I Know Jon Cheese

NAME: Andy
LOCATION: A supremely bizarre party 35 stories up on Wacker.

So, who is Jon Cheese?

Jon Cheese is the manager of a band called Limbeck. [Andy can tell I have never heard of this and very kindly spells out the band's name.] L-I-M-B-E-C-K.

Tell me about that band.

I saw that band when I was working at the Iowa State M-Shop. That's the Iowa State University venue.

You were a student there at the time?

I was a student there.

And they were just a band that came through?

Yep. And I, uh, I mean I hung out with the band and their t-shirts were like fifteen dollars and this one was only ten. So I picked out the Jon Cheese shirt.

So do you personally know Jon Cheese?

I actually met Jon Cheese. And he looks identical to this photograph. Or, to this screenprint.

Is he as awesome as he seems from the shirt?

I don't know, how awesome does he seem from the shirt?

He seems pretty awesome, in my opinion.

He's pretty much the same. He's got the 'stache, he's got the fro-ey hair. It was pretty amazing.

The band sells this shirt as merchandise. But there's no way that this shirt would tell me anything about that band.

No, not really. Not that I know of. Unless we're missing something.

Has anyone ever come up and asked you about it and learned about the band - other than the guy curating the blog?

I actually don't wear this shirt very often. I haven't done laundry in like two months. So this is like the last stack. No, nobody's ever come and asked me about Jon Cheese. Just you.

The Robin and The Revolver

NAME: Fabrice
LOCATION: Cole's, Logan Square

This t-shirt is actually something that I found at a Buffalo Exchange and I picked it up because I had to do a poetry reading and I wanted something interesting and it had a multi-colored robin, and it looks decent. But I feel like the gun is so like large and almost imposing.

It's kind of a threat to the bird.

Yes. But at the same time, like, maybe the bird is not really threatened at all and so it implies a sense of coolness.

The bird is so cool, the bird's not even afraid of the gun.

I would think so actually. I think there's something pretty about it.


So for you, the t-shirt is about the bird, not the gun.

Oh, definitely about the bird, yeah.

But people notice that gun.

I think that people do, yeah. I didn't pick it out - I wasn't like, "Oh, look at that awesome gun." I literally was like, "Wow, that's a great like robin-ish looking bird that's multi-colored, followed by a gun."

Do you have any specific affinity for robins?

Um, the person that I am dating currently is really into those types of birds, so I guess when I saw it immediately I thought at first maybe she would like it. It's kind of weird, but yeah, that's what I thought.

And does she like it?

Yeah, she loved it.

Lucky Hookers

NAME: Andrew
LOCATION: Ricochet's, Lincoln Square

It wasn't always quite a pinkish hue. It used be more beige.

It got washed with some red shirts?

Something like that.

Tell me about what's on it.

Well, there's a fish on it and it says: "Lucky Hookers. Catch One Every Time. Guaranteed."

And where'd you get this shirt?

I got this as a Christmas gift a few years ago.

From who?

My mom.

So your mom has a sense of humor, or did she not get the joke?

Nah, she has a sense of humor.

And when you wear this, do you think of your mom?

No, not really.

telephone

NAME: Cody
LOCATION: house party, Wicker Park

[Cody's shirt was given to him for free by the apartment complex he lives in, called "The Automatic Lofts". Allegedly, the building was formerly either a telephone company or a telephone factory of some kind. Cody had a lot to say about wearing a shirt that was on the one hand an advertisement for a company he has no stake in but on the other hand is a very cool-looking shirt that doesn't necessarily appear to be an advertisement for anything. Unfortunately, a very loud argument was taking place in the next room and completely drowned out our voices on my recorder. The interview was then cut short by that argument escalating into a spectacular fist fight. It was a very exciting evening but an unfortunate loss for the T-Shirt Project. Thanks, Cody, for your time.]

Madison Regatta!

NAME: John [with Alexis]
LOCATION: house party, Avondale

Are you from Madison?

Uh, my folks live there. Yeah, Madison, Indiana.

Oh! Okay.

Yeah, Indiana. The other Madison.

And were you in a regatta?

Nah, it's this, this big thing they do every year around the Fourth of July, yeah? It's this speedboat race, it's, uh, right on the Ohio River. Right on the Kentucky-Indiana border. So, they do it there, and I picked it up at a thrift store. My parents, they work for the Salvation Army, yeah? And, they run the thrift store - that's part of it - so I got a family discount. It worked out pretty good.

