All right, I’m going to try to make a long long story short. Col. Bruce Hampton is a Southern Guitar Guru. If you like american/blues based psycho-genius music, find some of his music and enjoy.
My wife and I once were at a concert called the JamCruise ( a concert cruise featuring 13 bands over 4 days). While on board, I got to meet and have my picture taken with my musical hero, Col. Bruce Hampton. ( He’s @ 60 yrs old by the way ) Upon meeting him, he ask me in his mature Southern voice “Boy, do I know you? You seem familiar?”. I assured him although I had seen him in concert over 20 times, we had never met. He nodded, agreed then got kinda serious with me. He leaned in towards me, so that our noses were only 9 inches apart. He looked at me very seriously for a moment and said “Boy, you ARE an Aries”. Well, I am an Aries. I was surprised, very surprised. How could a man I had just met known that? So, I croaked back “Yessir, I AM an Aries”. He smiled, rubbed his scruffy chin and floored me with …” Your birthday IS March 28th, possibly April 2nd”. I nearly Shit myself. I felt sick. My world turned grey for a moment. I whipped my head around to see who behind me knew me enough to tell Col. Bruce when my birthday is. My wife was the only person I knew on the JamCruise and she was no where to be seen. I whipped back around to Col. Bruce, grabbed his t-shirt near the neck and growled “What the fuck? What the fuck are you talking about? My BIRTHDAY IS MARCH 28TH!!”. “It’s obvious Boy” his said with a wise smile. “Pleasure meeting you young man” No sir Col. Bruce the pleasure was all mine.
True story, it still turns my stomach a little. What the hell? Do I have my birthday tatooed to my head? No. Damn. I meet a man that I’ve been listening to for 10+years and within 15 seconds of meeting him, he tells me my birthday. Geez. I don’t know what to think.

As I’ve mentioned before, a local fellow has parodied my EAT MORE KALE shirt. This weekend a local paper called THE BRIDGE contained an ad that read as follows.

Had Enough Kale? vermontpelier t-shirt works’ politically incorrect t-shirt bears the MEAT EATING MARJORITY’S long overdue battle cry: EAT MORE MEAT. Black letters on a BLOOD RED t-shirt that’s guaranteed to turn heads. Buy yours at……..

If there are any Montpelier folks reading this, did you think I’d expanded my business? What did you think of the ad? Maybe later in the spring, we could host a Kale eaters vs. Meat eaters soccer match. Or we could sponser a “who lives longer” competetion. Any Ideas?

Do you know what I do when I’m not busy filling t-shirt orders? I make more t-shirts. Seriously, I get a night off and I either daydream of and draw a new design, I cut out a new stencil, or I print an older design just for fun. I’m becoming a little t-shirt crazy I think. I love making t-shirts. I now have @ 100 different stencil designs. I’ve cut 10 new desigsns in the past weeks; a rooster, giant squid, mountains, stringed instruments, a guitar player etc.. It seems I am driven to make a mountain of shirts. Try to picture my studio. It is not much larger than a one car garage. In it I keep: 300+ t-shirts for the upcoming farmers markets, 100+stencils, ink, a printing table, t-shirt racks, a futon, a t.v. and sterio, a drumkit, a conga and bongo, two guitars, a banjo, a dulcimer, two harmonicas, 20 maracas, and a handful of jaw harps. Some would be a little crowded. Yet for me, it’s the perfect hobbit hole. I do feel a little like an ink splattered, t-shirt printing, stencil cuttin’, music freak gnome sometimes. I’d love to make a shirt for you.

