"TURN THE VOLUME UP!" Tees
MERCH: A limited-edition Dada Strain shirt for the holidays, inspired by NYC's Mayor-elect, with proceeds going to local food-accessibility, trans culture and youth musicking organizations
Just in time for the holidays (and the City Hall inauguration of a meh-rapper, top-Gooner, and deeply inspiring young politician), Dada Strain rolls out a ltd-ed, one-print-run-only t-shirt to honor this multi-layered crossroads moment.
“TURN THE VOLUME UP!” was directly inspired by the instantly iconic words of defiance during the incoming New York mayor’s victory-night speech. To me, that phrase, a kind of popular music cliche (RIP Rob Reiner), aligns the glimmer of hope Zohran’s election has generated and the cultural energy this moment requires, with the participatory-musicking-as-community-building central to why Dada Strain exists. Designed by the mighty Miss Alicia for Dada Strain, the t-shirt is a historical marker, a call-to-arms, a musicking goof, and a senescentic listener’s lament.
The merch is also a fundraising venture for future Dada Strain projects, but one that also has community beneficiaries. Portions of the proceeds from the sale of “TURN THE VOLUME UP!” t-shirts will go to local organizations close to Dada Strain’s heart and home: CHiPS, a Bklyn community kitchen on Fourth Avenue; to Voluminous Arts, a Queens-based trans liberation and culture organization founded by the mighty Gavilán Rayna Russom; and to Willie Mae’s Rock Camp, a 20+ year-old young girls/femmes musicking institution that, under the recent guidance of LaFrae Sci from its Gowanus home, has instituted an electronics-heavy, future-sounds pedagogy. Please support all three!
The shirts are $35 plus tax/shipping when ordered through this Big Cartel site. (NOTE: International shipping may vary.) But if you’re in Bklyn/NYC, and attend shows, email dadastrainbklyn@gmail.com with sizes (S → 2XL) and address; I am happy to meet, hand-deliver, save postage, and shake hands. (If you haven’t figured it out, Dada Strain really is all about human interaction…) Details on the shirts can be found at the Big Cartel link. For comparison, they’re the exact same heavy cotton, Gildan tees I used for the first Dada Strain t-shirts. There’s 100 of them, and when they’re gone, they’re gone.
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