I got my hands on some non-traditional merch this weekend at a special event for my favorite band: Umphrey’s McGee. Only 50 people were invited to the Umphrey’s S2 event, so the band made sure to create event tickets that reflected the unique exclusivity of the event. Each attendee received this custom trade show badge that had the name of the event on one side, and a space for band members to leave autographs on the other. Trade show badges don’t sound like the most exciting piece of band merch, but when they are autographed and exclusive, they immediately turn into must-have souvenirs! This badge has immediately become the coolest “ticket stub” in my collection of more than 100!

Lately there has been a trend toward reclaiming “paper dolls” from their knee-jerk association with little girls’ toys. This Kanye West “Papercraft” bear is a pretty impressive step in that direction. Constructed by Paper Matez, the bear is accurately detailed to Kanye’s “Graduation” cartoon creature, complete with shuttered sunglasses and copiously branded Louis Vuitton backpack. Hopefully it doesn’t come with the rapper’s much-publicized attitude problems…

[via StreetLevel]

This is a really neat merch idea, and one I’ve never seen before. On Tegan and Sara’s website, you can purchase merch bundles– the one featured above, for example, contains a promotional T-shirt, scarf, and a deluxe edition of one of their CDs, The Con. It’s a really neat idea and would probably make a great gift for a hardcore Tegan and Sara fan. I wonder why more bands aren’t creating bundles like this? It would be especially appealing if they were pieces you couldn’t purchase separately.

I haven’t spoken to my younger brother all summer because he’s been taking classes upstate, but he texted me this weekend to say he was going to a Wilco concert. Even hundreds miles away, he knows how to push my buttons and make me jealous. Typical. Anyway, I haven’t spoken to him since, so I don’t know what they offered merch-wise at the show. I headed over to Wilco’s online store, and they have a pretty impressive selection– including a whole eco-friendly category. They have aluminum water bottles, seen above, in addition to tote bags and even bamboo shirts. It’s nice to see bands that make an effort to lessen their impact on the environment through merch!

I’ve been on a huge Dylan kick lately, so I decided to head over to the online store to see what the man offers merch-wise. I was impressed! Above is the Bob Dylan promotional laptop bag, which I thought was pretty significant considering the man had his heyday long before desktop computers were a household norm, let alone laptops. The store also carries personalized belts and bandanas, which maybe isn’t so rare, but the creme de la creme of unique merch on this site was a promotional manicure kit. I kid you not. Kind of a weird product for a hippy folk singer to be peddling.

Via Pop Culture Gifts

I always like to see merch that really ties into what a band is all about, and this promotional incense holder for The Grateful Dead is a great example of that. This is a band that has inspired a wide variety of merchandise. My dad is a huge Dead Head, and he’s definitely got a few promotional shot glasses with the dancing bears on them laying around his house. And of course, what is possibly my personal favorite, there’s promotional ice cream to commemorate Jerry Garcia.

I don’t really love U2, but I do absolutely love this promotional toy– a Lego set of the band! It really pushes the limits of what you can do with merch– and U2’s been around for a long time, so they’ve probably exhausted their limits of creative possibilities with promotional t-shirts and custom buttons.

Here is some really unique band merch– show your love for Bloc Party safely with promotional condoms! While it’s a little strange, at least they’re promoting responsibilty.

I always like to see bands offering merch beyond the typical promotional t-shirts and buttons. I came across this really neat promotional tote bag for Streetlight Manifesto, a ska band I used to listen to a lot in high school. Since girls tend to buy more merch at shows than guys do, it makes sense that they would start make gender-specific merch. I wonder how long it will take them to come out with custom personal care products like makeup bags and travel kits– that would definitely be a unique way to show loyalty to a band!

Summer is on its way, and I am getting pumped for concerts and outdoor music festivals. After checking the lineup for this year’s Lollapalooza, I started looking through their old merch. Lollapalooza actually has promotional baby apparel, offering a onesie that says, “does this diaper make my butt look big?” and the Lollapalooza logo. It just goes to show, music– and merch– is for everyone.

So I was cleaning my room the other day, and I found this book that I got as I was leaving a Kanye West concert last summer. It’s full of advice and inspirational quotes from Kanye about how to get through life and get the most out of the opportunities presented to you. The content is a little cliched, but getting a free book when leaving a concert is something different. Promotional books are definitely a unique and underused alternative to the standard promo T shirt.

Metallica fans are a unique group of individuals (in a good way), and they know it. Show off your Metallica love with this stylish choker necklace. And if you like customizable jewelry, check out this.

Thanks to A.V. Club I found the ultimate band merch, the KISS Casket. Not only does the coffin symbolize the popularity of KISS, but no one other than Gene Simmons could have thought of such a lofty piece of band schwag. Frankly a KISS promotional t-shirt would suit me just fine, but if I had to go out - then I’d want to go out like this.

Here is another piece of promotional merchandise, courtesy of A.V. Club.

This promotional coloring book is an interesting way to cater to a younger audience about the band. I’m not sure if the images are exactly child friendly, but it is an interesting concept to promote the artistry of the band.

(Via: A.V. Club)

It seems like everything can be logoed these days. Take this Metallica switch plate for example, I mean who knew you could even do that. Bands seem to want their logo on everything, and being creative as they do it. Promotional hats, t-shirts, and bags are still very effective promos, but with a little creativity you can create some memorable Band Merch.

While promotional t-shirts and custom buttons make cool band merch, this promotional lapel pin is even cooler. As you are digging out your denim jacket looking for all your old 80’s band buttons and lapels add this lapel to your 80’s memorabilia collection.

Harry and the Potters is one band that’s definitely on top of their merch game. We’ve featured them a few times already on the blog, and each time we’re pleasantly surprised by the high-quality products they have available for their fans. Well, here’s another example of some fine music merch. This promotional foam finger is something you expect at sporting events, not concerts. It definitely adds to the party atmosphere and allows the band to stand out - at least the merch table does, anyway.

Here’s a cool item that I’ve never seen at a merch table before: a wind-up music box! I actually haven’t seen any sort of music box in years, and figured they had gone the way of the Dodo…but apparently some modern day artists like Feist are bringing them back from the dead. I can’t say it’s not a great idea either. These inexpensive music boxes are sure to catch the eye of fans looking for something a bit more unique from their favorite artists. When it comes to promotional products, this music box is one of the coolest items I’ve seen in awhile!

Here’s an interesting piece of band merch: a promotional kazoo! Finding unique and uncommon products is a great way for bands to cook up some fan demand for merch, but I’m not sure if I want hundreds of crazy fans buzzing their imprinted kazoos during my concert. It would be interesting to hear from The Long Winters about how popular these noisemakers were.

(pic via Flickr)

Keeping with the trend of creative merch we’ve been following lately, I present to you: stuffed animal merch! A band called Angry Panda brought these cute/angry screen-printed stuffed pandas to Warped Tour. According to one band member, Angry Panda “sold a lot of dolls and made a bunch of friends.”

It’s important to note the dual purpose of band merch in this scenario. Most bands use their merchandise to raise money they can invest into their endeavors, while others simply use these products to attract people to their merch tables. Getting some face time with concert-goers gives bands a chance to do some networking with fans and industry contacts. Who knows…maybe the guy checking out your unique merch owns a label or knows one that’s looking to sign? At the very least, merch can help you meet some cool people

(photo via Flickr)