Why Tie-Dye Belongs on Stage

I call it tagging them.

When I see a musician whose energy I can feel from the floor, someone whose vibe and signature just hits, my instinct is to get one of my pieces on them. Not to promote the brand. Not to get a photo. Because I want to see tie-dye on stage, in its natural environment. Lights, movement, music, energy. That's where it belongs, and most musicians haven't figured that out yet.

The stage is where this work belongs. Color moves under stage lighting in a way that becomes part of the show. It stops being a shirt and starts being part of the visual language of the performance. The audience gets something to look at that moves with the music. The artist gets something that feeds back into how they carry themselves up there.

Live performance draws me in for the same reason tie-dye does. You're watching real creation happen in real time. It will never happen exactly that way again. That's what I'm chasing when I watch someone perform, and it's what I'm trying to put into every piece I dye.

Art, to me, is someone's attempt to push whatever energy or creativity they have out into the world. Not everyone can figure out how to harness that and actually get it out. Musicians, visual artists, dyers, doesn't matter the medium. Technical proficiency doesn't guarantee it. You can be very good at what you do and still not have that signature. And when someone does have it, you feel it. Not always when you look at something. Sometimes you have to put it on. But you know it when it's there.

I put everything into every piece I make. The intention is there every time. If someone picks it up and doesn't feel it, that's okay. It didn't fit them. But I know what went into it.

When I look at other artists' work, that's what I'm looking for. The ones where I put it on and feel something. Those are the pieces worth wearing. Those are the people worth seeking out.

That's why I tag musicians. I'm looking for the same signature in a different medium.

Tie-Dye on Stage: The Natural Environment

I've been doing this for a long time. More times than I can count I've walked up to a performer, sometimes an entire band, and put my work on them before a show. Sometimes it's because a piece has been sitting and I know exactly where it needs to go. Sometimes it's because I just want to see it under lights. I have the luxury of not being bound by having to sell every piece, and I don't take that lightly. At this past festival alone I placed four or five of my best pieces with specific people for specific reasons. That's one of the best parts of what I do.

This past weekend I tagged the band Street Pony. I've seen them play a few times and when I saw them on the festival lineup I already knew. I wanted to get a piece on them. I had a specific shirt in mind before I ever walked up. I found Chase Carlino, their bass player, introduced myself, and made my pitch. He didn't give me any indication of hesitation. He took it, put it on, and went on stage.

When I caught up with him after the set he told me he'd been apprehensive going into it. That he'd "never really worn color before." That it took a "screw it" moment to actually put it on. I had no idea. From the outside the dude looked absolutely dialed in. If he had any uncertainty about whether it fit, there was zero trace of it on stage. The energy signature was right there for anyone watching.

Every piece has its own energy signature. That's not an accident. I put it there intentionally, and I told Chase that when we talked after the set. Whether he felt it or not wasn't something I could control. But the intention was there.

For anyone who hasn't worn tie-dye before, or hasn't worn color, it can take a little time. There's the color element and the energy element, and neither one hits everyone the same way right out of the gate. My advice is simple: wear it around the house first. Let it find you. You'll start to feel the difference between pieces. You'll notice you reach for certain ones on certain days. That's the energy signature doing its job.

I have pieces I wear when I need to move. Pieces I wear when I need to settle. The color is what you see first. The energy is what keeps you coming back to it.

Chase felt it on stage in front of a crowd on his first try. That's the deep end. He swam.