At this weekend's Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath and bassist Joe Principe shared memories of their first band t-shirts in an interview with Rock Sound. McIlrath revealed that his earliest band merchandise was a Metallica "Ride The Lightning" shirt from 1991, which he has retained and now rarely leaves home without, whilst Principe's first purchase was a Circle Jerks 10th-anniversary tour shirt that he kept hidden from his mother.

The musicians discussed how their youth in Catholic schools limited their ability to wear such garments freely—McIlrath was only permitted to wear his Metallica shirt on designated Thursdays, which prompted disapproval from teachers. Principe described how he would sneak out of his house to wear his Circle Jerks shirt whilst skateboarding before hiding it upon his return. Both recalled how their parents censored their musical taste, with McIlrath noting that his family confiscated his Megadeth cassette due to concerns about its allegedly satanic content.