How much of a discount do you get at the Salvation Army?

It's like fifty percent, man, it's pretty good.

So how much did this shirt cost?

About a dollar fifty.

And you've never been in the regatta.

No, never been in the regatta. Never actually even been in the same state as the regatta was going on. So it's not quite legitimate. But I like the shirt, right? So what are you gonna do.

DISMANTLE

NAME: Erin
LOCATION: Parrots Bar and Grill, Wellington and Halstead

I didn't know what to do with my life and I was graduating from college and my sister bought me a ticket to see my favorite band for my birthday. So I came here to visit for the first time in a lotta years and we went to the concert and I bought this t-shirt and it's kinda embarrassing because it's a U2 concert t-shirt but it means more to me because it's the color it is and it says "dismantle" and it appeals to my, like, leftist politics, but - and it's, you know, protest-y.


But it also has this really great memory that like my sister and I connected for the first time in a really long time and I came here for the first time in a really long time and it was that weekend that I decided that when I graduated from college I would move here. And I graduated from college and I had no job and I had nothing and I moved here and I'm still here three years later, so. Every time I wear this t-shirt I feel a little, like, liberated, and I believe in myself a little bit more.

So, normally I ask a lot of questions, but I'm tempted to just write down everything you just said and leave it at that.

It sounded completely geeky!

No, no, it sounded really good.

In Good Company

NAME: Ben
LOCATION: The Firkin & Pheasant, Orchard and Diversey

They gave it to us for free at the video store I worked at. So, I stole it. We were supposed to wear it in the store, but I never wore it in the store, I wore it everywhere else. And it's comfy!

Are you a fan of the film?

I don't hate it. Any movie where Topher Grace gets to bang Scarlett Johansson, I'm all for.

Do you wear it, though, as an advertisement for the film?

No. I wear it as an advertisement for comfortable maroon shirts. And Topher Grace. And Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson, but not the movie itself.


But you told me that it's your favorite shirt.

It is my favorite shirt.

What makes this your favorite, as opposed to a shirt advertising a movie you actually like?

I got it for free. Um, it's the most comfortable shirt I wear. It doesn't wear out no matter how many times you wash it. I've probably washed it ... at least more than once, hopefully. It doesn't fade. When it's hot out, it feels cool, when it's cool it feels warm. And it's ironic enough not to be hipstery, but it's also not a hipster shirt because I actually got it where I worked, I didn't buy it in a second-hand store or anything.

Is there irony in your wearing it because you don't think it's a very good movie?

No, I don't hate it. I mean, I think I have a burned copy of it somewhere, from the video store. But I don't watch it a lot. If it was on TBS when I go home right now I would probably watch it. They order Domino's because their dinner gets ruined and then Topher Grace hits on her by playing ping pong in the garage then the lovable little sister comes in and it ends - well, I'm not gonna say how it ends because it's really cool. And then she goes to school and lives in a dorm even though she's like 29 or something. And then Topher Grace bangs her... I haven't watched it a lot, I swear to god.

Iquitos, Peru

NAME: Samantha
LOCATION: Starbucks, Lakeview

Well, I got it at, um, in Peru when we went on a cruise down the Amazon River. We stopped at this village and, um, it was - they didn't take money so we bartered our stuff. My mom brought a bunch of things and I traded one of my old dolls for this beautiful shirt.

You traded a doll for this shirt.

Yeah. Isn't it cool? It has like cool little birds on it. And we went down this river right here - well, the Amazon - and then this is like ... [Samantha is pointing out the geography of Peru's rivers on the map on her shirt] ... other little rivers and then we went to Peru. Iquitos, Peru.

And it was in Iquitos where you bartered-

It's not in this actual town. It was in a little village. I don't know what it was called but it was tiny.

What kind of doll was it?

It was like a barbie and then I also gave them one of my old Mickey Mouse shirts.

And do you feel now that it was a fair trade?

Yeah, because my Mickey Mouse shirt had a hole in it.

How old were you?

Eleven? Twelve? Eleven, probably. I also got to touch this really cool frog that's poisonous. It's red, and if you boil its skin that's when it gets poisonous and people would put 'em on their arrows in the old time to shoot stuff with.

