• 145 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    Here and there lately, folks have been mentioning some of the great T-shirts they picked up on tour and elsewhere. Several decades having passed in many cases, the shirts are no longer with us. Which ones did you wear till they fell apart, accidentally leave behind at the campground, give to your best friend, or otherwise part with, and now you'd really like to find another one?

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  • lotshirtproject
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    Joined:
    I'm working on a project…

    I'm working on a project where I want to attempt to archive Grateful Dead bootleg lot shirts. I would like to create a print publication as well as a website celebrating the lot bootleg shirt. I would also like to document the stories and lore behind the shirts. I would love to hear any stories about anyone funding their tour by selling shirts, stories from shirt creators, any crazy Dead bootleg story (favorite shirt, shirts tha led to introductions, crazy adventures, etc... Feel free to send me any pictures, stories, ideas, suggestions, etc.. Thanks! Peace.

  • marye
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    awesome story!
    now that's a shirt with history.
  • Chris D
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    Dead T-Shirt Story

    No exactly a T-shirt I wish I had (I still have the shirt) but a Dead T-shirt Story nonetheless. After leaving the closing of JFK in Philly I returned to the spot the Dead heads in my town had claimed for our own (Under 95 at FDR park) only to find one of the girls from my school suffering bad from alcohol, heat, etc. While not exactly with it, I was with it more then the guys trying to help her. The boy scout in me takes my T-shirt off, dunks it into a cooler of ice and wraps it around her bed. Next some water and she was coming around. Now I have no shirt. So i find a nice patch of grass in center field of one of the ball parks to watch the sky move. 2 ball fields away I spot a girl with shirts. I bought one. A simple shirt with a stenciled Bear. 5 years later the Girl that made the shirt grabs me at a capital center show and says thats my shirt. She remembered our encounter years earlier. I wore that shirt when my first son was born. it sits in a box with the Instant breakfast stain still on it from my brother -in-law's frantic drive of my wife to the hospital to give birth to my son. I have no intention of ever letting that shirt go as it reminds me of the 2 best days of my life. Yes the JFK show was that awesome. By the DVD-Crimson and Indigo-I only wish they had included Jerry saying F the fine we are playing late as the condemned (that morning) venue was literally falling down around us.

  • Chris D
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    Dead T-Shirt Story

    a

  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    “They’re Dead Jim!”

    Star Trek crew looking into the entrance of a Dead show. The famous line from Bones (Deforest Kelly) “They’re dead Jim”

  • CrissyT
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    Hot Air Balloon Shirt

    I have this in medium. You can have it for free...

  • Way Out West
    Joined:
    Elusive, little, tiny Grateful Dead records...

    Still searching for pictures, confirmation, conversation about some of the rarer, (or perhaps non-existent), Grateful Dead & related US 45's from the 60's & 70's... One More Saturday Night/Cassidy Stock-Copy? - Anthem of the Sun Radio Spots? Test Pressing/PROMO Pressing of the rumored 2nd 45 release from the 1st Dead LP - Sittin' on Top of the World / Minglewood Blues? - Happiness is Drumming/Razooli from the Diga Rhythm Band LP? Been chasing these records, and rumors of these records for decades now. Closest I have come is a release number for the Round Records single from the Diga Rhythm Band LP... anyone else out there to share details???

  • digiskel
    Joined:
    To share designs that I miss…

    To share designs that I miss immensely, the 1st is the 20th anniversary 1985 tour "patriot skeleton" design, Which was also used as the backdrop banner for the grateful dead on stage in Cincinnati that summer.

    The 2nd shirt design which I have never seen again is from the 90s.
    In Louisville Kentucky there was a "Tom Sawyer going down the river on a raft" Tour shirt.
    Yes I had it, yes I wore it out!
    I would love to have that shirt again!

  • bozokarl
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    Joined:
    Calvin and Hobbes shirt

    I have a custom painted shirt my friend Big Mike made for me in '94. On the right shoulder was a small Calvin & Hobbes in their wagon coming at you, in the center was a big side view of C & H in the wagon, and on the lower left side they were small again going away from you. Across the top it said "enjoyin' the ride". I still have the shirt but the sleeves are gone, it's really ragged, and won't fit any more.

  • memphis mike
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    my favorite was acquired…

    my favorite was acquired late in life. it was a Beverly Hillbillies shirt saying let's get back to Tennessee Jed I got at the Memphis shows. it finally just fell apart after many wears. at 2003 Bonarroo we were approached by a guy who said , "hey, that's my shirt. I made that shirt." wish I had another one now.

