Lost Radicals is celebrating the birth of it’s vintage-style rock T-shirt line with a launch party at Little Rock Bar on Wednesday, November 27th.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBUS, November 14, 2019 — Lost Radicals, a new online T-shirt brand based in Columbus, opened for business with an initial collection mixing striking images and bold typography with a vintage rock aesthetic. The collection will be celebrated at a launch party at Little Rock Bar, 944 N 4th St, Columbus, OH, on November 27th at 7 p.m.
The designs reflect Founder and Creative Director Dave Barber’s enduring passion for music, style and storytelling; a passion fueled through decades of playing guitar, supporting the Columbus music scene, collaborating visually with musicians like Ohio troubadour Tim Easton and frequenting festivals such as South by Southwest. As a long-time advocate of local creativity, he was recently appointed by Ohio’s governor to the board of the Ohio Arts Council where he helps to support artists throughout the state.
“Whenever I go to a rock show, my first stop is the merch table. Like many designers, I’m always inspired by how musicians translate their sonic style to visuals on album covers, shirts and the like. My own concert T-shirt collection is probably larger than it should be, but I’ve also left too many merch tables empty-handed because the band’s designs didn’t live up to the sounds I loved. So, I set out to create the types of shirts I wanted to wear myself. These are the shirts I couldn’t find anywhere else,” said Barber.
Refreshingly, Lost Radicals shirts don’t fit tired rocker stereotypes. Some feature dark, poetic typography or old school boom boxes, while others highlight provocative and powerful women. They can all be grouped into two categories: iconic artist collections and more universal designs that embody the rock music experience — from attending indie rock shows to digging up vintage vinyl or discovering that new favorite band on Spotify. The artist collections are more unique: they depict obscure musicians from the past that Barber promises you’ve never heard of, hence the name Lost Radicals. A quick Google search for any of these artists proves that things aren’t exactly what they seem. “Although I’m exploring what it means to be ‘authentic’ in this world of streaming music and paid social media likes,” Barber states, “I’m still trying to create something artful and off-center that our fans can get excited about.”
“We connect with our customers as collectors because we share this cultural obsession”, Barber continues. “So many of us collect books or bourbon or LPs or guitars. Most of all, when we go out to support up-and-coming musicians or cut loose at music festivals, we’re collecting experiences. My hope is that more and more people will get in on our story and have fun with it — that we can become a secret club that’s not so secret.” At the end of the day, however, Barber strives to create work that feels true to the past but also looks stylish to the modern consumer. The designs should stand on their own, separate from any mythology.
The launch party on November 27th will be a perfect distillation of the Lost Radicals story. The invitation has reached many Columbus radicals — artists, musicians, photographers, models, designers, etc. — but everyone who loves and supports local music and fashion is encouraged to attend. In keeping with the brand’s enigmatic vibe, the headlining musician, Sidd Finch, one of Rolling Stone Magazine’s Best New Artists of 2014, is purposely mysterious. With a little detective work, fans of Columbus country rock should be able to uncover who he or she really is. Sidd will be followed by DJ Charles Erickson, of Damn Girl and The Clampdown, spinning rock music from multiple decades that will fill the dance floor. There will also be free Mexican fare from Guzman Cuisine, limited-edition launch day T-shirts, and signature cocktails presented by Jameson Irish Whiskey. And, it makes perfect sense that the evening’s festivities will be hosted at Little Rock — a bar with a long history of supporting and promoting local Columbus music.
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Contact: Dave Barber
Founder & Creative Director,
Lost Radicals, LLC
Dave@LostRadicals.com