Fishbone

NAME: Angel
LOCATION: Whole Foods, Lakeview

Fishbone was an early-80s band that was a ska/punk/metal hybrid ... they had a couple good records in like the mid-, late-80s. Still around. But I found this shirt vintage at, um, Brown Elephant, I believe?

I just, this kinda brings me back a little bit to my childhood, I guess. The early 80s, or the late 80s, 90s.

Are they from here?

Uh, no no, they're from California.

Is that where you're from?

No, I'm born and raised in Chicago.

But have you seen them live?

No, not live. I've seen them - I've seen, like, footage of them on TV. I mean, they were an exciting band at the time. They were one of those bands that you couldn't really pigeonhole because they just had so many different styles but like the Chili Peppers were down with them and um, a lot of metal bands, too. Primus, I know they toured with them, so. And it glows in the dark!

Nice.

And it's very appropriate because I work in the fish market. So, you know.

You wear it to work a lot?

I wear it out and about. I do get comments from the old-timers, they see it, they're like, "Yeah, Fishbone, yeah!"

The New Theater, St. Louis

NAME: Kate
LOCATION: house party, Roscoe Village

You can't pretend that you don't know where that shirt comes from.

I actually don't, I swear to God. I mean, seriously, I have three older brothers, I have two parents. And like, one day it was in my house and I was like, "I like red." And it says "theater" on it. And I do theater. So I was like, "This shirt should be mine." So I just took it. I don't even know what "The New Theater, St. Louis" is. But it's a nice t-shirt. It's like stretched out and old. So it's like really really comfortable. And it's red.

Fluorescent Fruit

NAME: Kelly
LOCATION: Farragut's, Andersonville

I'm not usually interested in these kind of patterned shirts for the blog, but you seem really excited about this.

Yeah. Yeah! I'm so excited about this shirt. So many reasons. And the first reason is that, well, first of all, the fruit is fluorescent. And basically food that is artificially colored is my favorite food.

To eat, or to have on your shirt?

To eat. Especially Cheetos. And I was a Cheeto for Halloween, and so, um, fluorescent lemons are probably what I'm gonna eat when I get home and I'm hoping to acquire some more artifically-colored food clothing slash costumes slash food for dinner.

Do you have other items of clothing that display your favorite food like this?

My Cheeto costume for Halloween!

How did you pull that off?

Um, I had orange fishnets that were nice and textured like a Cheeto. I had this tarry cloth skirt which also had a nice Cheeto-like texture. I had an orange cardigan and orange hairspray and orange facepaint and yellow rainboots with anchors on them.

I [steve frost] SF

NAME: Amy
LOCATION: Chipotle, Belmont & Kenmore

My shirt, which says "I [heart] SF" was made at the going away party for my friend Steve Frost - you can see his face in the heart - Steve is an artist who lived in DC and he just moved to Chicago in ... August? Sometime in the summer. To start art school. So he lives here now. Um, and at the party, this DC artist who makes t-shirts had everyone at the party silkscreen the design onto the t-shirts.

Did people silkscreen them themselves?

Um, well, the artist who does it had, like, you know, had the design and we just - I did my own. Like, I picked my t-shirt color and I picked the color - because it was a red ink and I knew that the red color would come out kind of purply and pretty. So I picked it for that but there were all different colors.

And this was done at the party?

This was done at the party.

That's cool.

Yeah.

So "SF" stands for "Steve Frost".

Yes.

And it's a picture of Steve Frost.

Yes.

So the shirt says: "I [steve] Steve Frost".

More or less.

That doesn't really make any sense.

But it's cute, isn't it?

Miss Independent

NAME: Katie
LOCATION: The Ark, Lakeview

What's this shirt all about?

This shirt ... believe it or not, I got it a thrift store. And I thought it was darn fun because I had bariatric surgery, and I finally got to be thrift shopping and I found 'Miss Independent' and it just suited me. It was perfect for me. And it was cheap! And I liked it.

What kind of surgery did you have?

Bariatric surgery? Weight loss surgery.

Oh, okay.

So, there you go. And I was so excited I could shop at thrift stores and I found something that was very me. So there it is.

So now you're a woman about town, Miss Independent. Do you wear this to bars?

I don't. I'm not much of a bar-hopper. I'm just independent.