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17 years 5 months
Here and there lately, folks have been mentioning some of the great T-shirts they picked up on tour and elsewhere. Several decades having passed in many cases, the shirts are no longer with us. Which ones did you wear till they fell apart, accidentally leave behind at the campground, give to your best friend, or otherwise part with, and now you'd really like to find another one?
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7 years 2 months
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I do not know how many of you are on Instagram, but there is an account that collects and sells old vintage Dead shirts. The catch is that some can get very pricey (as expected when it comes to vintage Dead march, especially licensed items). His Instagram handle is @deadshaman.supply. I highly recommend checking him out if you are searching for something. His inventory is always updated frequently so luck may be in your favor. Here is the link to his easy shop for those who do not use Instagram. https://www.etsy.com/shop/DeadShamanSupply?ref=l2-shopheader-name Good luck on your search! I hope this helps!
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6 years 9 months
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I have a shirt that has dead bears tailgating. Has ny 7 vs wash 7 on the back. I cant seem to find it anywhere. It is a bit beat up holes through the back but was wondering if there is value and if anybody may be lookin for a shirt like it. I love it but if someone went to this event it belongs with them ya know.
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6 years 8 months
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Does anyone remember the Ed Donohue shirts. One of my favorites was the "Estimated Prophet". I still have several different ones that Ed did. I can't find information on the names of the artwork that Ed put on the shirts except the Estimated Profit. Anyone have any ideas where I might find that info.Thanks in advance for any help.
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10 years 8 months
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I still have my original Stanley Mouse Europe '81 Skull In The Sand T-shirt.I've long since packed it away, as it's too frail to survive another wearing or washing.
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10 years 8 months
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I had just purchased the "No Jim, they're Dead" Star Trek T-shirt in the lot at Alpine Valley in the mid 80's.It was scorching hot, so I looped the shirt through my belt behind me so I wouldn't have to carry it. While going through the bottleneck at the gate, I felt a sharp tug, and it was gone. Cheeky Monkey.....I hope you at least took care of it.
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8 years 3 months
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I used to have a nice stash of weed-themed shirts.One was a Zig-Zag shirt that I got for "free" by mailing in a bunch of empty paper packets. One I got at the Ann Arbor Hash Bash. It was a leftover from a different, similarly themed event in Columbus so it only cost $3. One was from a really cool head shop in Grand Rapids called Purple East. One was a red-eyed Scooby Doo begging for a Scooby snack with obvious implications. They were all folded and stacked in the top right corner of my closet when our roof started leaking . . . right into my closet. :( Of all of my shirts to get ruined, it had to be those 4.
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15 years 9 months
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Looking forI followed the Boys in 2009 from Wilkes Barre to Denver....7 shows in 12 days!! In Hartford, I purchased 2nd row tickets from dead.net through the charity auction. I got a signed tour poster signed by all the members...plus Warren Haynes. It was my most prized possession!!! About 6 months ago, my home was burglarized and 3 things were stolen.....cash, my college class ring, and my Dead poster. I literally weeped. I don't care about the class ring but I am desperate to replace my poster. I'm hoping a FAMILY member can help me out? Maybe you and your partner got two posters? I am willing to pay a "more than fair price" to replace it!!! PLEASE HELP!! Todd in Denver. PEACETerms of Service
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9 years 2 months
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Always looking for donations/bargains on dead and non dead related bootleg material. cheers
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13 years 11 months
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Anyone remember the copy of the "First bootleg stealy" that was in the GD store many years ago? It was a cream color shirt with a simple skull stealy logo on it. Claimed it was a copy of a parking lot T shirt that was for sale in the 70's? I kinda like one now. LOL. Thanks guys.
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9 years 9 months
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...and lived the next town over, a mere jump across the river. It was Santana, and because of his recording contracts, you couldn't bring in a deck and there wasn't a tapers section. Got a poster of that show on the wall in the den matter of fact, with said frog jumping off a SYF lily pad. My greatest bootleg t-shirt score was scored at the Frost! Frost Amphitheater in Stanford CA has roses everywhere....the t-shirt was pale blue with a column of American Beauty roses climbing up a vine from the bottom of the t-shirt straight up to the heart. Intermingled within the roses on the vine were little SYF skulls. I wore the heck out of that t-shirt which regrettably has disappeared over the years.
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5 years 4 months
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Found a blue dyed with day and night Fiddler. Was supposed to be for the NYC Madison Square Gardens show in December 1995. As we all know that show never happened. It’s with all of the other retired shirts.

