Iwrestledabearonce’s ‘Gay’ Shirt Inspired by Blog Comment
The first time you hear the brutal grindcore-influenced chaos of Iwrestledabearonce, you don't know how strange they are -- until maybe you see one of their T-shirts. A great example of this is their 'Metal Just Got Gay' shirt, with the message written in bold rainbow foil colors, inspired by a random comment on MetalSucks.
"Someone named like 'fetuseaterpigdestroyer666,' you know, 'Ihategod420,'" guitarist Steven Bradley told Noisecreep. "[MetalSucks] posted a review of a show or EP or something that was praising it. There were some good comments, some bad -- and then there was 'Metal just got gay.' It's like, 'Wow, that's f---ing great! Let's put that in rainbow letters on a T-shirt.'"
Bradley continued, "We didn't think anyone would buy it. It was just kind of to f--- with this one kid on the Internet, because we're all such douchebags." But the shirt's first printing sold out, and potential customers kept asking for it. "So we just keep printing it, two years later. Who would've thought? It's our biggest selling shirt."
Vocalist and handbag maker Krysta Cameron was glad that people didn't take offense to the shirt's message. "At least people have humor," she said. "It's good that if people had a bad day, we can put a smile on their face."
Bradley was happy that MetalSucks supported them so early in the band's career, but is annoyed at the negative attitude that blog commenters have. "Even if I wasn't on tour doing this, I wouldn't spend my free time talking s--- about people doing things on the Internet," Bradley said. "I just don't understand that. It blows my mind.
"It's like, 'You don't have anything better to do with your free time?' The Internet is a great tool to find music, but when all you do is use it to do like, 'S--- I gotta check the newest blogs to comment and let people know how f---ing angry I am!' It's like, get some hobbies. Oh well. Whatever makes them happy I guess. Somebody's got to do it."
Iwrestledabearonce will be touring the U.S. in September with Chelsea Grin and the Chariot.