The Gong Show

NAME: Bryan
LOCATION: The Rocking Chair, Logan Square

Oh, my friend Patrick got it for me at a thrift store, apparently. Um, well, it's just something that we say. Actually our friend Brittany I guess started it. It's just something - if something's "gong show" it's kind of ridiculous, fucked up. Stupid. It's like, "That's totally gong show."

And then what's-his-name, in Pineapple Express? The cute guy, with the long hair?

James Franco.

Yeah, James Franco used it in that. And we were surprised. We didn't know anybody else used it.

Then I had a teacher who, uh - he's probably, I guess he's about forty, and he goes, "Do you even remember the Gong Show?" And I was like, "No, man. It's just a fuckin' shirt." That's true. That's a true story.

Anything else?

Also I like the color yellow. It keeps me safe at night.

The Native American, post-apocalypse

NAME: Kevin
LOCATION: Sultan's Market, Wicker Park

I got this, uh... it's one of the shirts I got from like the one-dollar rack at, like ... I think it was the Brown Elephant. And, uh, I liked it so much even though it already has pre-existing pit stains. But you know whoever got rid of it clearly saw the potential in it. You know, it's pretty ratty. It's really just one of those shirts I like to wear because I expect to get laid. I expect to get fucked when I wear this shirt. Not like, you know, I wear this, like, "Oh, I'm totally gonna get fucked tonight." But it's: "I'm going to get fucked tonight because I'm wearing this shirt. Because of this shirt." I look at me in the mirror, and I think, "I would fuck me." Just because of this shirt. And only because of this shirt.

So that's what - also, it's just pretty cool. I like looking at it and imagining where the Indian is.

Where do you imagine the Indian to be?

I don't know. I think it's like, after a nuclear bomb or something. I don't really know. That's for you to decide. I guess.

Have you ever gotten laid in this shirt?

No. Not once.

Bermuda

NAME: Jamie
LOCATION: The Firkin & Pheasant, Orchard & Diversey

I don't believe for a second that this is from Bermuda.

Well, I've actually been there, but it's not from Bermuda.

Where's it from?

The Salvation Army on ... some street in Worcester, Massachusetts.

...which is your hometown?

My hometown.

Did you get this before or after you went to Bermuda?

Exactly six years after. I was eight when I went to Bermuda and I was fourteen when I got this t-shirt.

You must have some fond memories of Bermuda.

I don't know - I was scared! Because everyone wanted to braid my hair and I was eight years old and it was - I had never really seen like many black people before. It was scary. Are you putting this on the internet? I messed up.

Why is this now your favorite shirt?

Um, well I've had it for almost eleven years now and it's, y'know, basically see-through ... it's real nice ... a great color ... they don't make 'em like they used to.

go SOX!

NAME: Sue
LOCATION: U.S. Cellular Field (Royals @ White Sox)

Is this shirt actually handmade?

Yes.

Did you make it yourself?

Yes!

Can you tell me about this logo?

Well, I guess I'm a rabid south-sider, so this is a rabid south-sider.

How long have you been a Sox fan?

Hmm, let's see. Probably about fifty years.

Fifty years!

Yeah, about. More or less!

How are they doing this year?

[Sue makes the "so-so" gesture with her hand.]
They're a .500 team, I guess. We might be able to win our division, so... I'd be happy with that. I believe in miracles. And I love the bleachers! I wouldn't sit anywhere else!

How long have you lived in Chicago?

All my life! Fifty-five years.

And how long have you been coming here? Or, over there?
[I am gesturing towards where Comiskey used to be.]

Holy-moly! About fifty years!

Anything else you'd like to say about the Sox?

Go Sox! I love 'em all! We've got a great line-up.

Golden State Warriors / THE CITY

NAME: Hilary
LOCATION: Paulina Brown Line

Is that the Golden Gate Bridge?

It is! It's actually - the logo is the old logo for the Golden State Warriors. They used to play in San Francisco.

The Golden State Warriors?

Yes. They are the basketball team that now plays in Oakland.

Are they in the National Basketball Association?

They are. Good job. They moved to Oakland in, I think, the seventies.

This is, like, a "retro" shirt.

It is, yeah. But I moved to San Francisco about a year ago and it made me kind of sad to be for the first time in a city where I had no relationship to any of the sports teams. So this was... no. That's not true. I do have a relationship: I dislike many of them intensely. But I have no beef with the Golden State Warriors. So this seemed like a nice connection to my new city.

