Who are you and what do you do?

Danno O’Shea. Drummer/agent/long-suffering bandleader

What products and/or services did Presstime provide you on your last order? How did it help you?

We’ve had Presstime do Shirt, Hoodie, Toque, Patch, Towel and Banner printing for us. All top notch

Where do your source your inspiration for the merch you create?

We’re consistently inspired by acts we see on the road. But initially it was mundane daily work that made us wanna create something that was joy filled and fun, and albeit…slightly goofy at times.

How has the vision for your merch evolved over the years?

We always wanted to let artists interpret what we do. Over time we’ve used many different artists to create merch designs for us. We like to give them one sentence (e.g. Unicorn eating a hamburger) and let their minds go with the aesthetic and listen to our tunes. The designs are often irreverent and silly nods to pop culture we like (see our “Frasier” inspired tshirt). We want it quality, but design wise we aren’t precious, we like to keep it fun.

What are some things you wish you knew before you got started?

Good personalities are more important than the best players. People with similar goals and who you don’t mind hanging out at the airport with for your 20th flight are my kinda people. And be kind until you can’t. I try and go into each situation with a smile. Now, of course there are vultures in every scene and thats when you have to change tactics.

Any words of advice for newcomers to your industry?

You need to spend a similar amount of time on the business aspect as you do the creative aspect. Also, we strongly encourage you to go on the road. Even if its for a money losing mini tour. There is nothing like touring, we’re lucky that we’ve made money with it but it certainly wasn’t that way originally there are certain things you can only learn after choking down your fifth continental breakfast staring down a 9 hour drive to Fargo. Oh and a good publicist. Its hard making me look cool, they sometimes make it happen, ha.

Anything to add? Got anything cool coming up?

We’re headed to UK, Lithuania, France, Belgium and more and get to keep playing with bands we love and admire (Foo Fighters, Flaming Lips, Gogol Bordello, Jason Isbell) we’re just really lucky to get to this and try and be upbeat and grateful for it all. We run our own label and book our tours, its nice to be in control and nice to see the world with your pals.