Venice, CA is a tiny beach town that has had a HUGE impact on underground youth culture. This place has given the world some unreal illustrators, and one of them goes by the name of RIC CLAYTON, or RxC for short. He is a true OG Suicidal Boy and the band’s go-to artist for most of their early flyers. Seeing the rad shit Ric drew for each show was just as important as the lineup. He was a genius at turning their lyrics into illustrations that still resonate with youth culture today. What really made him stand out from other illustrators of the day were the button-down shirts that he drew on. If you were a Venice/Mar Vista/Santa Monica local who was down with Suicidal Tendencies, you would get in touch with Ric, hit him with $15 or maybe less – I’m not sure – come back in a week or so, and he would hand you a one of a kind Suicidal shirt (this was before silk screening shirts became the norm). For some people, seeing a bunch of dudes rocking these shirts with blue bandanas struck fear in their hearts. These shirts become famous because they were featured on the cover of Suicidal Tendencies’ debut album. Check out this rad photo essay of RxC’s hand-drawn button-down shirts, compiled by the man himself. Thanx Ric for being the first person to ever turn me on to Motörhead and Venom!