There I said it, I love my T.V.. What do you think of that? Most of my “left of center” friends are probably cramping up to read this. Most of my friends in Vt. tend not to have cable t.v. or a t.v. at all. They have stickers that say “T.V. Sucks” and they say to me..” There is Nothing on T.V.” Bullshit…there is plenty on T.V., you just have to know where to look and when. I have a remote controll that lets me choose my “favorite” channels, so when I channel surf I don’t have to surf through crap. I like non-fiction stuff: PBS, CSPAN, Discovery, TLC, History, and the National Geographic channel. Also, comedy central , VH1 and Fuse. I know when the funny stuff is on and I know when the informative stuff is one. I’m telling you, I can stuff my head full of diverse stuff in one sitting. No sitcoms, no Pimping Car shows, no talking heads news crap. I’m telling you, I have found some entertaining stuff. I actually feel sorry for you without access to such info and fun. Sure you can go to a museum or go for a hike. I can and do do those things myself, then at the end of the day I can laugh my head off or learn about the latest invention on “Living Tomorrow”. I also have to say, while I’m at it……I have livelier conversations with people at potlucks that have T.V.. They can recognize contemporary allusions and share laughs. I think it’s funny that the folks without T.V. are the ones who say “nothing is on”. The ones with T.V. say “did you see the latest South Park? “. Any way, I’m taking a stand………Yea for my T.V. and the fun/entertainment it has provided. ( everything in moderation)

I’d love some more pictures of ya’ll for my website. Have you looked at the “EAT MORE KALE around the World” section of my website? Check out all the nice pictures of my friends/family and customers. If you have one of my shirts, you should have your picture on my website. Email or send your pictures to me. Remember “he who motivates….celebrates”. In other words, get up and send me a picture, it will be fun. Spread the word pretty please.

EATMOREKALE.COM has been up and running since last June 05. The response from all of you has been wonderful. I get daily emails with nice comments, stories or questions. I get a rush reading each new order. I love seeing what you’ll choose: style, color, design. I really appreciate the “notes” that come with the orders. You all are too kind. I really can’t tell you how much I enjoy making each shirt for each order. As I make the shirt, I know where it is being mailed to, I often know if the shirt is to be a gift, and I think of the convesations my shirts will begin. More and more of you are becoming repeat customers….now that’s a good feeling. Thank you all, West Coast, East Coast, New England, Upper Midwest…….I have’nt heard much from the South….what’s up with that? Do people not like comfortable/simple shirts in the South? ( With a few exceptions of coarse, you know who you are Grandma) Thank you all for supporting this “one man show”.

I have a friend named Beau in Birmingham, Alabama. Among so many other things, Beau has a website that he sells his screenprinted shirts through. Check out his site at www.nomadsupply.com. He uses a much different printing process than I do. He also has organic cotton. The designs are simple and classic. Support Beau and his t-shirts. Oh yea….support me, Bo, and my t-shirts too!! Support all the indie artits you can.

It appears I’m being parodied by a local entrepreneur named Patrick. I hear he has had a local screenprinter print a stack of t-shirts to parody my “EAT MORE KALE” shirt. His new shirt states “EAT MORE MEAT”. ( Pat’s idea is not original, I’ve seen variations of my theme on two bumper stickers in Central Vt. “eat more meat” and “eat more veal”) Imitation is the highest form of flattery. I feel like I’ve hit the big time, when people are so motivated to parody me and my shirts. I feel like a musician after learning Weird Al has redone his song! I’ve had some folks express misgivings. Don’t worry about me. I imagine I will continue to sell plenty of shirts. If any of you have stories/pictures of parodies of my shirts, let me know please. What fun. I wonder if his shirts will cause anyone to eat more meat?

I made the Teter family “Team Teter” t-shirts to wear in Italy. I’ve had some request from Hannah’s fans for “Team Teter” shirts. It’s a simple print, that says “Team Teter” surrounded by Mtn peaks. I don’t have a picture of it, sorry. You can trust me though, if you are a fan of any of the High Flying Teters (Elijah, Abe, Hannah), you will like these “limited Edition” shirts. The design is not featured on my site, so #1 order an EMK shirt in the size color and style you would like, then Paypal will allow you to write a “note” to me. “Note” to me, you want the “Team Teter” T-shirt. Email me if you have any questions.