Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Cro-Mags shirt collection


When it comes to the Cro-Mags, there are tons of shirt designs out there. Some great, some not so great. Here are a few favorite Cro-Mags shirts from my collection.


Probably my second favorite Cro-Mags design, the "Best Wishes" Lord Nrsimhadeva shirt is a total full color Mags classic. Based on the story of a half man half lion incarnation of Lord Krishna that appears out of nowhere to save a saintly little boy from his demonic father, this is one hell of a gory piece of art. Comes complete with the simple "Down But Not Out '89" on the back. This one gets two thumbs up from me.


The 1991 European Tour longsleeve isn't quite as loud as the original full color "Best Wishes" design, but the Cro-Mags logo going down the left sleeve definitely ads a nice touch. I think the white print Nrsimhadeva artwork with the red Cro-Mags logo works pretty well too. The back is simple like the '89 tour shirt, but this one drops all the cities and dates on it. A little odd to see a Navy Blue Cro-Mags shirt, but I'm stoked to have it.


This is definitely a newer Mags shirt, or at least from the 1994-1995 John Bloodclot, AJ Novello, Mackie era of the band. I can't remember the name of the club that I saw them play when I bought this shirt, but I'm pretty sure it was in the ghetto of Newark, New Jersey. Believe it or not, the crowds for this era were pretty slim, but that didn't stop me and a handful of other Jersey guys from making it out to every show they played. I remember someone with the band inconspicuously pulling out these shirts and all of us not so inconspicuously buying up everything they had. Obviously not the coolest Cro-Mags shirt ever made, but I've always liked the simplicity of the pocket print logo on the front and the re-vision of the classic "Age Of Quarrel" mushroom cloud artwork on the back. Revenge.

This one here, unfortunately, is not mine, but a contribution from DCXX reader and ex-Youth Crew roadie, Navy Jim. Jim said he picked this shirt up in Brooklyn, NY at a L'Amour show in 1986. The only memories Jim had about the show were that Nuclear Assault played and that he went to the show with Mike Judge and a few other friends. Jim said there was something special about seeing the Cro-Mags at L'Amour and that they were always intense there.

This particular shirt is one that I've been searching for forever, so if anyone out there has one and is looking to unload, sell or trade it, get in touch, I'll be eternally grateful. -Tim DCXX TimDCXX@gmail.com

17 comments:

-cja said...

Studio 1 = ghetto club in Newark, New Jersey. that was a great show.

Anonymous said...

cool pic of members of motorhead and onslaught. the guy on the left is wearing a 'mags shirt:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=106719491&albumID=1573217&imageID=912086

Brett Hardware said...

That was the show Pat DBNO punched Kevin Short in the face and he ripped his sweathsirt off trying to kill him.

lenny zimkus said...

jj also booted some dude sitting on the stage by kicking him in the back.

Anonymous said...

I've got that Pipeline show on tape.

Brett Hardware said...

Yes, that dude flew like a chip shot field goal attempt.

Anonymous said...

That 'Best Wishes' shirt is a serious contender for Best T-shirt I Ever Had (runner up: the classic Underdog shirt). I wore it so often it became literally threadbare-- the threads became too thin to support the ink, which began flaking off. Subsequent Best Wishes shirts, even 'official' ones, have been crappy digital prints.

Anonymous said...

wouldn't that revenge shirt be from the harley mags era? they released an album under the same name.

Tom Brose said...

I remember Paul Schlachter having a Cro Mags shirt, maybe 87 or so. Picture similar to the revenge design, but it said "faggots and corruption surround us" Not to PC. Anyone seen these before?

Unknown said...

The "Revenge" shirt was definitely from the 94-95 era JJ Mags. Harley didn't put out that "Revenge" record until 2000.

Lars said...

Does anyone remember the "Crush the Demoniac" poster they made? They came out sometime after "Age of Quarrel" but before John left the band and "Best Wishes". I've only seen one of them. They were printed on yellowish paper that looked like parchment and had Krshna-inspired art on it sort of like the "Best Wishes" cover. Always wondered what the story was with those. I've never seen one on E-bay or anywhere else...

Zach Brown said...

They were selling reprints of those AOQ ills of society in the mushroom cloud shirts at the shows they played a few weeks ago.

Art O said...

Was at the Lamours show in 86! Still have the ticket stub..Insane and fun at the same time. Been looking for the video, it exists, for years. Must of flipped off the stage a hundred times that night. One of my all time favorite shows!

Anonymous said...

It is also interesting to see the abortion and homosexual references removed in the revenge shirt.
also...
The revenge shirt looks like it has an ipod right in the center!

mundo cruel90 said...

i have the best whishes!!!! this band are awsonw!!!!!

Emil said...

I want that 'revenge' shirt! *thumbs up*

Unknown said...

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