Supercrush - baseball tee

Front: Supercrush
Back: nothing

Supercrush was a local STL band that we used to play with a lot. Over the years, they became good friends of ours. Supercrush is no more, but two members have started a new band called Movie Star Kiss. They moved out to Los Angeles to continue fighting the good fight. I highly recommend you check them out.

LTJ -- Hello Rockview

Front: Less Than Jake -- Hello Rockview
Back: nothing

Less Than Jake is a pop/punk/ska band from Gainesville, FL. I like them a lot, and this shirt features the cover for their album "Hello Rockview".

Holy Toledo!

Front: Holy Toledo!
         Choir Trip 05
Back: nothing

No, I've never been in a choir group. And even if I was, we didn't go anywhere in '05.

This is just another great shirt from the thrift stores. Usually, exclamations are just uttered. Or spoken. Or just plain 'ol said aloud. But this one is proclaimed proudly on my t-shirt. BOO-YAAA! Holy Toledo!

The Offspring

Front: The Offspring
Back: same as front

Back when The Offspring released their album "Smash", I bought this shirt. Sure, they've gone into the genre of "goof-punk" now, but way back in the day I thought they were the shiznit. You can tell this shirt is almost 10 years old by the wear and tear on the back. An oldie but a goodie.

By the way: yes, that IS a little hairy brain dude coming out of the other dude's skull. And yes, my arms look especially hairy in this picture. Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that.

Holland

Front: Holland
Back: nothing

Another thrift store gem. The national color of The Netherlands is orange, because its royal family originated from the French principality of Orange. If you're wondering -- no, I didn't just KNOW that. I had to look it up.

Plus, the shirt has a lion on it, and I like lions, so it's automatically cool.

Hazelwood West -- Makin' Tracks

Front: Makin' Tracks Through the 90's
Back: I'm The Reason West Is Best

I was in a community service organization in high school -- the Hazelwood West VIPs. I got this shirt during my Sophomore year in 1992. Old school.

I used to think this was a pretty neat shirt. You know, school pride and all. And it said "West is Best" on the back, which was something our H.S. said to the other Hazelwood high schools (East is Least, Central is Mental.) Now I look at it and I think "why did I like this shirt so much?"

Oh, well. West is still best, beeotch.

Support Local Music

Front: Support Local Music
          Sleep With A Musician
Back: nothing

My pal Big Money Mitch got me this shirt. It hasn’t worked. YET.

Woo Sop's Tae Kwan Do

Front: Show Me Cup
          Woo Sop's Tae Kwon Do
Back: nothing

I have no idea who Woo Sop is, and I have no Tae Kwon Do training at all. But when it comes to shirts from the thrift store, this is about as cool as they come. I've had many people ask me who Woo Sop is, or ask me if I know martial arts. Nope. Sorry.

Old 97's vinyl

Front: Old 97's -- Drag It Up/Valium Waltz
Back: Old 97's -- Drag It Up/Smokers

The Old 97's are another one of my favorite bands. Country? Rock? Alt-Country? Who cares, they're good.

I wore this shirt (due to its yellow and black nature) to support the Pittsburgh Steelers in their AFC championship game, and it worked. Next stop: Super Bowl XL. GO STEELERS!

Green Day -- American Idiot

Front: Green Day -- American Idiot
Back: Nothing

Yeah, yeah. I know. Green Day is all over the radio. They play that "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" song all the time. And they play their other singles a lot. And the kids like 'em. And they sell their t-shirts at Hot Topic. And blah blah blah. Nowadays, it's common for people to not like bands if they are popular. Shit, I've liked Green Day since they originally became popular, and I liked them when they weren't popular for their second album, and I liked them when they were popular again, and I liked them when they weren't popular a second time, and I still like them now that they're popular again.

What you've gotta understand is that I've liked Green Day for a long time. I still have the receipt from when I bought their first major record, "Dookie". The receipt is dated 07/24/94. Jesus, that's over 10 years ago. Wow, I feel old right now.

And no matter how much they've been played recently, I firmly believe that their album "American Idiot" is one of the defining albums of the last 10 years.

Dragon's Breath Tavern

Front: Dragon's Breath Tavern -- Salem, Massachusetts
         Fireside Dining Available
Back: nothing

Amanda got me this shirt when she went to Salem, MA for a Harry Potter convention, which is kind of like a Star Trek convention, only instead of nerds dressed like Klingons discussing Trek episodes, there are nerds dressed like Hogwart's students discussing plot lines. I would totally go to Star Trek convention in a heartbeat, so I don't really give Amanda the business about going to a Harry Potter convention. Actually, I think it's cool. This shirt is from a bar in Salem.

