Distort - Rikk Agnew Shirt (Adolescents colour scheme)

Red print on blue Gildan heavy cotton. DISTORT sleeve print. Printed with Too Far Gone in Melbourne. 

Originally printed in 2011, this is the first Distort shirt, celebrating the Rikk Agnew special issue (#26). I only printed 20 copies - gave my own away to hungry childrens, I save life.

The artwork is based on the cover of the Rikk Agnew All By Myself album. Linda Taylor was the original artist of the hand drawn shirt Rikk wears on the cover and collaborated on the album. She contributed artwork for #26 and we used this to make Rikk a new shirt.

Here's an unedited interview with Linda for #26:

1. How did you know Rikk and how did it come about that you'd be doing the art for his solo record?

2. Did he ask for those designs in particular or were they all from your own initiative?

 

I met Rikk in late 1978 (?? lol) through another friend, the infamous Robert Omlit, who I had just met through yet some other people... I was almost 16 years old and was playing guitar in a rather lame cover band (gotta start somewhere) but had also just discovered punk rock and was making new friends. Robert asked me to play in the Omlits the first night we hung out and so that was how that happened. Rikk was one of the other "First Punks" of Orange County (kind of a suburb of Los Angeles) along with Robert and probably Scott Houghlin... but anyways, me and Rikk hit it off and kind of hung out now and then until some point where we were "together", but through most of the actual "Black Hole" days, I was doing whatever I wanted with anyone I wanted, as was he.... I was hanging out with Don Bolles of the Germs as his very underage girlfriend for about 5 months back in those days... lol, and it was a bit after this, maybe sometime in 1980 (?) that me and Rikk became or were more or less a couple and all that good stuff.

 

I had been drawing things and painting for a long time already and one day I just started doing things on T-Shirts and I liked the concept of handpainted, one-of-a-kind original t-shirts with my strange designs.... so I was making a lot of stuff and Rikk loved everything I did, as did a few other people who were pushing me to market them more, etc. but I just kind of liked making whatever... no pressure and for people who wanted something custom, there would be a small fee or whatever. Around the time that Rikk was writing and then recording "All By Myself" we were 100% together, best friends, lovers, pretty committed actually. The song "Everyday" was written for me. From the get-go, Rikk always wanted me to do whatever artwork he needed and the t-shirt on the cover was an early one, but one he really liked. I did two single covers for him too when he put out some stuff under "Rikk Agnew's Yard Sale"... its cool. He feels my artwork pretty much represents him and we have stayed good friends for a lot of years now... and he has been bugging me to draw him another shirt, as I have not really been doing much artwork projects as of late, but I am excited and honored to represent Rikk and he would really like me to create something for this... so I am totally on board.

 

3. Can you describe LA at the time?

 

Like I mentioned before, Rikk and me, Robert, Mike Ness, we all "came" from OC and not so much LA and there was stupid superiority complexes from LA people sometimes with regards to us punks from OC... you know, silly crap. But it was there and a lot of the LA punks thought you were not so hardcore if you were in OC, blah, blah, yeah right whatever. Of course mine and Rikk's and everyone's bands played in OC and LA and anywhere else we could and back then, the scene was pretty great for the most part. There were a lot of clubs you could play (unless you were the Germs lol) and from about 1979-1982 it was a totally awesome scene to be involved in. But drugs took over a lot of really cool people and I know for me, I took a step back from some people and things. But there were so many great bands and for many years, Rikk and I were everywhere and knew everyone. Rikk has always played in like multiple bands at once, and throughout 1980-1987 we were together.... it was a really, really cool time (for me) to be a teenager and playing in bands. It was a pretty crazy scene and I was one of the wilder ones!! LOL