Earlier today Vanyaland’s Victoria Wasylak reported on Hard Rock Café’s unfortunate practice of selling t-shirts with the sexist and groupie-esque phrase “I’m With The Band” printed across the front. The shirts aren’t available in a boys’ cut, and they come in the color pink, reinforcing stereotypes that girls can’t, you know, actually be in the band and do their own bit of rocking the fuck out on stage.
Not too long after our article went live, Maine-born, New Hampshire-based rock and roll duo When Particles Collide responded to the Hard Rock Café’s poor sense of style with their own shirts, a line complete with a similar boxed-out design that reads “I’m In The Band.”
Well played, When Particles Collide.
“After today’s blow up about shirts, [guitarist/vocalist] Sasha [Alcott] and I decided we needed some new shirts,” drummer Chris Viner tells us. “You can buy them right on our website.”
Online, the band writes: “Sasha and Chris sat down today at lunch after seeing today’s earlier post from Vanyaland about the ‘I’m WITH the band’ shirt. Playing an average of 80-plus shows every year we can not tell you how many times someone was surprised that Sasha was IN the band and not WITH the band. Many of those same people at the end of the night would pay her the ‘compliment’ of ‘You are pretty good for a girl.’ So we decided to strike back in the best way we can right now.”
The trio of new shirts, which include “male presenting” and “female presenting” styles that read “Pretty Good For A Girl” with the “For A Girl” part scratched out, are featured prominently on the duo’s homepage. Which, we assume, is taking away prime real estate hyping their own music and upcoming shows, so we’ll return the favor and promote their sounds and upcoming gigs below.
Catch When Particles Collide at UnchARTed in Lowell this Friday then at Maine’s Unity College on November 19, and then at Central Gallery in Bangor on November 25. Details in the links. Also check out the band’s latest video, for “Fight” below.
