Vintage 1988 Monsters of Rock T-Shirt

file under: back-in-the-day

rare, hard to find original Van Halen / Monsters of Rock t-shirt

year: 1988

tag: Screen Stars ⬅(click on the link to learn more about Screen Stars 

material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend

size: large

condition: excellent

value: $250

note: this is one of the rarest and most difficult to find of all the different Monsters of Rock t-shirt designs that were printed. Acquired a few years back from the original owner who had the t-shirt neatly folded and tucked away from the light of day at the bottom of her dresser since 1988. Because the condition is so absolutely perfect, my guess is she bought the t-shirt after the lights came up and the show was over and once she got it home, maybe wore it around the house a few times before storing it away for the last 27+ years. The black Screen Stars garment is only lightly faded overall, the Van Halen graphic both front and back are still as vibrant as they were over 2 1/2 decades ago. There's no holes, rips or stains. Good luck trying to find this design for sale. Not sure why so few of this one were printed, especially since it' the best design of all the Monster tees in my opinion.

Front close-up

Back with dates and locations

Back close-up

Gnarly crowd

Kirk of Metallica in front of massive Monster's crowd!

Vintage 1977 KISS T-Shirt

file under: classic

super rare original KISS glitter iron-on t-shirt
year: 1977
tag: no company name visible
material: 100% cotton
size: large
condition: perfect vintage
value: $300
note: I've had this piece in my collection for sometime now and honestly can't remember where or how I acquired it. If my memory serves me...I got this off eBay years ago before "vintage" became so popular and you could actually find great vintage t-shirts for affordable prices. ~ This particular t-shirt in my estimate is actually very rare because I don't think too many kids were able to convince mom and dad to write a check for $12.99 and send it in to the fan club address with your order form. It's a glitter iron-on that has really held up over the years. It was basically "dead-stock" or "new old stock" if you like when i first got it, consequently the glitter iron-on is perfectly intact. it was never worn and sat untouched for 37 years! i have worn it many times and hand-washed it probably 2-3 times. thinking about it now i kinda wished i hadn't and just kept it dead-stock like it was when it first arrived in my mailbox many years ago. O' well live and learn. a collector's piece like this is always worth way more if it's in mint, never used condition. ~ In 1977 KISS were at the peak of their success and had become a world-wide phenomenon! Scroll down a bit for some killer images of that crazy, awesome period in time when KISS ruled the world! 

In the streets of New York 1977

1977's "Love Gun" album cover art  

Early days backstage circa 1975

Onstage during 1977's "Love Gun" tour

Early promo shot outtake circa 1975

Vintage 1983 Pyromania World Tour T-Shirt

file under: the best

rare & original Def Leppard tour t-shirt
year: 1983
tag: too worn to read
material: 50/50 cotton-polyester blend
condition: perfect vintage
value: $400
*acquired a few years back. to find this three quarter sleeve raglan tour t-shirt in this condition with no nasty stains, rips, etc...and in a wearable size is virtually impossible these days. Although there were thousands printed for what would be one of Def Leppard's biggest tours, the ones that have survived in this condition 30+ years later are already in the hands of collectors like myself. it's been reproduced countless times right up to 2014 due to it's popularity. even people who weren't there in '83 or didn't listen to Def Leppard's music can be seen wearing a reproduction because of it's iconic imagery. Mostly it will be referred to as the "Pyromania" World Tour t-shirt when it's actually the "Rock Til We Drop" tour shirt. It sits at the top of my pile of favorites and worn on a regular basis. They were amazing live back in the day! The first three albums are still in regular rotation on my turntable.

Front close-up

Back close-up

Polygram Promo Photo

"Photograph" video still

Iconic "Pyromania" cover art

Vintage 70's Hawaiian Tourist T-Shirt

file under: the 70's my favorite era

rare and hard to find original "Hawaii" tourist t-shirt
year: 1974
tag: "Crazy Shirts"
material: 100% cotton
condition: somewhat thrashed but nice distress
value: $150
*notes: just like if you were to take a typical "tourist" vacation in Hawaii today where you'd find an over abundance of "Tourist" souvenirs...back in the 70's the t-shirt seemed to be the souvenir of choice. Oddly enough it is actually quite difficult to find one that dates this far back that is in what I call "wearable" condition. This one happens to be an XL so despite it's hundreds of runs through the washer and dryer over the last 40 years it remains wearable. As I've mentioned in many previous posts the 100% cotton t-shirts shrank like crazy over the course of 4 decades rendering them mostly show pieces or one for the ladies. The screen printing job is really excellent which seems to be par for the course back then especially with "Crazy Shirts" who were responsible for printing a significant portion of these t-shirts back in the 70's. I love this era! It's probably my favorite because I was a surfer/skater kid growing up reading Surfer and Skateboarder magazine back in 1974. It's a nice  addition to my collection and I was able to pick it up from my favorite dealer a month or so back for only a few bucks which makes the find all the more sweet!