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4 years 10 months

In reply to by JimmeyV

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Hey were those shirts handmade? Do you recall what type of process? Were those maybe printed and airbrushed? I know an Ed that used to screen print then hand color and partially airbrush they are stunning and unique.

I lived in the same town as Ed in upstate New York. I was recently thinking the Grateful Ed T-shirts would make good Christmas presents, but alas, they are so hard to find. Are you selling any? Probably not. I just messaged his sister and asked her if she had any info on how to get one. And suggested she start reproducing them! They relly should be archived somehow.

Elle, I am also looking for re-releases of Ed’s screen printed tie dyes. I am thankful that I was able to pick one up, on lot at Jones Beach Arena, 2003; being sold by Ed’s brother and niece. They had stacks of shirts left by Ed, who had recently been taken by cancer... The shirt design I got is called “Wherefore Art Thou?” featuring a skeleton by the seashore, arms outstretched under moonlight and clouds. It was a good match for how the evening looked there at the waterside.

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4 years

In reply to by JimmeyV

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JIMMEYV, Was Estimated Prophet the one with a skeleton holding a heart-shaped rose wreath? I think I have an old sticker of that... I remember one called “Real Eyez”, a SYF type skull with a star inside, a cluster of roses at the bottom of the skull. I used to wear one of those, thanks to a high school friend...
I believe there was an “Unbroken Chain”...
The one with a rose garland crowned skull in profile, hand up-stretched to a sun surrounded ‘water bird’ was possibly called “Peyote Bird”.
We really need to have reprints of these to circulate in the community: especially since originals can fetch many hundreds of dollars.

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4 years 6 months
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Yesterday was the anniversary of pig’s death. I always think about his powerful bluesy soul and my lovely lost pig batik tee I got in ATL. I usually wore it on his anniversary. I miss you pig and I miss the tee!

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5 years 10 months
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A friend knew someone from BGP. She obtained a Dylan and the Dead Day of the Green staff only shirt from him and gave it to me. I was over the moon! But then only a few months later, it was in the cleaned laundry I had in the front seat of my car in a Blockbuster video parking lot where I had parked for the day because I used to work nearby. Someone broke into my car and had been trying to steal my cassette player from my dash (in broad daylight!) and in their hurry, must’ve grabbed my laundry so they’d have more room to work. They didn’t get the player- but they didn’t just throw my laundry to the ground- they took it- including that prized shirt! I recently discovered someone is selling one on EBay for $400. I’m sentimental- but not THAT sentimental (plus the one being sold wouldn’t fit me)- but that’s one I was always sorry to lose! (Also, a Club Dead and a Club Ed t).

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3 years 7 months
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I had a shirt made by Kamikazee that I got at a Eugene show that I LOVED! It was a skeleton kid in Mickey Mouse ears waving at the viewer. Super fun shirt. Lost along the way somewhere! My other favorite was one I got at Laguna Seca. It wasn’t Dead specific but had a screen of this famous sideshow performer stretching out his cheeks! It was a fun and weird shirt hat I loved!

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7 years 8 months
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My Calvin and Hobbes tees were my favorite, had one with them dancing across a log over a stream and it read, "Sometime We Live No Particular Way But Our Own", also my favorite song. Lost it camping at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and I now commit myself to never wearing my favorite tees while camping. Probably had over 50 tees total that I lost while moving. So bummed. Chateau Dead from the Greek shows, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Years, New Years Eve, the list goes on

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17 years 4 months
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My shirt burned in the 1991 firestorm, and the only one I've found since was a bad knockoff.... I miss that shirt! If I had a clean version of the art, I'd print my own! (I'm a t-shirt printer)

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13 years 8 months
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I wore out my Red Rocks 1982 t-shirt in about a year. Soon after that I was working at Apple and someone had a silk screen proof of that shirt tacked to his wall - with a boot print on it! I admired it of course, and when he left Apple he gave it to me. It is now framed with archival glass and is a most treasured possession. I reached out to David Lundquist - the artist - and we have become friends. Calico was a friend of his as well. That weekend in 1982 changed my life in so many ways. It is one among so many Grateful Dead miracles.

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16 years 4 months
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Bought this one in a parking lot of hotel in Vegas 1992. Came with a Nuclear Free Zone sign stolen from City of Berkeley. Unfortunately still have the sign, but not the shirt.

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7 years
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In 1969, a clever student at Clark University printed a handful of Jerry t-shirts. I was lucky enough to get one, which I wore till it finally looked like Swiss cheese. The image consisted of Jerry holding his arms aloft ala Schwartzennegger. The creator of the shirt — I regret that I don’t remember his name — presented the shirt to Jerry, who replied in thanks, “Great shirt. I’ll have to give it to my wife.”

