"Boston 1980 / Boots" Philin Phlash Men's Punk Shirt [Black]

[[ 2021 UPDATE: WE HAVE DONATED ALL OF OUR OLD GOOD ROAD T-SHIRTS TO BOSTON'S DORCHESTER ART PROJECT. https://www.dorchesterartproject.com/ IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, THEY MAY HAVE YOUR SIZE. You can find them at [email protected] and 1490 Dorchester Avenue (Field's Corner). They rock! ]]

Black short-sleeve t-shirt. Super-soft 100% cotton. Officially-licensed image. Men’s sizes only (for now).

Premium screen-printed front: durable and “breathable.” Good Road logo on upper back.

[Screen printing by One Off Apparel]

FIT: These are “fashion” fit, so if you are in-between sizes, go up instead of down. They will shrink *slightly* over time.

A portion of the profits from this shirt will be donated to BOSTON CARES.

Boston Cares is the largest volunteer action center in New England, mobilizing more than 25,000 volunteers annually in support of Greater Boston schools and non-profit agencies. Volunteer activity coordination includes: planting community gardens; serving meals to the homeless; cleaning parks; painting community centers; tutoring children; GED prep for adults; ushering at cultural performances; and many other activities. Boston Cares is a member of the HandsOn Network, an alliance of volunteer organizations working to transform individuals and communities through service and civic engagement, with affiliates in 250 U.S. and international locations.

For more information, please visit: www.BostonCares.org

PHILIN PHLASH is a social documentary photographer, born and raised in South Boston and Quincy, MA. He studied the art and history of photography at Mass College of Art in the late ‘70s and moved to Chicago in the late 1980s. He first became known for his evocative “in the pit” photographs which documented the burgeoning Boston punk and hardcore scenes in the early-to-mid ‘80s, but his work encompasses a wide range of “man-on-the-street” and portrait photography approaches. He is still active today behind the lens.

Find Phil at:
http://PhilinPhlash.Blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/philinphlash

Q&A WITH PHILIN PHLASH

Good Road Goods: What do you remember about the photo being used on this shirt?

Philin Phlash: It was taken at Streets in Allston, in 1980. I remember that I was getting kicked in the head a lot! [laughs]. I was right on the edge of the stage, which was a good place to photograph. But the room just erupted, all of a sudden, behind me. That pile you see in the photo came from behind me, in the pit, and traveled over me to get there on the stage [laughs].

GRG: Who was performing when that erupted?

Phlash: It might have been SSD, but it was probably Gang Green. Either way, Springa [lead singer of SSD and Phil’s younger brother] is in the middle there. If you follow the microphone cord you can see just a little bit of his face and the microphone. SSD was either on-stage at the time, or Gang Green was performing and Springa jumped on-stage and was singing with them.

GRG: What was your favorite club to shoot in back in the early ‘80s?

Phlash: Each place was different, honestly. Getting to the right spot in the club to shoot was always half the battle. It was a sonar type of thing for me, figuring out where I needed to be.

GRG: What rules did you follow when it came to being where you needed to be, then?

Phlash: Get to where you need to get to, and shoot without getting killed [laughs]. Once you’re there, take as many shots as you can before it got too crazy. I broke a lot of flashes and flash bulbs being in those situations, but thankfully never my camera. I didn’t want to be an observer, I wanted to be a participant. You needed to be in the middle of everything to get the best shots.

GRG: What do you like most about this shot?

Phlash: I like it because I was close to the action, but not too close. You get the texture and the tones, with the jeans and the boots and the faces. It was like shooting from the inside out. I was close enough to feel it, but not so close that what was going on in front of me got lost.

GRG: Did you ever jump into any of those pig-piles?

Phlash: It would have been fun, because those were just like the pig-piles when you were a kid. But I had a camera, so I couldn’t do it. I still felt like I was part of it, though. That kind of stuff, pig-piles and stage-diving, it was exhilaration. It was risky, it was a thrill. In the early days when it was going on, it was great. It didn’t get ugly until later.