Since we’re fresh off the 4th of July in a – let’s say – rather tenuous era of American history, we wanted to take the time and highlight one of our favorite designs that we’ve had the pleasure of printing quite a few times since last March. So we reached out to Rob Miller, founder and co-owner of Bloodshot Records. Alt Country, Not Alt Facts is not only a fantastic design for tees and stickers, but it also has a great message, and all proceeds go to charity. We were lucky enough to have Rob answer a few questions about this product for us, and if you like what you see – what are you waiting for? You should get one for yourself!
Barrel Maker: What was your inspiration for the design – it’s obviously a pretty political shirt, right? Was it made by someone on your team?
Rob Miller: Regardless of political affiliation, beyond policy differences, the time surrounding the inauguration of a new president is (or should be) one of marvel. There is the sheer improbability, from the long view historical perspective, of the peaceful transfer of power, of the respect for the democratic process; there is, in all of us, a hope for the country coming together, if even only for a few days, for the sake of the truly unique experiment that is America. Speeches are made that highlight what we have in common, rather than what separates us. There are calls to summon the best in ourselves, in our communities, to reach out to others who might disagree with us, all in the name of this enterprise.
However, this time around, on New Year’s Eve, the president-elect chose to call those who didn’t vote for him “haters” and “losers.” As weeks passed, the media became “the enemy.” Norms of civility and respect were being tossed out the window. Never has an incoming president lashed out in such a way right from the start. Divide, not unite; accuse, not reach out. It was profoundly disturbing and saddening to me.
And, all too quickly, the madness escalated. On Day One, regarding the size of crowd in DC for Inauguration Day, the Orwellian neologism “Alternative Facts” was coined by a White House spokesperson. My sadness turned to a deep dread. On Twitter, Kim Docter (from Moonshine Willy), an old friend and one of the first artists on Bloodshot, tweeted “I used to play alternative country, and I now I live in one” and I thought….”Hmmm, let’s riff on this.” Our resident designer Justin Hertner got to work on a number of artistic interpretations, and we landed on the design you now see (which, for the folks who exist in the likely narrow cross-section of the Venn diagram, was inspired by the iconography of the Jordan 20 sneaker).
Rather than give in to despair, we wondered what we could do to tap into people’s desire to counterbalance this disorienting and unheard of wave of divisive speech and action. We didn’t want to be overt, aggressive or insulting. It was just a tongue-in-cheek expression of concern for a world where objective reality appears to be dying—or unnecessary—or inconvenient. It touched a nerve, and here we are.
BM: You’ve had over 10 reorders of this shirt – that’s impressive! What were your original expectations in sales compared to how many you’ve continued to sell? How does it compare to other tees you’ve made?
RM: We had no expectations; well, that’s not true, we expected hate mail. The only other shirt we’ve sold that comes near this one is our classic Bloodshot logo tees, but those have had a 23-year head start. They keep selling because the message behind it is remaining depressingly relevant.
BM: Hate mail would make sense – has the shirt gotten any criticisms?
RM: I am genuinely shocked, given the current polarized environment and the ease of tossing around anonymous internet insults, that we have not received one complaint or pointlessly hateful comment—and we’re no strangers to hate mail.
BM: That is pretty impressive. Especially online. Is that your main sales channel for the shirt? Or do you sell a lot in person?
RM: Most of the sales have been from our website, but when we have festival events, such as our SXSW party, or a pop-up event at our HQ, people gobble them up
BM: Just to settle a few arguments at our shop, what typical bands would you actually classify as alt-country? None of us can agree.
RM: Neither can anyone in the office. Or anyone in the media. Or the marketplace. Or the artists. It is, depending on who you ask and how many beers into the night they are, a term viewed on a spectrum from too hyper-specific to so broad as to be utterly meaningless.
BM: Well, good to know it’s not just us at least! Ok last question – it’s super sweet that 100% of the proceeds for this shirt go to conservation charities – that’s awesome. What made you decide to do that?
RM: It was an easy decision, a non-decision, really. There is a great desire these days to just help. Pure and simple. The shirts are a clever and somewhat light-hearted expression of a helplessness that people are feeling these days. They provide, in some small way, a very immediate way to support causes that I would like to think we can all get behind, no matter your political stripe.
*all images courtesy of Bloodshot Records