested PM me. :)
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

8 years 11 months
Permalink

Anyone have the backstory on the Electric Eyes graphic that was on some of the T's I saw at the shows? My friends and I have differing opinions. Mahalo for the help :) Aloha
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

8 years 10 months
Permalink

@mean people suck this would have been an awesome story! I saw you did not manage to reach the funding goal, which is quite unfortunate.. Did you really quit? Is there any way to.. read it? Maybe you should try distributing it online. Your video sure does make it sound interesting!
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

8 years 5 months
Permalink

Hi Sorry this is in the t-shirt section. I couldn't find a section on posters. I'm looking for a poster called "The Parking Lot". Or so I think. It's a hand drawn parking lot scene, and was described to me as something similar to Where's Waldo? There are lots of little "stories" drawn in the parking lot. My bf had this and sold it years ago and is now regretting it. I'm hoping to find the artist and how to buy it. Google is not turing up anything useful. thanks in advance! Please email me at somedevil@comcast.net with any leads!
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

where he got it? That might narrow down the search--a lot of poster art was fairly local to a particular area. It sounds vaguely familiar to me (West Coast), but at this point in life "vaguely familiar" is practically a state of being.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

8 years 5 months
Permalink

I bought these two posters off a guy who was a roadie in the Denver/Boulder area in the 80s. The 1980 Boulder show (Stealie w Warren Zevon) and the other is a lot print of various S Mouse dead artwork. Both really cool and original. Trying to figure out a value for these.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

12 years 11 months
Permalink

I loved the eyes one,the one with a mushroom was cool to.They used nice vibrant dyes.Late Night With the Dead a take off on the letterman show.the old guys on the corner was neat to. have to add the fat man rocks just a white tee
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

Please make a t-shirt with the current 2017 almanac art. Also, one with the RSD Shrine Art on it from last year would be great too! Thanks...
user picture

Member for

8 years 1 month
Permalink

I remember one of my first shows, probably 82. I bought this incredibly cool tie dyed tee shirt with a print on the back of a flying pyramid (perhaps) with big toothy grin, one eyeball, really trippy. It was definitely created by someone on tour. I took it home and stared at it for hours, laughing. I think the front had a Jerry drawing.I'd love to find that one. If that turns up I'd be astonished.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

7 years 5 months
Permalink

Speaking of T-Shirts, a couple of years ago I found a site that had archived almost all of the T-Shirts printed through the years, with dates, artist names, etc. Several years ago I was given two large boxes of new, original t-shirts that had been sitting in a friends attic for years. They date from 1985 to mid-nineties. He's developed a heart problem, and we're trying to list these for sale for him now. I'd love to find the site again so that we can provide more information to potential buyers. GDAO has some of them, Band Shirt Archive seems to only have what they have currently for sale. Any help on this front would be appreciated.
user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

but if you find the link, post it here. What a great resource!
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

17 years 1 month
Permalink

I bought an Ace shirt at my first show September 8 1973 and wore it forever. It was a great quality silk screen and soft as a baby's butt. Never saw another one. And could fit into the old one if I did still have it. I have a Grateful Dead scuba tie die that I've had for 30 years and I still wear it. Never seen another of these either son I'm pretty careful with it. Only wear to shows now
user picture

Member for

7 years 10 months
Permalink

Hey guys! I wasn't lucky enough to see the boys play but they played in my hometown of Charlotte NC on March 22,23,24 and my Birthday is March 23rd. I was wondering if anybody might have any shirts from that show or any show from NC they might want to sell to a guy like myself. Thank you all in advance!!
user picture

Member for

11 years 9 months
Permalink

...it was a cool ink drawing of Alice standing in front of the Looking Glass, peering into it and the reflection was a smiling Uncle Sam beckoning her in with a waggly bony finger...I still have it but that was like 70 lbs ago and it doesn't fit...oh just remembered Alice's cat is standing next to her peering into the Looking Glass also and the Cheshire Cat's "Grin" is staring back at her