Next Generation Tees #8 featuring Sam Staples

Sam Staples | The Netherlands  

Interview by Alejandra Barreto Cortés

"I chose this shirt because I’m a big fan of Frank Zappa. It's story is quite interesting. Apparently, he was walking shirtless in Hollywood and wanted go to a club but they wouldn’t allow shirtless hippies into the club so they gave him a rental shirt and it became his favorite and he wore it all the time.

I’ve been listening to his music for approximately 15 years. I discovered him when I was working in a record store. I read his autobiography and I like it very much. He’s a fascinating guy. He experiments a lot with different genres of music like rock, jazz, pop, classical and avant-garde music.

I’m a sculptor and installation builder and I like to use diverse materials to transform a space into a different kind of space and I would like very much that it touched people and made them feel the space in a different way. I hope I can experiment with my art in the same innovative way that Zappa experimented with his music. With a lot of freedom and not limiting myself to specific styles or topics."

Shop The Shirt

Rental t-shirt worn by Frank Zappa.

Frank Zappa was an American musician, record and film producer, songwriter and composer. In his career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed rock, jazz and orchestral works.  He began writing classical music in high school and at the same time played drums in rhythm and blues bands; later changing to electric guitar. Frank Zappa is seen here wearing the original Rental shirt in 1968.

Sam's artwork

Find out more about Sam on Instagram and his website.