Merch merch merch!

Jax

Forum Goddess
Feb 11, 2002
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San Jose, CA
A good chunk of you have been SymX fans for a while now & have obtained (or at least seen) most/all of the SymX goodies that have been produced in the past few years. With a combination of trying to bring new life to the fan club, and an upcoming cd to think about, I thought I'd ask..what sort of SymX merch would you like to see at this point? What existing merch would you like to see more of, or variations of?


PS - I'm finally getting more decals made, & am looking into static decals as well, for those wondering..so what colors of decals would you be interested in buying, aside from the default white?
 
I always liked it when bands would release t-shirts for all (Or most, in this case) of their albums. I would love to have a Twilight in Olympus and/or V shirt.
 
I doubt if any more V shirts will be made, we had those things coming out of our ears for years..never say never though. I'll have to ask about Twilight shirts..
 
The best thing ever to come of the merchandise section was the plain black hoodie with the blue SX logo. I did buy one years ago, though now it's worn and the jet black color has faded substantially. I did not like the many tie-dye style shirts and sweatshirt variants with zippers and the like. And it just got baffling to see the sports jersey, I mean what?! If that hoodie was released again, I'd probably buy two just to cover myself for the long haul.

I love the mugs, wish I bought an Odyssey one, yet probably will do the same with the Paradise Lost one available currently. I can't justify $15+shipping for a mug. This isn't really a simple project in the traditional merch sense, but I think we all know we need more of SX's material transcribed into sheet. I particularly want to see more of the keyboards. You can't find a midi for everything.

But really though, I'm going to venture that I speak for the majority when I say we need better/more tasteful wearable items. And I'd kill for that hoodie to be available again (and not in a different color; that blue on black was utterly perfect).
 
a new live album, or dvd would be nice :) Maybe a shirt with a song quoted on the back, would be sweet!

You posted just as I was writing mine. I actually want a new live album more than ANYTHING, as I said recently in another thread. But I didn't feel it really fell under "merchandise". Who cares though, you're right.
 
The best thing ever to come of the merchandise section was the plain black hoodie with the blue SX logo. I did buy one years ago, though now it's worn and the jet black color has faded substantially. I did not like the many tie-dye style shirts and sweatshirt variants with zippers and the like. And it just got baffling to see the sports jersey, I mean what?! If that hoodie was released again, I'd probably buy two just to cover myself for the long haul.

Well, to each his own, right? I actually prefer zippered sweatshirts to hoodies, and as for the sports jersey, it was popular enough that a second batch had to be made, so it wasn't THAT far out there.

The trick is to find things that are going to have the broadest appeal, & sometimes we have to experiment to find out what people do & don't love. It's just like the music itself..we can never please EVERYONE.
 
Like already said...I think album shirts are cool. I really don't wear many band t-shirts anymore(plain black Hanes for me :)), but when I did, the only ones I really liked to wear were tour t-shirts and I'd always go for the ones with the latest album cover on them. I also like the way my SX ones are where it wasn't just a square box with an exact copy/pasted album cover on it. T-shirts that are like that look tacky as fuck. Also, I really don't like shirts that have photographs of the band on them.

-my .02
 
I have always wondered... Why so many t-shirts have the tour dates on the back? I think that's just waste of space! Even if it's a tour where I visited every gig, I still wouldn't give a shit about the dates being put on the back of my t-shirt (rather have it blank).

I second the hoodies request. I think they are very very cool. My friend has a Paradise Lost hoodie (don't remember where he got it) and it's simply awesome. Longsleeved wearables in general are cooler than t-shirts imo.

Oh yeah and I like those wall flags too. Way better than posters.
 
First, Jax, I love the new avatar, lmao.

To each his own, indeed. I'm glad that the merchandise that you selected to be made did well and made the band a few bucks. Just to be clear, I wasn't trying to criticize any particular decision, just putting my opinion out there. And I prefer zippered sweatshirts to hoodies as well...but not for anything that's supposed to have a graphic on the front.

I'd be curious as to how different types of products fared. I was under the impression that the V shirt was fairly popular. Of course, many, many more V shirts may have been ordered to begin with than the first batch of jerseys...it all makes a difference. In any case, I don't want anything to be made that will collect dust and erode the return on investment. At the same time, I don't think you had that problem with the hoodies ;)
 
I'm finally getting more decals made, & am looking into static decals as well, for those wondering..so what colors of decals would you be interested in buying, aside from the default white?
YES! Static decals rule...easy to move around and perfect for cars...not enough metal bands have these. As for color, I'd dig silver or navy blue.

For shirts, I always look for something other than the cliche black tee...navy, charcoal, even kelly green would be cool. And ringer tees would sweet as hell.
 
I've always thought that some of the artwork in the Paradise Lost album booklet would make some kickass shirts. Particularly the image of the angel with her back to the viewer, facing the demons. It's on the two centre pages of the booklet.
 
I was thinking patches. I know they are mainly a thrash metal thing, but I like pagan Black Metal and I usually like my patches. For some reason I think Symphony X did in fact make a Paradise Lost promotional patch with the angel on it, but it would be really cool if they made a backpatch with the Occulus Ex Inferni artwork (like the one on the long sleeve PL shirt). A logo strip with the two masks on the side would be cool as well.
 
My suggestion is to hold a fan contest for best t-shirt design. Then hold a poll on the forums or the website if the band has any. Winners prize is having his/her design used for official merch. No prize money or anything like that. It's cheap, you get people who actually know symphony x to design it, you get what fans want, and it will be a fun event for the community. aaaaaand we probably wouldn't get a shirt design with a) a box print with the cover of an album, b) a shirt design with tourdates, c) a shirt with a picture of the band on it. At least I wouldn't vote for one. But you know, people.

Bloodbath ran a similar contest but for a cover design for an EP. Turned out to be their best cover ever.

And if there are only shitty entries well then it would still have been an event. You know, one of those things some bands do with their fans.
 
I think a music book would be sweet, symphony x currently has no books. I think an art book would be sweet aswell, the album artworks, variotions of album art work (if they have them and can use them) and good quality live photos. A nice collection for any fan of the band, and since alot of us can't bring good quality camera's to shows anymore, I think some really nice full paged shots of the band would be sweet! Also as we know the artwork for paradise lost slays.
 
I'm not that much of a band shirt user either.. but a new live CD/DVD would be awesome! SX belt would be nice! (don't know if there is any..)