The Black Band Shirt

Confession: I own close to 100 band tees*.
Credit

The majority of these are in some shade of black. Besides being the color choice of Hot Topic clones everywhere, black is also the T-shirt color of choice for metal bands.

The question is why black?

In my so-not-professional opinion, it's because WHATEVER BAND NAME thinks they're badass**. They showcase their badassedry by wearing black shirts of their own to complement an influx of (sometimes badly drawn) Technicolor tats. Fans in turn, show their unwavering faith in WHATEVER BAND NAME with a band shirt. Generally in black.

Cred

Black is versatile and goes great with jeans--the other standard piece to any metal uniform. If you doubt me, walk into a Black Label Society*** show where the colors are black, white (for silkscreen purposes ONLY), and denim.

Clubs and other music venues are dark. Wearing a black tee aids in the average concert goer to blend with the night, like a ninja. This is also why if you just go to a club, you'll see a lot of black. Why there's sparkles, I can't explain.

When you wear the standard badass band uniform, you feel a bit like one yourself. It can be intimidating when paired with an obnoxious/ scary design or a scowl.

If our branding exercises at the 9-5 gig taught me anything I already knew, it's that colors pop more against black. It's an attention seeking method that makes the viewer do a double-take. It's chic. I know, if you're a die hard metalhead, you probably don't want to know this about yourself. Just pretend you didn't read this paragraph.

Now it's your turn. Tell me why black is the band color of choice. Also, stay tuned for tomorrow's blog entry where I'll probably shoot myself in the foot.


* At least 20 have "Aerosmith" emblazoned across the chest. With the demise of my fan contract, I only wear 2.
** Sometimes the bands are really badass and the fans, fucking crazy, but a lot of times not so much. 
*** I'm pretty sure that every BLS band member is badass, and therefore deserve the black uniform. Besides, it's in their name.
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Last.fm hit of the day: Devil in a Gucci Dress by Stoneman