Music

Heavy metal vest mysteriously voyages across America

by Jeremy Mersereau

If you’re looking for a story about how the culture industry is ruthlessly efficient at defusing and transforming once-authentic symbols of rebellion into easy consumables for your next Frankfurt School lecture, well, look no further. Or, alternately, keep reading if you’re just looking for a strange story about one man’s vest and its incredible, mysterious journey. “Can’t it be both?”

Three years ago, Oregon City metalhead (and bassist of the band Maniak) Meshach Babcock had his patch-laden denim vest stolen after a battle of the bands show at Oregon City High School. Eventually, Babcock gave up the search for his absent apparel, and resigned himself to his new, vest-less existence, or at least a few days of painstakingly sewing Cannibal Corpse patches on a new one.

Fast forward to 2016, and Babcock forgot all about his beloved garment… until he received a text from a friend this week saying he’d spotted a remarkably similar vest on an Instagram photo taken in New York City. Upon seeing the photo, Babcock immediately recognized it as his own missing apparel; after all, a man never forgets his lovingly-placed Scorpions patch. Through the intricate, bland process of the commercial marketing of culture “Somehow”, the vest had become part of a Ralph Lauren polo display at Macy’s department store.

Currently, Macy’s is trying to determine exactly who currently owns the vest, and if they have no issues with it, they are likely to send it back to Babcock.

“I really would like to figure out all this traveling that my vest has been doing without me, having all the fun. There’s got be some people who can give me some information about where it came from,” Babcock told Portland-area TV station KATU. “The other thing about the vest is that it had never been washed, and when I saw the picture I thought ‘I really hoped they didn’t wash it.’ The whole mojo factor of it.”

Yep, it’s official: this man is the real deal.