Beautiful 70's screen printing by Crazy Shirts

Not too many 40 year old cool vintage t-shirts floating around these days

Nice, colorful almost psychedelic artwork by Maier in 1974

Gerry Lopez at Pipeline in the 70's. An iconic image synonymous with this era

One fin was enough back in the day

The chosen mode of transportation in the 70's. Still looks good today!

Vintage 1979 The Cars "Candy-O" Drive America Tour T-Shirt

file under: holy grail of vintage rock tees

beyond rare original The Cars tour t-shirt
year: 1979
tag: Hanes
material: 100% cotton
condition: perfect natural distress from 34 years of wear
value: $750

Notes: This is another from my private collection that is so incredibly rare I've yet to see another for sale. The Cars were truly one of my favorite bands back in the day. I'll never forget that day in the summer of '79 when I walked into my local record store, Sound Spectrum in Laguna Beach and saw the now famous cover for Candy-O album cover painted by Alberto Vargas. As a young teenager in Southern California just getting turned onto "punk" and "new wave" in 1979 The Cars were "It"! The Candy-O album from start to finish was and is to this day a masterpiece of recorded vinyl. They were the whole package much like The Ramones. The look, the songs, the riffs and the hooks. 

This t-shirt design is the very first version used for the "Drive America" tour in support of the Candy-O album release. This version was also printed just prior to the band becoming a multi-platinum selling group. So in comparison to their 1982 tour shirt (which I also have in my collection) which was printed in the thousands, this earlier version was likely only printed in a run of 500 and after nearly 35 years, of those original 500 I'm sure more than 75% simply no longer exist (ripped to shreds, thrown out, used as rags, etc.) leaving only like maybe a little over 100 of these in existence, if even that. I feel very lucky to have this piece in my collection not only for it's rarity but even more so for the personal affinity I have for the band, that album and the summer of 1979. 

The Candy-O album cover with now iconic Vargas artwork

Great shot of the band in 1979 without Elektra's commercial polish

The 1979 Cars Publicity still from Elektra

The Cars taped live at Bremen Radio Studios in Germany 1979

Original Punk Rock Vinyl Records (1st Pressing) 7"

file under: when punk was really punk

*click on image to enlarge

A small sampling of ultra rare all original 1st pressing 7" vinyl records of the earliest days of punk rock from my personal collection.

Top row: 
999 - "Homicide" 1978 United Artists Records Ltd.
Black Flag - "Six Pack 1981 SST Records
Go-Go's - Go-Go's 1980 Stiff Records *(not even listed on Wikipedia)

Middle row:
The Clash - "Complete Control" 1977 CBS Records
Sex Pistols - "God Save the Queen" 1977 Virgin Records
X - "White Girl" 1980 Slash Records

Bottom row:
Dead Kennedys - "Holiday in Cambodia" 1980 IRS Records
Sex Pistols - "Anarchy in the U.K." 1977 Gutterbest Limited *(unauthorized pressing)
The Damned - "The Damned" (Date unknown) Scatter Brain Child Records *(Bootleg)

Vintage 1970's Superior Beer Promo T-Shirt

file under: iconic 70's

super rare original 1970's Superior Beer promotional t-shirt
year: circa 1974-75
tag: too faded to read
material: 100% cotton
condition: excellent vintage
value: $300
notes: Another favorite from my collection. I grabbed it this year at the "Inspiration" show, an annual International Vintage Expo held in Long Beach, California. I'm always searching for items from this time period in the mid 70's when skateboarding was exploding, Gerry Lopez was the Pipe Master in Hawaii and Led Zeppelin ruled the world. A time when getting stoned and having long hair was the norm, especially in California. This Superior Beer t-shirt is such an awesome example of that era. The colors and graphics are just amazing. Hard to imagine there was actually a time when almost every kid I knew had a least one beer t-shirt and wearing it to school was no big deal and I'm talking elementary school. It was a different time that's for sure. Enjoy!

Dog Town Z-Boy

The mighty Zeppelin

Mr. Pipeline - Gerry Lopez