Collected Obsessions is a new book hardcore fans should take note of. A project from Unterwelt Books, it features over 400 vintage American Hardcore t-shirts from the personal collection of Ryan Bannahan (Desperate Measures, D.C. Disorder).
Available for pre-order now, Collected Obessions showcases sleek design work by Patrick Kitzel and Jonathan Buske, all photographed by Joel Dowling, and edited by Shivaun Watchhorn.
To help celebrate the book, LAHC band Berthold City have made a music video for their track "Outside the Lines" featuring vocalist Andrew Kline modeling some classic hardcore tees from his personal collection. Directed by the band's own John Jenkins, the song can be found on Berthold City's recently released sophomore album, Where Did We Go Wrong? Check that out further down this article.
To gain some more insight on Collected Obsession, No Echo chatted with Tribal Publishing's Patrick Kitzel (he also sang in the mighty German hardcore band True Blue, and founded Reaper Records).
Tell us how Collected Obsession came together.
Ryan (who owns the collection) and I have known each other for almost 30 years. He has always been into collecting hardcore shirts and has bought most of mine some years ago too. He knew that I had been putting books out and we chatted about doing one together.
Another key factor in wanting to make this book happen was that we felt like the only other book out there covering this topic wasn’t all that [laughs].
Can you tell us about the process, from the initial concept, to photographing the book, to completing the layout?
At first, the idea was to make a book that would document every possible hardcore shirt there is. That ended up seeming impossible, so we said, "Screw it! Let’s do one with just shirts from Ryan’s collection." He owns over 400 hardcore shirts, and that’s not even counting anything post-2000 onward.
We hired Joel Dowling—who I have worked with quite a bit in the past—and had three sessions, total, getting everything photographed. That was definitely a challenge in itself. The layout was another challenge! The material didn’t leave too much room for anything groundbreaking. It’s t-shirts, ya know.
After a couple attempts at different presentations, I decided to highlight certain ones and focus on just the print/image. Either front and back or just one dominant side. Then, in the back it basically has a catalogue look with everything.
In the end I’m pretty pleased. I am especially excited about the interviews with the bands talking about their shirt designs. It really came out awesome and their are some very cool stories included.
How long did it take to put everything together?
We worked on the book for 18 months, and during that time Ryan acquired more shirts that had to be included in the book, and needed to be photographed. That’s what led to three session total and at times a pain in the butt. Well worth it in the end.
Tell us a bit about collaborating with Ryan Bannahan on this project.
I had this plan of making a bible-sized book featuring everything genre wise within the hardcore scene pre-2000. I started contacting people and after a week or two, it was clear that my plan was impossible.
Since Ryan’s collection was always the starting point for this project, it was a no-brainer to just focus on his. If you know someone and are close to that person for three decades, you witness a lot of things. I knew of many of the shirts he ended up with and knew many of the people he traded with often.
We are from an era in hardcore where the scene was a quarter the size it is in 2025, if that. It was a smaller world.
OK, Patrick and Ryan, what are you all-time favorite hardcore shirts?
Patrick:
- The Icemen - graveyard skeleton shirt
- Outspoken black tank top that Tim from mouthpiece owns
- Wrecking Crew longsleeve I
- Judge Schism shirt
- Side By side 7” shirt
Ryan:
- Orange Leeway shirt
- Green Wide Awake tee
- Release - Pain Inside ’89
- Green Integrity Candy Bar Shirt
- Blue Turning Point - Hi Impact
You linked up with Berthold City for a video for the track "Outside the Lines," which is also considered the soundtrack for the book. How did this collaboration come together? Can we expect any other collaborative pieces between the book and Berthold City?
Andrew, Ryan, and I have known each other forever. Berthold City is amazing and the best in their league doing old-styled traditional hardcore. Their new record rips and without our knowing, they made a music video where Andrew is wearing all these shirts he owns. Some of them Ryan owns as well.
It was a perfect match it seems. Why not mash it up and support each other, Hardcore style? Spread the word for each other and make some extra fun stuff.
When will Collect Obsession be released, and where can we order a copy?
People can get the book from www.unterweltbooks.com. The books will ship the first week of February. Make sure to follow @unterweltinc and @collectedobsession on Instagram.
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Upcoming Berthold City tour dates:
Feb 6 - Providence, RI - Alchemy w/ Strife, Death Before Dishonor
Feb 7 - Lakewood, NJ - Maggie’s w/ Strife, Shattered Realm
Feb 9 - Philadelphia, PA - The Church w/ Strife, 25 ta Life
Feb 21 - Dresden, GER- Chemiefabrik w/ Risk It!
Feb 22 - Moers, GER - Bollwerk Break Down the Walls Fest
Feb 23 - Ghent, BEL - Asgaard w/ Risk It!
Feb 24 - Tours, FR - Canadian Cafe w/ Risk It!
Feb 25 - Lyon, FR - Warm Audio w/ Risk It!
Feb 26 - Milan, IT - La Casa Di Alex w/ Risk It!
Feb 27 - Munich, GER - Kafe Kult w/ Risk It!
Feb 28 - Vienna, AUT - Phiz w/ Risk It!
Mar 01 - Wroclaw, PL - Klub Szalonych w/ Risk It!
Tagged: berthold city, book