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14 years 4 months
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It was a plain black t-shirt with a white graphic: a moonlit road, a truck with the Dead logo in the distance and a skeleton with tire marks across it lying in the foreground. On top it read "Grateful Dead. On the Road '78."

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16 years 4 months
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Boy do I wish I still had this shirt. I remember putting it in the laundry and it never came back. I have no idea for sure what happened to this shirt, but I have suspicions. I still have my first one, it's a S kull & Roses that has to be one of the first. It's too frazzled to wear, but I still display it proudly.

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17 years 4 months
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Soft dark blue cotton with a white skull & roses. That's it. And it got better as it aged.

Oh to be able to get another one!

Hint, hint GD Store

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15 years 8 months
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my favorite was acquired late in life. it was a Beverly Hillbillies shirt saying let's get back to Tennessee Jed I got at the Memphis shows. it finally just fell apart after many wears. at 2003 Bonarroo we were approached by a guy who said , "hey, that's my shirt. I made that shirt." wish I had another one now.

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17 years 4 months
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I have a custom painted shirt my friend Big Mike made for me in '94. On the right shoulder was a small Calvin & Hobbes in their wagon coming at you, in the center was a big side view of C & H in the wagon, and on the lower left side they were small again going away from you. Across the top it said "enjoyin' the ride". I still have the shirt but the sleeves are gone, it's really ragged, and won't fit any more.

user picture

Member for

16 years 10 months
Permalink

To share designs that I miss immensely, the 1st is the 20th anniversary 1985 tour "patriot skeleton" design, Which was also used as the backdrop banner for the grateful dead on stage in Cincinnati that summer.

The 2nd shirt design which I have never seen again is from the 90s.
In Louisville Kentucky there was a "Tom Sawyer going down the river on a raft" Tour shirt.
Yes I had it, yes I wore it out!
I would love to have that shirt again!

user picture

Member for

7 years 5 months
Permalink

Still searching for pictures, confirmation, conversation about some of the rarer, (or perhaps non-existent), Grateful Dead & related US 45's from the 60's & 70's... One More Saturday Night/Cassidy Stock-Copy? - Anthem of the Sun Radio Spots? Test Pressing/PROMO Pressing of the rumored 2nd 45 release from the 1st Dead LP - Sittin' on Top of the World / Minglewood Blues? - Happiness is Drumming/Razooli from the Diga Rhythm Band LP? Been chasing these records, and rumors of these records for decades now. Closest I have come is a release number for the Round Records single from the Diga Rhythm Band LP... anyone else out there to share details???

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17 years 4 months
Permalink

Star Trek crew looking into the entrance of a Dead show. The famous line from Bones (Deforest Kelly) “They’re dead Jim”

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4 years 1 month
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No exactly a T-shirt I wish I had (I still have the shirt) but a Dead T-shirt Story nonetheless. After leaving the closing of JFK in Philly I returned to the spot the Dead heads in my town had claimed for our own (Under 95 at FDR park) only to find one of the girls from my school suffering bad from alcohol, heat, etc. While not exactly with it, I was with it more then the guys trying to help her. The boy scout in me takes my T-shirt off, dunks it into a cooler of ice and wraps it around her bed. Next some water and she was coming around. Now I have no shirt. So i find a nice patch of grass in center field of one of the ball parks to watch the sky move. 2 ball fields away I spot a girl with shirts. I bought one. A simple shirt with a stenciled Bear. 5 years later the Girl that made the shirt grabs me at a capital center show and says thats my shirt. She remembered our encounter years earlier. I wore that shirt when my first son was born. it sits in a box with the Instant breakfast stain still on it from my brother -in-law's frantic drive of my wife to the hospital to give birth to my son. I have no intention of ever letting that shirt go as it reminds me of the 2 best days of my life. Yes the JFK show was that awesome. By the DVD-Crimson and Indigo-I only wish they had included Jerry saying F the fine we are playing late as the condemned (that morning) venue was literally falling down around us.

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1 year 6 months
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I'm working on a project where I want to attempt to archive Grateful Dead bootleg lot shirts. I would like to create a print publication as well as a website celebrating the lot bootleg shirt. I would also like to document the stories and lore behind the shirts. I would love to hear any stories about anyone funding their tour by selling shirts, stories from shirt creators, any crazy Dead bootleg story (favorite shirt, shirts tha led to introductions, crazy adventures, etc... Feel free to send me any pictures, stories, ideas, suggestions, etc.. Thanks! Peace.