The Story Behind A…
$ 3,000 Suicidal Tendencies
Button Down Up Sale

A friend of mine for over 30 years, Dan Clements of EXCEL, is selling something that he never thought he would – his hand-drawn Suicidal Tendencies button down created by Ric Clayton RxCx is up for auction on Ebay for $3,000. I know that many people reading this will say, why so much? Because this is really a one of a kind piece of punk rock history. Back in the day, having a shirt created by Rick was way more than just a badge of honor! These shirts were just as important to us as a biker’s cut is. If I had the money, I would buy it from from Dan and then put it in the L.A. Punk Museum. Read a recent interview with Dan below, plus check out the details behind this auction…Venice for LIFE!

100% AUTHENTIC, ORIGINAL OWNER, ORIGINAL HAND DRAWN SUICIDAL TENDENCIES BUTTON UP DRESS SHIRT. THE SAME ONE WORN ON THE LEGENDARY 1983 DEBUT ALBUM, THIS ONE IS DISPLAYED ON THE BACK COVER IN ALL IT’S GLORY. ARTWORK BY RxCx aka RIC CLAYTON, WHO CREATED THE ENTIRE VENICE DOGTOWN SUICIDAL IMAGES THAT STAND THE TEST OF TIME. THIS PIECE WAS ON IT’S WAY TO THE LOS ANGELES PUNK ROCK MUSEUM BUT DUE TO A PERSONAL EMERGENCY, I MUST SELL THIS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER. INCLUDED IN THIS AUCTION IS THE ORIGINAL FIRST OFFICIAL RELEASED T-SHIRT 1982 AND THE VERY FIRST STICKER 1981. THIS IS A ONE OF A KIND AUCTION NEVER TO BE REPEATED. I HAVE HELD ON TO THIS MEMORY FOR OVER 30 YEARS AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS AN ORIGINAL HAND DRAWN SUICIDAL SHIRT LEFT OF THAT ERA…Words from the seller…

Dan Clements Interview via Noisey

Noisey: We got in touch because you’re auctioning off a piece of hardcore history. Can you give me the backstory on that photo shoot and the backstory on the shirt in the auction?
Dan Clements: This shirt was hand drawn by Ric Clayton, AKA RxCx. Ric did the majority of the hand drawn shirts but on the debut Suicidal album. Glen Friedman chose a variety of representations showing a range of styles. But a RxCx version was the one you wanted.

The photo shoot was orchestrated by Glen. As the manager for Suicidal and producer, he set up the photo shoot and even had Black Flag come and play a west LA day time backyard party to insure a solid turn out. No one was gonna miss a Black Flag performance. The only stipulation was that everyone had to come with their representation of Suicidal. Ric and our friend Art Gardia were the first of the Venice punx to go full English peace punk style via Discharge, GBH, and Varukers with spiked painted leather jackets and super big spiked hair. I have known Ric since the 4th grade and he was always involved with cutting edge styles.

Over the years, the shirts have become pretty iconic. Aside from your own, were there any shirts featured on the album that were owned or drawn by members of Suicidal, Excel, or anyone else noteworthy?
The artistic contributions came from the artistically inclined individuals within the scene. On the album, the sickest most badass designs came from RxCx, Art Gardia, Mike Frasier, and Dave Kasin. Those artist shad their finger on the trigger when it came to putting the soundtrack in the form of a drawing on a shirt. But I would say Ric Clayton was the main artist that gave that “Suicidal” image.

For most of America, the first Suicidal album was our introduction to a very unique style of graffiti and a culture that didn’t reach outside of California. Can you talk about how gang culture mixed with punk aesthetics?
The influence of gang culture is pretty much how Skip described it in the Dogtown & Z-Boys documentary. The area has had decades of history regarding gang culture, so it was a nod to where we are from. Artist Doug Smith, who has done skateboard and surf graphics depicting the ultimate in “Locals only” attitude, was one of Ric Clayton’s biggest influences. Doug originally signed his 1970s graphics as DxSx, and was one of the first punk rockers to come from Venice.

Ebay Link HERE!