Draft:Merchandise history: Difference between revisions

[[Image:OG merch Omnibus scan.png|100px|left|thumb|Original T-shirt ('92) and baseball cap ('93)]]

During the first [[Blue Album Tour|''Blue Album'' Tour]] in [[1994]], the band sold shirts with the character [[Bokkus]] featured on the back, and a hand-drawn flying W headed by the (now modern) Weezer logo featured on the front. This line of Bokkus tees lasted the majority of the tour, and went through numerous different colors schemes based upon what was available to produce. A few were printed in very small quantities, including the "white with black ink" and "kelly green with white ink" variations, of which there were only 20 made (each).<ref name="issue 7" /> Around Spring of this year, Koch had multiple new sets of caps made to sell on tour, printed by the hat manufacturing company New Era.<ref group="note">Koch does not directly state that these caps were produced by New Era in his 1996 Merchandise History, however, his wording seems to imply the band's caps prior to the Winterland era were produced by the brand (as, in each instance of the different caps mentioned, he states they were possible thanks to his mother's connections).</ref> They shared the same design and layout as the '93 caps, but with the old logo swapped for the modern one. Like the Bokkus line of shirts, these caps were produced in many different color schemes over the course of the tour.<ref name ="issue 7" />

Beginning in December 1994 and lasting throughout the [[World Domination Tour]] in [[1995]], a new line of multiple T-shirt designs were created to sell on the road. These tees, distributed by the California-based merchandise distribution company Winterland Productions, included seven unique designs (with some sold in multiple colors, like earlier shirts).<ref name="issue 7" /> Many of the designs included in the set were later re-used in some form by the band, including the iconic hand-drawn "Rock Music" shirt, as well as the "If It's Too Loud, Turn It Down", "Soccer Shirt", and "Little Girl" (also known as 3 sheep) designs. Winterland additionally released baseball caps during the tour, however the company did not want to expend the costs necessary to manufacture them through New Era, and instead opted for less expensive overseas brands.<ref name="issue 7" /> The design of the caps were identical to the earlier ones, and were made in dark green and dark red (later changed to maroon) colors. Eventually Winterland switched to a new design, with a hand-drawn flying W stitched with white/silver onto black and maroon caps.<ref name="issue 7" /> Through Koch, New Era itself produced a limited run of caps for the tour, including a black cap with the flying W above the Weezer logo stitched in white on the front and "europe '95" on the back, and a white cap with a black bill that used the same front design but had "summer '95 europe.uk.usa" on the back. There were 24 copies of the first design made, and exactly 51 of the second.<ref name="issue 7" />

During this time, unique bootleg designs printed and sold by concert-goers were not uncommon. These designs are impossible to fully document, but there are multiple that are known to exist.<ref name="issue 7" /><ref>inthegarage97. (March 6, 2021). "Blue Album bootleg t-shirt printed on Hanes". Instagram. Archived from the original at https://archive.ph/Ls3co.</ref>