About Us
What Is This Place?
No. This is not a scam. Read all about it.
I'm Ryan. This is my little corner of the world. I started it as an attempt to get a clothing company off the ground while taking time off touring. Anxious and Angry was born in a bedroom in Inglewood CA around 2014. Since then we've moved 3 times and have wound up in Dixon Illinois. There are a few heads to this dragon. Dig it.
The Store
It started as a way to sell my bad shirt designs for the namesake. Then it began to morph into a store to sell leftover tour merch for Off With Their Heads. A lightbulb went off and I figured a lot of my friends bands don't want to deal with merch, so I became their guy. It launched with Chicago's PEGBOY and Minneapolis' Dillinger Four. From there, we developed a decent reputation as the one place that would rather torch the entire operation than be unfair to bands. As Naked Raygun told me "You're the only merch company that has ever paid us." I think that's wild.
So yeah. Everything you see here is official. No bootlegs. Nothing without permission. All made DIY in house. Punk owned and operated. Bands paid. No BS.
The Podcast
The Anxious and Angry Podcast has taken many forms. It began as a way for me to sit with other musicians, actors or other interesting characters and talk about how they cope with their mental struggles. It was a form of therapy for me while in a dark place. I didn't know how to do a podcast, but as with everything else we do: I figured it out along the way. Since the beginning with guests ranging from George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (Cannibal Corpse) to Al Barr (The Bruisers / Dropkick Murphys) to Lori Barbaro (Babes in Toyland), things have morphed into just honest conversations with co host and best friend / tour manager Lindsay Beckett. Join in on the conversation! It's dumb and fun.
The Record Label
The record label dragon head began as an idea of giving away free flexi 7"s with shirt orders. Since my band was on the road more than off, I saw A TON of bands. I found a group of scrubs in New Orleans that kinda blew me away. They were called PEARS. I decided to take a stab at helping them out with an LP pressing. It was a massive success (for a guy in a bedroom with no idea what he was doing) and we were hooked. Now on our 55th release with no plans to stop.
The Community
This is actually a prompt from the "About Us" builder, but I'm gonna go for it anyway. This IS a community. Yes, it's a tee shirt store. But there is something more too it. A good amount of the people that stop by here and take part in anything going on are not just customers. We talk. We help each other out. We organize fundraisers. We give advice when needed. We listen. We help when we can. It's genuinely the best part of all this. A connection to the community that supports each other.
Who Works Here?
Me. Ryan J. Young - I play in a band called Off With Their Heads. I like cats more than humans (as most do) and I try and keep my circle comfortable in an uncomfortable world.
Kevin Rotter - Kevin plays in a band called The Copyrights as well as Off With Their Heads and is one of the hardest working people I've ever met. He is my partner in all of this and is more than a glue....He's construction grade adhesive.
Lindsay Patterson - My partner in crime and embroidery expert. She also holds the fort down when Kevin and I are out touring.
Our crew is tight.
Keep your circle comfortable and happy. Be an example of what you would want to see.