WE HAVE SHIRTS!

Wow - It was a long road, but I am totally stoked on the way the shirts came out, we are almost open for orders. Not only are they really fun to look at, but after last night's runway show (which we killed like no one else btw) we got to see the crowd's reaction to the first 10 pieces and blew everyone away. People went nuts, but not everyone 'got it'. Example - Here's a link to this crazy lady who attacks me on her blog. She goes off, everyone gets so into it, some pretty funny shit. I'm just glad we put it out there and sent our message across loud and clear. So what now? Well, we keep moving forward - that's what. We are a 3rd of the way there and we still have a ton of work ahead of us. Congratulations - Now back to work!

Salvation Army Contracts Merder Tees - Part 2

In an earlier post about a month ago I was approached buy the Salvation Army to design a shirt which had Jesus Christ on it & the theme of Blood & Fire, iconic for the Salvation Army. After weeks of going back and forth, we nailed it. It looks awesome. Few minor tweaks and we'll take it to vector and send them the file! Awesome hook up up for us - thanks Father Jon!

Merder 2.0 continues...

So there have been a few new developments. First off the new site is rolling along, All the pages are designed and we're coding/ animating it right now. Looks great! News - The team from Vancouver Fashion Week recently approached us to be a part of their 8 year gig. Pretty cool opportunity it'll be full of buyers, designers & retailers. They loved the line and are stoked to show it off in the annual show this November 4th 2008. VFW has a massive following and they sell out every year. All that great press coverage & the who's who's of west coast fashion. They were very cooperative too - in fact they gave me everything I asked for including the last spot to close the entire week! It's the bomb time slot at a show. Don't ask - don't get. So we're hitting the runway. Look for footage from that gig after the show. Crazy eh?

Our Slick new site is almost ready!

Time to go back to basics and re-design our site from scratch. My buddy Mark & I built the 1st one together. At this point we're pushing ourselves in a new direction and with the shirts already in full swing production, we need to be ready to accomodate both customers and all kinds of new people researching us etc. It's still edgy with a corporate side boasting some great new technology that will allow for our customers to manage their orders, sell online and promote our brand. Stoked to get this all built and launch it.

Wanted: Dread or Alive...

Who doesn't like Reggae music?! I have never met anyone who didn't like it- seriously? In August, 1983: Peter Tosh was the most popular reggae singer in the world (Bob Marley was dead). His credentials were myriad and impeccable. After all, he was a founding member of The Wailers with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer in 1964, in the Trenchtown slum of Kingston, Jamaica. He taught Bob Marley to play guitar!! He left the Wailers in 1975 to pursue a successful solo career which was peaking with the Mama Africa Tour of 82-84, which played every continent of the world except Antarctica. The circumstances surrounding his death were chilling. He once said in an interview, "Jah flows through me. We are responsible. I live music. It rises spontaneously from me. Compositions appear, mon. In the beginning there was the word. The word was Jah. The word is in I, Jah is in I. I make what is good, better, and what is better, best. I follow this in every aspect of life." [During the conversation, Tosh carefully cleaned, pruned and rolled a spliff the size of a banana. He lit it, blew a volcanic stream of smoke at the ceiling and smiled.] RIP PT.

J.F.K. = M.E.R.D.E.R.

Down to the last 2 shirts! YEAH! Second last is my version of the murder of J.F.K. It was tricky to design, after all we're talking Kennedy here. Not just any president, but the last respected president the USA has seen in along time. He often spoke of the truth about government secrecy & influence on the people of America. JFK had a lot on his plate. I wanted to portray the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jackie O, Lee Harvey Oswald (who was later murdered himself), The procession in the limousine & some good old Americana. Hard to believe there was once a time when people would listen to an articulate & intelligent President. Maybe that's why Barak Obama is such a refreshing alternative for America. On the other hand, wtf do I know?!...I live in Vancouver...meh.

Mighty Murdered Marvin...

I grew up a house that listened to Marvin Gaye pumping though our 2 speaker JVC 8 Track. In March of 1983, he gave his final performance in front of his old mentor and label for Motown 25, performing "What's Going On". He then embarked on a U.S. tour to support his album. The tour, ending in August 1983, was plagued by health problems and Gaye's bouts with depression, and fear over an attempt on his life. Then the tour ended, he isolated himself by moving into his parents' house. Marvin said he wished being famous had some useful function—such as preventing constipation. Gaye didn’t like being a celebrity. He thought it would destroy him. It eventually did. He threatened to commit suicide several times after bitter arguments with his father. On April 1, 1984, one day before his 45th birthday, Gaye's father shot him after an argument that started after his parents argued over misplaced business documents. Gaye was killed by a gun he had offered to his father as a gift. (Whoa! That part was creepy) Marvin Sr. was sentenced to six years of probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Charges of first-degree murder were dropped after doctors discovered Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor. Spending his final years in a retirement home, he died of pneumonia in 1998.