An advanced degree in “material culture” has some disadvantages. It turns one into an “archivist,” or more sadly a pack rat.

The antiquarian urge to preserve the past… and remnants of my youth… results in boxes and boxes of unfiltered crap. I unearthed one of these boxes this weekend (while in DC) and found a small cache of music t-shirts. They range in graphic quality and in genre. Some are quite good. Some, as you’ll find, border on the embarrassing.

Enjoy.

R. Kelly as “Mr. Showbiz” from The Light It Up Tour.

Pause.

Rawkus promotional t-shirt for Pharoahe Monch Internal Affairs.

Def Jux promotional t-shirt for Murs The End of the Beginning.

Mark under – Why do I own this?

On October 22, 2009 I gave the following talk at the Tattoo Scuttlebug held by Philadelphia’s Independence Seaport Museum. It was a great pleasure to share the stage with Chuck Eldridge of the Tattoo Archive, the great Philadelphia Eddy, and Troy Temple. The following is a brief, and quite general, overview of the sailors mark on early American tattoo design. I don’t often share my work in the field through this platform… but as the script and images are basically just sitting on my computer, I figured why not give it a go. I’ve included some images, but will note that the original presentation included roughly 30 more.

The Olympia

It’s fitting to begin here, with this image of USS Olympia. Now docked outside this very building, the Olympia is the oldest steel warship afloat today, having launched in 1892. The ship played an integral role in the Spanish American War and won fame for her most famous officer, Commodore George Dewey.

Aboard ship in 1899, outside on the weather deck, William Reader tattooed his shipmates. This wonderful photograph allows us to look this evening at the Olympia not as just a ship, but as representative vehicle for the tattoo. Tattooing, of course, is not exclusive to the sailor, but in the American context the sailor and the sea play an extraordinary roll in shaping the artistic and professional development of the industry. As you’ll learn through my colleagues tonight, many tattooists were sailors first. And, many tattooists best clients too were sailors.

The history of tattooing is long and varied. Cultures all over the world have marked their skin, and marked their identities, through tattoos. In the Americas, tattooing was practiced by several native cultures, but it was through the Sailor that interest in the art was invigorated and through their bodies that the initial visual vocabulary of the “American tattoo” was formed.

Like the men seen here aboard the Olympia, American sailors have marked their national identity, memorialized events, and forged their individual identities with tattoos. My hope tonight is not to present a full history of American tattooing, but give a sense of the types of images that were popular in the first decades of a true American tattoo trade. The sailor, without question, helped make this possible. His on shore stomping grounds became fertile soil for the opening of full scale tattoo shops. His interests gave way to the images that filled the tattooists books and covered his walls.

A few of my friends have produced some quality new film work recently.

Dan Lewis, a mate from UW-Madison, produced Today, detailing a day in the life of three New Orleans families. The documentary premiers on April 17, 2010, at the NewFilmakers Festival at Anthology Film Archives in New York.

Slightly lighter in content, my buddy Sean Sullivan recently put together this amusing spot for Adidas. A playful reminder that sport isn’t just for teams or professionals. You may recognize Sean from his modeling (think Rogues Gallery) and his feature by Mr. Jake Davis for Test Shots.

Congrats are due to both gents.

There are a few garments that defined my prep school life. Many are obvious… the polo shirt, the oxford, the blazer… all requirements of various stages of the school dress code. For my first two years, I remained confined to the rules. Always a collar. Never jeans. (Junior and senior year I wore either a Fat Beats hooded sweatshirt or Rawkus Records t-shirt. A faculty member once high-fived me for these choices. Why I got away with it, I will never know).

At Loomis Chaffee (yes, I’m being bold enough to tell you all where I attended high school), dress was less stringent than my middle school. Ties were required then. High School allowed some breathing room. In that, our hallways and the quad were awash with the usual prep trappings. Those items mentioned above were the norm for most students. Come winter, flannels joined the mix. Some of the others wore a single pair of khakis through fall and winter, cutting their tattered trousers to shorts at first sign of spring.

We wore plain wool sweaters, often sourced from LL Bean. Most kids held religiously to flip flops.

Despite the typical sartorial leanings of the school, the garment I remember most, and believe best represents Prep Life, is the tab t-shirt.

Ubiquitous in all prep bookstores and the object of much thieving on athletic travels to other schools, the tab t-shirt has little favor in the “real world.” Above and beyond the average ringer, the tab tee has a certain formality. They eschew carefully designed graphics for the most basic screen printing. School name. Nothing more, nothing less.

