The Locust

The first time I saw The Locust was at the “More Than Music” festival in Columbus, Ohio. I think it was 1998. The lineup for this event was stellar if you were into weird 90s underground bands who typically played tiny venues and house parties. There were a couple thousand folks in attendance and I remember the stage at this venue being really high and huge. Seeing bands like The Locust and His Hero Is Gone play such a big rock club was wild. The Locust seemed completely unfazed by the situation and proceeded to own the place like they were Queen playing Farm Aid in 1984. That is… if Queen sounded like Devo escaping a meth lab explosion.  I dig working with these guys.

I became a fan of Neil Burke’s graphically sound yet absurdist approach to design in the mid 90s as he played in and churned out album art for bands like Men’s Recovery Project, Born Against, and Life’s Blood. Neil played a big part in what would become a very influential fringe of the east coast hardcore/ punk scene as he worked with the much lauded Vermiform Records. Neil’s work has since appeared in galleries from New York to Berlin and has graced the covers of many timeless weirdo rock recordings.

I’ve always been drawn to Neil’s artwork on the cover of The Locust’s “Safety Second, Body Last” 12” and I remember looking for the image on a T-shirt long before we ever started producing tees. I didn’t find one, so (as is the punk way) we decided to make one ourselves. The black version of this shirt sold out quickly so we talked to Neil and the band and decided to offer this new red colorway. We hope you dig it. -Charles/ Bifocal Media 

LIMITED TO 100. Unisex printed on American Apparel heavy cotton tees.