Toons

Front: Toons pool and dance
Back: We screw the other guy and pass the savings on to you!

Item: Toons is a bar in Kirksville, MO.
Item: I went to college in Kirksville.
From these facts, we can logically come to the conclusion that I went to Toons. A lot.

You see, Kirksville is a small town. There is not much to do for an energetic and fun-loving college student, other than drinking. Toons was a place that everyone "ended up" at, because they were a dance club. You'd bar hop and then close out the night while dancing at Toons. Or, if you were like me and my pals, you'd bar hop and then go to Toons and watch all the girls dance.

Postscript: My favorite thing about Toons was their Wednesday night special -- Penny Pitchers. That's right, a pitcher of beer for a penny. No joke. Actually, we'd give the bartender a tip of a dollar, so they were really $1.01 -- but honestly, can you beat that deal?

I Love My Weiner

Front: I ♥ My Weiner
Back: nothing

At first glance, you might look at this shirt and say "wow, funny. A weiner joke. Real original, Aaron." But it's not just a weiner joke. I actually have a weiner. Well, half a weiner. Let me explain.

Our dog Franklin is half beagle and half long-haired dachshund. As you can see, he's a very adorable dog, and I love him very much.

Piss & Moan

Front: Official member of the Piss & Moan About Everything Club
Back: nothing

My "friend" Dan got me this shirt when he went on a trip somewhere. I hope I can still fit into it when I'm an old man, because this is the perfect old man shirt.

I don't complain about a lot of stuff. At least I don't THINK so.

The Code

Front: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start
        The Code
Back: nothing

If you grew up when I did, you played a lot of Nintendo. As in the NES. Super Mario, Tetris, River City Ransom. Those kind of games. And if you’ve played the game Contra, you know what my shirt means.

Blank yellow shirt

Front: nothing
Back: nothing

I wore this shirt to support the Pittsburgh Steelers in their playoff game, and it worked! Go Steelers! Wide right, Vanderjagt!

Ramones

Front: Ramones
Back: nothing

The Ramones were the first punk band to crossover into the pop world. This is my way of showing respect.

I Am Not A Team Player

Front: I Am Not A Team Player
Back: nothing

My friend Peter gave me this shirt last year. He said it was only proper that the lead singer should have a shirt like this. But I am a team player. I'm very nice to everyone in the band. As long as they carry my equipment, tune my guitars, check my microphones, and get me drinks whenever I want, I'm GREAT to work with.

The Library

Front: The Library
Back: Study Hard, Party Hard

I visited Gabe in Corvallis, Oregon during the summer of 2005. While there, we played pool and drank heavily at a bar called The Library. I remember stealing two or three pilsner glasses with The Library logo on them, and feeling kind of bad about it the next day. I would find out a few weeks later that the place went out of business, so they probably would have thrown the glasses out anyway. I didn’t feel so bad about it then. Now, all I have to remember my trip to The Library are those stolen glasses and this t-shirt.

And yes, before you ask, I did in fact pay for the t-shirt.

Japan -- 2002 World Cup

Front: Japan
Back: nothing
Left Sleeve: 2002 FIFA World Cup, Korea/Japan

The Japanese national team is slowly climbing the world ranks, due to the success and calibur of it's J-League teams. They are in Group F in the upcoming 2006 World Cup with Brazil (yikes!) I have no doubt that the honor and pride of the Japanese people will aid them in their battles with the mighty Brazilians and the rest of Group F! Go Japan!

Actually, I'm rooting for the U.S. and England in the '06 World Cup. But I saw this shirt in a thrift store for 95 cents, and Japan is cool, so I bought it.

Ivory Wire -- TWIF

Front: Ivory Wire
Back: The World Is Flat

Ivory Wire is a great band from Chicago that we have had the honor of playing with a few times. “The World Is Flat” is the name of their first album.

Less Than Jake -- Legos

Front: Less Than Jake
Back: nothing

Back in '01, I dragged my pal Gabe to the Warped Tour at the local outdoor amphitheatre. There were a ton of bands playing, it was in the middle of the summer so it was very hot, and water and food and beer was very expensive. However, we got to see Less Than Jake and Molotov. And I got this shirt, which is awesome because I collect Legos.

Oh, we also saw Ice-T. As in, the rapper (this was before he started acting in cop dramas). I have a funny story about seeing Ice-T -- if we're ever out drinking together, you can ask me to tell you about it and I just might.