I played water polo in fall. And, I dove 1-meter spring board in winter. Neither sport required more than a speedo for actual competition, but on deck attire required a certain cool. We were forced into school spirit (here oddly, the one place my Fat Beats hoody was deemed totally inappropriate by staff) and gravitated to the tab t-shirt as uniform. Better than a grey champion shirt. More refined than the hastily thought up team-specific kit. Tab t-shirts were it.

T-Shirts, being so universal, rarely have regional affiliation. Yet, I can’t see a tab tee without dreaming of New England. And, as I wasn’t a boarding student, the t-shirt certainly separated our “sort” from lesser institutions.

These are not the shirts that fill preppy dreams, but the garments that filled our prep realities. Something we all owned. Something we all probably took totally for granted.

I’ve been spending some time this week looking for tab tee blanks. My search hasn’t been overly successful. But, what it has done is reminded me that despite what I often consider an awful four years, my prep school life had some very positive points.

Funny how one garment can bring it all back.

A Note on New Balance’s Relationship with the United States Military.

A chance visit to the New Balance store in Friendship Heights (DC) during the holidays revealed a relationship previously missed.

Since 2008, New Balance has been the official supplier of athletic apparel to the US Armed Services. The deal includes apparel, primarily in the form of the Physical Training Layering System. For the Marines, New Balance provides the official issue running suit, Army Rangers wear a specially designed physical training uniform, and the Navy utilizes a number of layering pieces. All these garments come through a dedicated in-house team focused on Military needs, and is advised by a collection of decorated veterans.

The latest portion of the deal launched last November in the form of five editions of the 993. All are made in the United States (obviously) and each features the individual insignia of a distinct service. My personal favorite is the Coast Guard edition (I’ve had the great pleasure of working with several members of the Coast Guard stationed in Philadelphia on tattoo related projects). New Balance celebrates each sector of the military simply and effectively in the collection, and given the locale of production they really stand as the “Americana” sneaker as far as I’m concerned.

Also exciting (as far as I’m concerned), is how the relationship, especially through the footwear, has escaped most of the blog universe. Perhaps actual Military involvement is a touchy subject. But, one would think with all the harping about national identity, core American product, and a slight obsession with garments born from Military use in post war casual clothing, there would be some interest in finding out about contemporary goods.

The 993 itself has obvious appeal. Beside being domestically produce, its heritage and lineage within one of the most enduring lines of technical running footwear is obvious. The color schemes and individual service branding fit the silhouette well. This set has reinvigorated my own interest in the 993, hampered recently by vapid collaborative efforts.

The New Balance 993 United States Military editions make sense. Far beyond the Jordan pieces I’ve seen, which seem more fashion and PR than anything, these are pieces that serve function. Easily part of training kit, they establish a link between New Balance’s commitment to fitness and commitment to American manufacture.

If they strike your fancy too, head to New Balance. My friend Gary’s blog is well worth a visit, his essay on modern Military footwear is simply superb.

I’ve been in New York for (capsule) and the varied and wonderful events that make up Americana Week. Took in several antique shows and two of the auction previews. I’ve got many more images, and some actual thoughts, but wanted to get a few pieces up before the weekend officially came to close.

Much more to come later in the week.

One of my favorite regular reads is jazz blog Bop & Beyond. Highly recommended for quality pieces on a great era of jazz, and as the title suggests items beyond.

Today’s entry features a video of Sonny Rollins talking about when he recorded Mr. Coltrane. Beyond, he talks about the tradition of tenor battles. Filmed in 2007, and still fantastic viewing.

Be sure to check out Bop & Beyond regularly.

Exhibition shots from Skin & Bones: Tattoos in the Life of the American Sailor.

While I’m no Max B*, I am perfectly willing to celebrate a few things from a state I spent a solid portion of life in. In 1992, I moved from DC to Bloomfield, CT. In fairness, this seemed like a slap in the face. I was reaching an age of urban freedom – the Metro and all its possibilities just a step away. Yet, in time I found the joys of New England life. I could ski in my own backyard (literally). I started mountain biking. I began to wear boat house jackets.

My father remains in CT, splitting time between Hartford and Old Lyme. This commute is perfect for stopping for some local food gems. This includes Ted’s Steamed Cheeseburgers. Rather than recount the history (done very nicely here), here is a shot of the wonderful sign outside.

Not far from Bloomfield is West Hartford. In the Center Harry’s Pizza serves New Haven style pies. The recipe was stolen. From where?

* Max B’s “CT BITCHES” is a great ode to the state’s thirsty sluts.

Picked this up at Paper Mania in Hartford, CT. Figured I’d share. Any ideas of the date would be much appreciated.