Blog

Given that Fugazi have never shown any inclination whatsoever to sell merchandise, the launch of a news Fugazi x Vans trainers collection has raised eyebrows, and raised hackles online. Not least because this new collection has absolutely nothing to do with the Washington DC hardcore band.

“I’m guessing someone from vans will reach out to us,” Dischord Records, the label co-founded and owned by Fugazi vocalist/guitarist Ian MacKaye posted on Instagram in response to Vans launching the line by offering free pairs of trainers to those showing up at Vans Le Marais in Paris.

The Fugazi that Vans are collaborating with is a Los Angeles streetwear company founded in 2018 by entrepreneur Trevor Gorji. In a hilariously over-the-top profile of the brand by NSS magazine, its described as “a brand that would defy norms and make luxury accessible without compromising on quality.”

“Fugazi’s success is not just about its products,” the profile states. “The brand stands out for its narrative approach and commitment to the community… Each collection is accompanied by reflections on themes of authenticity, illusion, and resistance.”

Forgive us if the irony here proves too much for you.

In case there was any doubt whatsoever that Gorji’s company’s collaboration with Vans is no in way affiliated with the band, Dischord Records also posted on the streetwear company’s Instagram, “We have nothing to do with this to be clear.”

When a skateboard company called Animus replied, “you should be, things change and no shame in the game, you deserve it”, Dischord replied with a ‘thoughtful face’ emoji which here roughly translates as “Have you got the slightest fucking idea about our ethics?”

Capitalism, of course, abhors a vacuum, and if one of the most popular and inspirational bands from America’s underground punk scene has zero interest in producing T-shirts, posters, hoodies or any other branded paraphernalia, then bootleggers have been only to happy to step in.

Type ‘Fugazi T-shirt’ into any search engine and you’ll see scores of designs for sale on Amazon, Etsy and elsewhere. None are official merch, or in any way endorsed by the band, who have been on hiatus since completing a three-night stand at London’s Kentish Town Forum in November 2002.

There is, however, one interesting outlier within the bootleg Fugazi T-shirt universe, a T-shirt bearing the slogan ‘This Is Not A Fugazi T-Shirt’.

In the mid-90s, Ian MacKaye traced one of these ‘fugazi’ Fugazi shirts to a company in Boston, he revealed in an interview conducted for The Art Of The Band T-Shirt, and spoke with the main guy, telling him to desist.

“Of course, he wanted to do a deal,” MacKaye said. “And, of course, the answer was still no. Still, we had a nice chat. He was curious why we didn’t want to sell shirts, and after I explained our position, he seemed to respect it. About one month later, a friend at a record store alerted me to the ‘This is not a Fugazi t-shirt’ shirt. I traced it back to the same Boston dude. What a smart motherfucker he was!”

“I called him up,” MacKaye continued, “and said, Okay, you’re funny and you’re creative, so let’s see how creative you are with accounting. I asked him to choose an organization doing good work in his community and give them what would amount to the band’s royalty for the shirts. I think he chose a women’s shelter up there, and as far as I know he sent them money right up until he quit the business.”

In 2013, a writer for defunkd followed up on the story, and learned that the owner of the T-shirt company did indeed honour his pledge to MacKaye, and donated money from every shirt sold to a women’s homeless shelter in Boston named Rosie’s Place.

Pro-shot video of Linkin Park’s 100-minute headline set at Rock In Rio Lisbon is on YouTube.

The Diamond-selling nu metal giants played a 23-song set at the Portuguese festival on Sunday, June 21, as they made their way across Europe for the final dates of their ongoing From Zero world tour.

The footage captures the entire performance, which included airings of such old-school cuts as One Step Closer, Breaking The Habit, Faint, In The End, Numb and What I’ve Done alongside songs from 2024 comeback album From Zero.

The set also featured a rendition of Where’d You Go, a song by singer, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Mike Shinoda’s solo project Fort Minor. Watch the whole thing below.

Linkin Park’s 2026 summer European tour kicked off on May 29 at 3Arena in Stockholm, Sweden and is set to wrap up at Letzigrund Stadion in Zurich, Switzerland on June 30. Along the way, the six-piece headlined Download festival in the UK on June 14; as they’re now co-fronted by Emily Armstrong, who joined in 2024, they became the first band with a female singer to close the mainstage of the Donington weekender.

The members responded to the distinction during an interview with BBC News on the day of the show.

“So, I’ll start with the fact that I don’t feel like I should be answering the question, that Emily should be answering, so I went and asked her, because she can’t be here right now,” said Shinoda.

“I asked her and she said: ‘If it wasn’t us, it would’ve just been someone else, because there are so many great female-fronted bands.’ But, she’s so grateful, she wanted you guys to know, she’s so grateful that she is the one and that she’ll remember it forever.”

Armstrong joined the band as they reactivated following a seven-year hiatus, which started shortly after the death of previous singer Chester Bennington aged 51 in July 2017. Her appointment was initially met with controversy, as fans highlighted her past ties to the Church Of Scientology and her support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson at his trial in 2020.

Armstrong responded to the concerns in a statement, saying that she does “not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathise with the victims of these crimes”. Although she didn’t clarify whether she is or has ever been a follower of Scientology, the BBC reported that lyrics in her rock band Dead Sara hint at a rejection of the church’s teachings.

At Download, Shinoda spoke about how Armstrong came to join the band two years ago.

“Even when it was, like, choosing Emily as a singer, the top priority was, like, whoever the person is, are they somebody that we can spend a lot of time with?” he remembered.

“Do we get along, both personally and creatively? We were all just a good fit that way. Obviously, the person has to be a world-class singer, but they don’t have to be a world-class female singer. It’s just whoever’s the best singer. So, for us, all of those things connected us with Em.”

Formed in 1996 under the name Xero, Linkin Park are one of the best-selling rock bands of all time. Their 2000 debut album Hybrid Theory was certified Diamond in the United States in 2005, having sold upwards of 10 million units. They’ve also won two Grammy Awards: Hybrid Theory single Crawling won the Best Hard Rock Performance trophy in 2002 and Numb/Encore, a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, earned them the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration prize in 2006.