I grew up in the Pittsburgh Punk scene in the late 90’s and 2000’s – from there I was introduced to Eric Good and the band Aus-Rotten (active from 1991-2001). They opened my eyes to politics and gave me a better world view than what most suburban pedagogy was meant to do. Most of their songs espoused an anarchist worldview, touching upon consumerism, LGBT rights, the Christian right, direct action, feminism, AIDS, immigration, and animal rights. The band is perhaps most famous for its radical, quotable lyrics (e.g. “People are not expendable, government is”, “As long as flags fly above us, no one’s really free”), as well as for their strong anti-fascist stance which, according to the interview on the ABC No Rio documentary, got them threatened at least once. These quotable lyrics made for some of my favorite posters and t-shirts, and I still have the posters, hesitant to frame them or remove them from their record jackets. Eric went on to form Caustic Christ, still lives in Pittsburgh, and probably goes to bed at a more reasonable hour. He is also a screen printer and has a very rad t-shirt collection. So we thought our Barrel Maker friends would be interested in hearing more!

Zach: So, what are you wearing right now? (;

Eric Good: I’m wearing an awesome shirt an old friend of mine printed. It’s the flier for the Necros and Real Enemy show at the Electric Banana here in Pittsburgh. The show took place in 1983. I love collecting HC/PUNK fliers as much as I love collecting t-shirts. This one is a best of both worlds kinda thing.

Zach: How many t-shirts do you think you currently have?

Eric: Oh man, tough to say. Definitely over 200. I honestly wear maybe 12 of them. Ha! I sold a ton of them over the years when I needed money. My wife wears the ones I no longer fit into. Ones from the 80s when I was in high school.

Discharge shirt from the 80’s, and Eric’s modern day reproduction of it.

Zach: Can you remember the first t-shirt that you were excited to wear?

Eric: When I was a kid in the early 80s I had an AC/DC shirt that I wore every day. It was my first band t-shirt. It was one of those iron on decals with the glitter in it. The kind you used to get at the mall or at head shops. Those shirts were amazing. You could get everything from bands to Harley Davidson logos to drug culture images and slogans. Total 70s and 80s rebellion culture.

Zach: T-shirts have been described as wearable billboards and have often been synonymous with activism and counterculture. Do you have a t-shirt that you’ve had in the past that best represents your current political views?

Eric: I agree. Yeah, I definitely had a few. Most of them were based in punk in some way. A band’s shirt with a bold political statement. One of my favorites was the classic Crass shirt that read “Jesus died for his own sins, not mine”. I had a DOA shirt that read “Something Better Change” and had the logos of a few dozen left wing, environmental, human rights groups all over it in a collage. There are tons more. You still see shirts everywhere with people’s opinions or beliefs printed on them. Unfortunately, a lot of them are adorned with bullshit I don’t agree with at all.

Zach: Do you have any shirts that you love that people may be surprised to see you in?

Eric: I’ve never worn a “v neck”, so I guys that’s my least favorite. I wear blank shirts here and there. They’re always black. A few years ago I was really into wearing blank black t-shirts. I wore them almost exclusively. I still have a few that are torn a bit, holes, rips under the armpits…. I guess those are my “slob” ones. They’re definitely comfortable sleeping, laying around the house shirts. I have some old punk shirts with the sleeves cut off. That was the “fashion” years ago in the punk scene. It definitely looks cool on skinny people. I’m not so skinny anymore so I only wear those ones around the house or when I’m doing yard work. Never wear them in public. I’m also a huge hockey fan so I have some Pittsburgh Penguins t-shirts I wear mostly during hockey season. Some people wouldn’t consider that punk or whatever. I don’t care what they think.

Zach: Why do you think t-shirts and screen printing are such an integral part of punk rock and music as a whole?

Eric: I think it’s a way to show people who you are and what you feel or believe in. It’s a way to show allegiance to your favorite bands. It’s a statement. It’s a way to identify yourself to other like minded people or to set yourself apart from people you despise. In the non punk world I guess it could serve similar purposes. Or it could simply be a souvenir from a great concert you attended. I think band t-shirts and sports t-shirts must be the most popular type of shirts. Makes sense to me when you think about how fanatical music fans and sports fans are.

Zach: Have you ever given any thought to the manufacturing process of blank tees and the impact on the environment, society, or individual workers?

Eric: Oh yeah. I remember when I was in bands we’d always try to get shirts printed by local DIY punk types. The “small guy”. We would try to get made in the USA union made shirts to avoid sweatshop manufactured shirts. I remember the unbleached pure cotton type of shirts being popular. I’ll admit I didn’t like the way those looked though. That off white , tannish color was never appealing to me even though they more eco friendly.

Zach: Do you think transparency in the manufacturing process is more important than we currently emphasize? Why?

Eric: I love the fact that companies are more transparent these days. I think a client or customer should be well aware of how their product is being manufactured. Especially if it coincides with ethics the customer/client believes in or wants to project. I’d like to a lot more companies become transparent beyond just screen printing companies.