Merch Minute Gallery Vol. 1

By Ryan G

If you’ve been folllowing along on social media, Tuned Up has been sharing submissions from bands and readers sharing pieces of artist merchandise that are meaningful to them. We love hearing your stories! We decided to compile them in volumes for the site. Below is the first group. We hope you enjoy the stories and, in the process, find some new artists to enjoy. If you’d like to participate, simply email us at iamtunedup@gmail.com with a photo of a piece of band merch you like and tell us why it’s meaningful to you. It could be apparel, vinyl, hot sauce, something you got autographed. Anything!

Enjoy the stories for our first volume below:

“Why is #stilldope merch important to me? During the days when you don’t feel like getting out of bed, when you don’t have the motivation to get your work done, when you’ve barely eaten and not drinking enough water, it can be really tough to see the brighter side of things. even the most positive of people have those really blue days. But weirdly enough, whenever I was having an off day I found myself putting on my #stilldope hoodie, subconsciously realizing that it did make me feel better. [It] helped me see that regardless of my down days, I’m human. And I’m stilldope either way. Sometimes you need that extra reminder and it’s nothing to be ashamed of!” – Columbus musician Cherimondis J (one of the most underrated in the scene in our opinion). Check out her genre-defying tunes on her bandcamp here.

“I got this shirt when I went to see The Renfields open for Mummula at Tree Bar. The Renfields put on such a good show, and had so much fun doing it. They commanded the room. It solidified my decision to go full-bore on making horror music. When I bought this shirt, VinRen couldn’t get their tech to work. So he just gave it to me, as well as their CD. Super nice dude, super fun band to watch.” – Scott Baker, The Lycan Bite. The band’s EP FANGS is out at the end of February!

Often in my career I’ve been asked the question, “what made you want to start a band?” The short answer is Reel Big Fish.

I fell in love with the quirkyness and high-energy genre that is (third-wave) ska when I was first introduced to RBF in middle school. I became obsessed and looked up all of their silly music videos and bought most of their CD’s when I had the money for them. Then I started seeing them live, and it was a game-changer for me. I wanted to be like them, dancing on stage and making people smile and hearing crowds sing all of the lyrics and horn parts back to them. So you have to imagine how much it meant to me when we were asked to tour with them in the fall of 2016. I was in tears when I got the offer by email, crying on my desk at work. We rounded up our 2008 Ford E350 15-passenger van and a U-Haul trailer, risked losing all of our jobs, and hit the road.

The biggest feat ended up being getting to the first show in Tucson, Arizona from Baltimore, Maryland. Have you ever driven the entire length of Texas? I do not recommend it to anyone….we had TERRIBLE luck. We blew two tires. This image is the first wheel which we ended up driving on a little too long after the tire was blown without even realizing it, I guess because of the sheer size and weight of everything we were traveling with. We decided to keep the wheel as memorabilia, and ask Reel Big Fish to sign it at the end of the tour. It’s a priceless token of our debut nation-wide tour supporting our idols, Reel Big Fish. It was an incredible experience, to say the very least!
” – Kellen McKay, vocalist of ska-punk band Stacked Like Pancakes. Their new single “So Close Yet So Far” released in January and can be heard here.

“Me with my Bleeding Rainbow shirt. I had to take it off and use it as a snare muffle for a recording session one time so Robi Gonzalez beat a couple of holes in it but it’s still one of my favorite shirts. They were an incredible band from Philly we got to tour with and it was a dream come true. I always loved when they would come through to Death By Audio as Reading Rainbow.” – Oliver from A Place to Bury Strangers. Their new album See Through You is out now. Check out our review of it here.

Anyone who’s seen me at a show at all in the last 4 years has likely seen me wearing my trusty black Making Movies zip hoodie. Not only am I supporting a group of dudes I wholeheartedly believe in, but I’m also rocking a super comfy, fairly warm piece of clothing. I’ve been known to attend many a concert with my TU tee or another band tee, but whatever shirt I’m wearing is almost always underneath this Making Movies hoodie.” – Our own contributor Topher Parks.

Columbus producer extraordinaire Jakob Mooney rocking his Courtney From Work tee. He wears it “once a week” he says, has to “support the homies!”

Joey Lawson from To Kill a Monster loves his Echobreak tee. “I’m a sucker for music and anime and they combine both perfectly. Definitely have to book some shows together this year. Doesn’t hurt that they reminded me of The Bunny The Bear,” he says.

This @andrew_combs Ideal Man shirt is a favorite item of mine as it is not only a very comfy and cool-looking top but it represents an album and artist that are in my top tier of beloved music. I met Andrew in 2014 when my then-boyfriend was playing drums on a tour with him. I was already a fan of Andrew’s music at that time, and the subsequent records he has released have captivated me more and more. Ideal Man is such solid songwriting and production all the way through. Never a throw-away line or musical moment, everything feels completely intentional. My favorite track on it is Like a Feather–a perfect love song. If you are familiar with Andrew already, you probably know he is also a gifted visual artist. The second picture here is an Andrew original that hangs joyously above our bar cart.” – Ali Sperry @aligreeno

The Nashville based songwriter specializes in “less is more” folk with a pop/rock vibe, and is releasing her full length album “In Front of Us” on March 11th. I’d say the odds are pretty good that a review of said album will pop up on Tuned Up…

Hi this is Melanie and a picture of me and Alyssa Trahan and I am wearing her Gingerbread house t shirt. This shirt is special to me because she designed it herself and she autographed it for me after her Gingerbread house/ Christmas show Wednesday December 22,2021. She is amazing. I am a big fan of hers and her band.”

The second picture is of Melanie wearing her shirt that officially designates her as part of the Trafam – the Alyssa Trahan family of fans!

In 2018 Trudi and I went on our first date to an Andrew Belle concert in Cincinnati at Bogart’s.  The show was incredible and we both fell in love with the record Black Bear and were able to pick it up on vinyl.  That record still holds a large space in our heart and has been a huge influence on the project over its existence.” – Cory Heddleston of Columbus synthpop act Speak Seldom.

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