22

Front: 22
Back: Same as front

Other than band shirts, I get a lot of my t-shirts from the thrift store. This would be one of them. I especially like how the number 22 is off-centered. It makes a statement about life, the environment, and our place in the world. I don't know what that statement would be, exactly, but there's gotta be one.

Tony Glavin, who used to play indoor soccer for the St. Louis Steamers in the early to mid 1980's, was one of my favorite players. And his number was 22. So when I wear this shirt I like to imagine that I'm Tony Glavin and I'm really fast and I'm good at soccer.

Rudy's

Front: Rudy's Tenampa Taqueria, Kansas City, MO
Back: Same as front

My good buddy Ryan went to UMKC med school and every time I went to visit him, we'd go to Rudy's. They have excellent mexican food and some really effective margaritas. I recommend it the next time you're in KC.

Somnia -- Bomber

Front: Somnia
Back: Nothing

For anyone that doesn't know, I was in a band called Somnia. This is one of the shirts I designed. That's the cool thing about being a lead singer in a band: when you get t-shirts made, hey -- free t-shirt.

Engrish -- I hate my life...

Front:
I Hate My Life
Every day I polish my revolver
and shoot my head
like a rock star
Back: Nothing

If you haven't been to engrish.com, then you should go now. It started as a guy cataloguing all of the funny things he found in Japan – you know, poorly-worded translations, weird product names, etc. Then people started sending in photos of stuff that they found. The site kept growing and growing. Now they sell t-shirts and Christmas cards and actual products from Japan (with funny names, of course.)

I thought this shirt was funny, so I bought it. I believe the saying comes from a t-shirt someone found while in Japan. I guess Japanese people will buy a shirt with English printing on it, just like stupid Americans will buy anything with a Japanese or Chinese character on it because it “looks cool.”

Tenacious D -- Dickso

Front: Tenacious D
Back: Nothing

Back in '98, I was in college. With 8 guys living together, we could afford to split the premium cable package, so we had HBO and Showtime in our house. One night, up late drinking, I stumbled across two guys playing acoustic guitars on a comedy show. They were singing a funny song about "karate" and they were cursing and it was hilarious. I found out they were called Tenacious D and my love affair with the D began that day. The problem was that no one had really heard of them (unless they had HBO), they didn't have any videos or DVDs or CDs or anything.

By the summer of '01, the D had a website and some fame. I took advantage of special on their site. If you ordered a t-shirt, you would save a few bucks on their upcoming CD when it was released. Or something like that. So I ordered the shirt you see above. The design is called "Dickso" because.....well, you can figure it out.

"He asked us: be you angels? And we said 'nay, we are but men.' Rock."

A-1 Pump

Front: A-1 Pump, Rolla, Mo. 364-3568
Back: Larger version of text on front

Alright, first off I'm changing the format of my posts. I will no longer post about a shirt on the same day that I'm wearing it. Instead, each day I will post about the previous day's shirt. It's just easier that way. For both of us. I'm sorry it has to be that way. It's not you. It's me. Can we still be friends?

My A-1 Pump shirt was obtained through my friend and bandmate Mike Heeley. His parents live near Rolla, and bought a bunch of shirts for a dollar at some auction. This is one of them. I've never been to A-1 Pump. But I have worn this shirt at many of our shows. I think it's funny because of the veiled sexual reference, implying that I work or support a company that is ranked #1 due to their pumping skills.

Policia

Front: POLICIA
Back: Same as front

In case you didn't know, "POLICIA" is Spanish for "POLICE". I bought this shirt in a shoe store at Northwest Plaza, circa 2002. Everytime I wear it, people seem to get out of my way, probably because they assume I'm an undercover Latino policeman and I'm muy importante. And guapo. Definitely guapo. As you can see from the picture, I'm a hairy guy. Does that make me less guapo? ¡No! It makes me más guapo.

Clutch -- Elephant Riders Tour Shirt

Let the journey begin.



Front: Clutch logo. Caption: "On the higher ground you will find..."
Back: Elephant head. Caption: "The Elephant Riders World Tour 97-98"

This is probably my favorite shirt. Yeah, that's a Napoleon Dynamite reference. Get over it.

I got it in 1997 at Mississippi Nights when I saw Clutch on their Elephant Riders Tour. I've worn it countless times since then. It's weathered and worn and I love it. That's why it's first.

Clutch is one of my favorite, if not my all-time favorite band. And I like a lot of different types of music, a lot of different bands, so that's saying something. You'll see a lot of band t-shirts on this site. Each time I post one, I'll link to their page (if it exists). Maybe you'll discover some new music. Visit Clutch here.