Category: Interview

Showco shirts. We’ve all seen these legendary tops that were a staple at any given rock concert in the 70s. Their gritty quality and blue-collar wearers helped amplify bands worldwide. All the road warriors proudly wore these shirts and occasionally you would see a band member wearing one as well.  But where did they come from? Who made them? Why in the world are they so expensive collectible? Meet Jason Sprinzen. He’s a native New Yorker, Led Zeppelin junkie, guitar playing music lover. Oh yeah, he also owns the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Showco shirts. His knowledge ... Read more

Interview with Greg Link aka Bad Otis Link continued from part 10. Did Any of Your Tees Provoke Media Attention? Yeah, tons, especially when Punk was still shocking, not so safe like today. I saw a news show once on some psycho that slaughtered a bunch of people. They were going through the guy’s house showing all of the disturbing junk in his house. I saw a few of my shirts hanging on his walls. People were pissed all the time, but that’s what we were trying to do back then, it was PUNK rock!!! While I was doing the ... Read more

Interview with Greg Link aka Bad Otis Link continued from part 9. Was Screen Stars Your Brand of Choice? Really, I hated Screen Stars, but they were the budget promo shirt of the time. The only thing worse than a Screen Stars was a Pakistani import that came in bales like hay. Screen Stars were cheap, so we used them if the bands wanted to save money (or in most cases didn’t have any.) Sometimes they were all you could get, too. There were t-shirt shortages in the ’80s. Companies like Disney were hoarding and buying all that the mills ... Read more

Interview with Greg Link aka Bad Otis Link continued from part 8. What Were Your Best Selling Tees? It probably wasn’t a punk band shirt but in same the vein. In ’82 I did a shirt that said “Reagan Hates Me” I ran an ad in National Lampoon magazine for 700 bucks and made enough off that shirt to buy all of my real printing equipment. That shirt sold for years and was of course heavily bootlegged. Another, that is still being copied today, I did when everyone was moaning about the 5 year anniversary of Elvis’s death. I am ... Read more

Interview with Greg Link aka Bad Otis Link continued from part 7. Mouse + the Dead, Pushead + Metallica, Bad Otis + ? I don’t know if that one really applies to me. I did the artwork for so many different bands but never always one. I did a lot for the Chili Peppers from the beginning and the ten years that followed. But others did too, so it wasn’t an exclusive thing. I just printed it all. I was the default artist in a sense. The band would put stuff off and at the last minute would just say, ... Read more