Explain to me what 'THE CITY' has to do with The Golden State Warriors.

Well they used to play in SF and that was just their logo. If you go look at old photos, this was on the jersey and everything.

That included the words 'THE CITY'?

'THE CITY'! Amazing, right? It doesn't look like a sports logo! But it was.

Okay. Aren't you being a poser?

No! I'm a Celtics fan, but I'll go to some Warriors games this year, because they just signed Steph Curry, the kid from Davidson. I'm kind of excited, actually.

Oh, I know who he is! He's that guy who is adorable and great and whose team didn't make it to March Madness this year because his team sucks. He was carrying them two years ago and then this year, even he couldn't carry them. Because, who has ever heard of Davidson.

He will also be unable to carry the Golden State Warriors. But I will go to some games, and it will be fun.

[By the way, according to wikipedia, the Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco in 1962. The San Francisco Warriors played in Oakland with increasing frequency between 1966 and 1972, and finally changed their name over when they permanently housed themselves at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. They are the only NBA team whose name includes neither a state nor a city.]

CUNT [sorry, mom]

NAME: Jessica
LOCATION: Parrots Bar and Grill, Wellington & Halstead

There really isn't a story behind it. But, I just wanted an offensive shirt. I had never seen anybody with the word 'cunt' on their shirt before.

You got this made at the Jive Monkey?

Yeah.

How do you feel about that word being familiar to people?

I think it's a good thing, because I think people don't know what it really means. It means: 'Can't Understand Normal Thinking' and there's a reason women are very offended by it, and I think that should be done away with.

Do you feel like you're reclaiming it, the way black people reclaim that other word that I'm not gonna say because people might get offended?

No, I don't think I'm reclaiming it necessarily.

I've read this book called "Cunt" that was all about how women should reclaim the word. It's like: if a word is offensive to you, you make it your own and then you turn it back around. Is that what you're trying to do?

No, not really. Like I said, just make it familiar kind of. Like, overexposure. So it's not a big deal when it's said.

But is the idea, though, to lessen its value as an insult to women?

Well, yeah. That's not a bad idea. But the shirt, though, I just wanted it to be offensive. I just wanted people to stop and go, "Wait, what does that say?"

Have people done that?

Oh yeah! Because it's very subtle. And they have to stop and kind of look at it for a second then they're like, "Does that say what I think it says?"

Would you say this shirt has been successful?

Yes.

[The Jive Monkey is an independently owned and operated store in Lakeview, one of the family of stores under The Alley's umbrella. They'll make any t-shirt you want!]

Harvey Danger

NAME: Kyle
LOCATION: Schubas, Belmont & Southport (Chicago stop for Harvey Danger's farwell tour)

You're a Harvey Danger fan.

I am. I have been for a couple years, actually.

Only a couple years?

Okay, for about ten years. Since "Flagpole Sitta" came out. I mean I really don't like the song now but it was what first introduced me to them.

You don't like "Flagpole Sitta"?

It grew old. It got overplayed. It's - I mean, it kinda overshadowed any other song they had that came out.

They have a lot of other stuff, obviously.

They have four albums! I mean, three plus all the bonus stuff.

But do you want them to play "Flagpole Sitta" tonight?

I wouldn't be offended if they played it but I mean I'd rather the room be saved in the set for something more obscure.

How do you feel about the band breaking up?

Very disappointed. I mean, I know they haven't been very active in a while, but I mean, I didn't mind just like once every couple years a new album coming out... I've driven downstate to see their tour before. It's fun times.

How many times have you seen them?

Only twice.

What's your favorite Harvey Danger song?

My favorite one is probably one that I don't even have a complete cut of off their original demo tape, called "Ignore Me". Otherwise, like as far as more popular songs go, my favorite single is probably "Sad Sweetheart of the Rodeo". Or, "Woolly Muffler" if we're gonna go with just album tracks.

My friend Mal over here wrote out a top ten. She likes "Wrecking Ball".

Ooh! I really like that song. Have you heard the piano version that they did on the "Little Round Mirrors" EP?

[Here, Kyle and my friend Mal went off on their favorite Harvey Danger deep cuts for about ten minutes. Instead of transcribing all of it, I'll just link you to this video, which I feel is a pretty impressive representation of the joy that swells in my heart whenever I hear Harvey Danger's one big hit.]