HOPPING ON THE “BAND”WAGON
Do band t-shirts deserve a standing ovation or boos and jeers?
Tonight the music seems so loud
I wish that we could lose this crowd
Maybe it’s better this way
We’d hurt each other with the things we’d want to say
-George Michael, singer/songwriter
Band T-shirts: Love ‘em. Hate ‘em. People wear ‘em. Some do so because they’re fans; others because it’s a fashion statement.
About 80 PHS students recently responded to an online Prowl survey wherein they were asked if they had worn band T-shirts. About 52% voted yes and 48% voted no.
Sophomore Dane Lauritzen said he loves the band Nirvana and constantly listens to this iconic ‘90s grunge rock band.
“I wear my Nirvana shirts about two days a week at least; they are super comfy,” Lauritzen said.
“My all-time favorite band shirt has got to be my Nirvana sweatshirt. I probably know about 30-plus songs from the band,” Lauritzen added.
Lauritzen is seen expressing his love for the band Nirvana weekly. He is always listening to his top favorite songs.
“My three favorite songs that I constantly am listening to are Sappy, The Man Who Sold The World and In Bloom,” Lauritzen said.
But not every band T-shirt wearer is a dedicated fan. In fact, Sophomore Kenna Czirr admits she’s a fan of a famous band’s T-shirt and isn’t particularly well versed in their discography.
“I know maybe two songs from Rolling Stones, but I still wear the shirt,” Czirr said. “They are super cute and stylish.”
Freshman Liz Peterson regularly wears band T-shirts, and one of her favorites is her Misfits one.
“I got it at their concert in September of 2019,” said Peterson said, adding she probably knows about 30-40 songs from the band.
She said she’s perturbed when people wear a popular band band T-shirt but they can’t name a single hit from that group.
“When people don’t even know a single song about the band they are wearing, it’s annoying,” Peterson said. “You should at least know like, five songs at max.”
Similar to Peterson, junior Emma Bucher also religiously wears band T-shirts. Most of the time Bucher is looking “swaggy,” according to high school students.
“I wear my band shirts at least once or twice a week,” Bucher said. “I just love how versatile they are and how easy it is to make ‘fits’ with them.”
Bucher owns a handful of band shirts, so she could say she is quite experienced with the aesthetic that she’s going for.
“When kids wear band T-shirts like me, I get the feeling that they are super swaggy and will have super interesting conversations with me,” Bucher said. “On the other hand, they could be a total jerk and think that other people aren’t allowed to like the same bands as them.”