Show Me Your Tee - Part 1
The only time I really think about my tee shirts is when I get dressed in the morning. Which one to wear today? My Keb’ Mo’ from a concert in Topeka? My Saguaro National Park from Tucson? My Bob and Doug McKenzie “Take Off, U Hoser” from SCTV? “Hotel California” from Todos Santos in Cabo, Mexico? Maybe one of my dozen Charlie Chaplin tees.
Not an easy decision. I’ve got to think about where I’m going, who I’ll see, how I feel, what kind of statement to make today. Or maybe just the right color, to match my pants, regardless of the message.
Here’s what got me into this mode. My “squatter” Betsey and I went to breakfast at a popular restaurant and bakery this morning. We were seated at a table next to two couples. They were a bit younger than us….say by 30 years…and involved in spirited conversation. Obviously good friends and in a good mood. I noticed one of the guys was wearing a ZZ Top tee. Now I haven’t thought about ZZ Top in a long time. I was familiar with a few of their tracks but can’t say I was a big fan. But I know they were big, starting in the ’70’s and lasting for a couple of decades, maybe more.
I told him I liked his tee. He smiled, obviously very pleased, and wanted to talk about it. He said he had seen them not long ago. A reunion tour, he thought. We started talking about rock groups. The other 3 at the table joined in with comments about their favorite bands and memories, which included Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival (one of my favorite band names), the Eagles, Pink Floyd, also the world of MoTown, thank you Berry Gordy. Quickly we found ourselves engaged in a spirited discussion about rock bands we had seen and liked - and even still listened to. I mentioned - and this is the absolute truth - that the night before this breakfast, I had sat on my deck, alone, a half moon on the horizon, bluetooth speaker in front of me, listening to Paul Revere and the Raiders, the Traveling Wilburys, early Bob Dylan, Journey, Tom Petty, and several others.
(I just realized: this blog is not going where I intended. It was going to be about tee’s, not rock bands of the 70’s. I’ll save tee’s for my next effort. Stay with me.)
This conversation I had with four strangers - as I was waiting for my coffee, and waffle topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream - was more than a brief morning incident. It was an enjoyable visit to our shared pasts. For all of us. And that’s what a tee shirt can do for you - take you back to an earlier time in your life. And connect with strangers. A tee is not just a souvenir or memento. It’s a living thing, part of your personality. I have mementos of concerts and events that hold a special place in my mind and heart - ticket stubs, programs, flyers, caps, photos: Chuck Berry at Blueberry Hill, Leon Russell at the Pageant, Jerry Lee Lewis at the Pageant and “Memphis in May,” Paul McCartney at the United Center in Chicago (never saw the Beatles - but I do have a ticket for the Beatles final ticketed concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco that I couldn’t get to), Bob Dylan in Aspen, the Grateful Dead at Riverport, the Rolling Stones and The Who at Busch Stadium, Huey Lewis and the News at the Arena (also Barry Manilow there but that’s a totally different category. Along with Neil Diamond).
As long as I’m in this groove, I’ll mention other events I was at: Tom Petty at Blueberry Hill (also Chuck Berry there), the Doors with Jim Morrison at Kiel, Sting and Bonnie Raitt somewhere. Okay. Enough of this. I’m sure you have your own list of bands you have seen.
There seems to be a deep-seated need or obsession, bordering on mania, that drives people at the concert to get a tee. I’ve been at concerts where the tee-shirt booth is stacked ten deep with men, women, kids eager to drop fifty or sixty bucks for a tee with the band’s name and logo on it. Usually there are more than one design to choose from. And then there are sweats, vests, hoodies…and maybe some other logo’d items like backpacks, thermos jugs and, as I saw once, a tattoo from an artist-in-waiting. And there were people - mostly young women - lined up to get decorated.
Just to finish off this portion of my blog, before I move on to one focused only on tees, I’ll add this. Rock defined a generation. It brought millions of young people together and, most likely, drove some families apart. “How can you listen to that noise?” That’s the father who treasures his LP’s of Frank Sinatra, Tommy Dorsey, the Dukes of Dixieland, maybe even Ella and Louis. But we knew it wasn’t noise. It was music that we felt, understood, responded to, and felt connected to, through the members of the band and, yes, the crowds that added fuel to the fires of youth.
So answer this one question: If you could go back and see any rock band between the 1960’s and 1980’s, which band would you choose? If you say the Beatles, then you have to add a second band.
By the way, whatever happened to Mungo Jerry? I loved the roar of that motorcycle.