I wish I was a great creator of images like Wyatt. His artwork and designs were incredible.
I was working on our Music Festival collection last month, creating designs inspired by my days attending music festivals and jam band concerts as a patron. They play off of the heady and trippy culture I love so much.
A nod to the gear I sport, and the attire I see others wearing as I cruise through the lot, or shuffle through a sea shoeless, spinning, dancers in the crowd.
While looking for inspiration in old photos from festivals, band merch from shows, and gig posters we have hanging in our house, I came across a photo I took of the Sharpie they gave out at Wyatt’s celebration.
I immediately went to my desk where I keep the Sharpie and pulled it out. And it just clicked (pun not intended. This Sharpie has a cap).
I spent a lot of my early life going to festivals and shows. I still love them, and attend when I can. Right now all of our money is dedicated to Billy Strings and Run the Jewels. We love you BILLY and RTJ!
So my original inspiration for the Music Festival collection was heavily influenced by a culture of color, vibrance, and loud, if you will.
While looking at the Sharpie I thought about Shaynee and about Wyatt. I started thinking of all the adventures I had with them. In the moment of reflection, I realize that I have spent more time working shows at this point in my life than attending them.
The world I operated in the last decade in was behind the scenes. It was filled with stage managers and crew, lighting designers and sound engineers, guitar techs, tour managers and bus drivers, and artist transportation and hospitality.
The style of clothing is much different from the heady/trippy vibe.
Think about a show you’ve attended in the last year, or EVER. Have you ever seen the crew load in the heaviest gear imaginable in cases to set up, and then stay to watch them breakdown and pack up? Or have you seen the lighting/sound engineers programming and lugging their gear?
Ever noticed the photographers moving around the crowd, snapping frames and capturing moments? No way you’ve seen managers – they’re in the back working on payment, next stops for the performer and more.
Maybe you’ve seen the techs come on stage to trade instruments with an artist, or noticed them on the side of the stage tuning and working. Perhaps you have seen flashlights in the background illuminating a path for artists to follow as they come-and-go from the stage.
The answer to these questions is most likely NO. And that’s OK. They are the invisible inventors and mechanics that make your experience possible. And the gear they typically rock is most definitely NOT heady or trippy.
There are a lot of black t-shirts, black shorts, black pants, black dresses, and black shoes.
I stopped working on the Music Festival collection, and instead created something for the invisible inventors and mechanics. The creators of the crowd’s experience. The ones that make it heady and trippy. The people I spent the last decade of my life around
It is very personal, to be honest. I used Wyatt’s love for markers and sketched The Bo-Hawg™ name and Pig Fish out using a Sharpie.
The sketches are raw, filled with blank spaces where I didn’t go back and fill in areas all the way, or imperfect shapes made of lines that are too long, or jagged. It’s a real sketch. Just like you might do while doodling.
The design is imperfect. Or perfect, depending on how you look at it, I guess.
I digitized the sketches. Then I found the image of Dave MF Wyatt written in Sharpie that he had made and was given out at his celebration. I cleaned it up and made it high quality.
And to be honest, it isn’t really a collection. I printed a bunch of shirts for my
Originally, for those that knew Wyatt, I created merch and sent it to them with an alternate design. I put The Bo-Hawg™ text on the front of the t-shirt and the Pig Fish on the back. Where the O.G.design typically has the name written underneath the Pig Fish, I put Dave MF Wyatt — in his original writing.
I did a few hoodies, too. Those have the Pig Fish on the front, Dave MF Wyatt on the right sleeve, and The Bo-Hawg™ on the left.
I probably sent out about 20, a mixture of tees and hoodies. People LOVED the design. I wore my shirt to Governors’ Ball and had a ton of people ask me about it. The same thing happened when we were in Vegas for Dead and Company’s shows at The Sphere.
I realized while everyone might not understand the Dave MF Wyatt part, the simplistic color scheme – black and white – and sketching style is dope. It just is. It’s classic.
So, I printed up some more and sent them out to friends, and friends-of-friends that operate in that world. That grind it out so they can help the artists create a show that blows the mind of concert goers.
I did a large order of t-shirts, and have some extras. A lot of people in the merch business will call a small amount a “limited run.” Sounds sexy, but these are simply extras.
If people really like them, maybe we can do a reprint and make a truly limited collection. But for now, all we have are the extras.
I feel good selling these. A nice introduction between my pops and Wyatt, since they never met while on this earthly plane. It is a true design that moves toward the goal of evolving the Pig Fish.
For those that capture one of these t-shirts, in the words of Dave MF Wyatt
“Thank you SO hard.”
P.S. – If you are a friend of Wyatt’s, we can get you some merch. They are made-to-order, so it takes a minute. All proceeds of your purchase will go to the organization we support, Evermore. The only way to access this item is through the link on this blog, and entering Wyatt’s Instagram handle as the password when prompted.
