Bay Area ‘merch dude’ talks behind the scenes

Brian McCann, Jr. is easily spotted behind the counter at Amoeba Music on Haight Street in San Francisco. Today, his hair is spiked and green, although his hair color and cut is ever-changing.

Selling records and compact discs is McCann’s bread and butter. McCann could sell records and CDs in his sleep; he has handled merchandise sales for The Old Firm Casuals, a noteable San Francisco street-punk band consisting of Lars Frederiksen of Rancid, Casey Watson and Paul Rivas from Never Healed.

McCann was born in Galway, Ireland. His family moved to Michigan when he was just one. 14 years later, as a teenager, McCann’s family relocated back to Ireland. While living in Ireland, McCann spent time as a vocalist for bands of his own.

Handling merchandise sales for his punk bands Carry No Banners and Cut The Reins gave McCann plenty of practice before moving to San Francisco in 2010.

“I moved to San Francisco when I was 25 years old, I had one friend here, no family and a thousand bucks in my back pocket,” said McCann. “I was sleeping on my friend’s couch and I didn’t even have a job lined up. Thinking back it was pretty crazy.”

The move back to the United States was a result of McCann’s desire to be somewhere new.

“I basically came here because I was tired of Ireland and wanted a change and I always had a fascination with Rancid and the Bay Area music scene,” said McCann. “My first time in California, or even the West Coast for that matter, was the day I moved here.”

When bands go on tour, they often take a friend that will handle merchandise sales. Because many music releases are easily downloadable from the internet, many bands make most of their money off of touring and merchandise sales.

Selling t-shirts and patches is part of what allows bands to continue on to the next venue, with money going towards food and gas.

McCann first met Lars Frederiksen at a Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards show in 2005 in Dublin, Ireland. Years later McCann was able to get tattooed by him at Skunx Tattoo in London. In the months following, Frederiksen brought The Old Firm Casuals to Ireland.

Making his connection there, and continuing to keep in contact with the band when he moved to San Francisco, the two became friends, and McCann then started to work sales for the band.

At each venue, before the doors open, McCann would set up the table, featuring five to 10 different t-shirt designs and a selected inventory of their vinyl records.

Simply moving this much merchandise from the tour van inside can be tough. As anyone who has ever moved a crate of vinyl records knows, they are heavy. A box of 50 12” records can weigh up to 25 pounds.

Despite the heavy lifting, McCann enjoys talking with fans and friends that he meets at shows while he is selling merchandise. “I love it,” said McCann. “I’ve met tons of rad people at shows.”

When a shirt, button, patch, or record is sold, McCann keeps track of the sale by hand.

“I would always write everything down with a pen and paper, and give it to the tour manager or band leader after,” said McCann on his inventory methods. “You gotta write down every design and size and then make ticks every time you sell something. Everyone’s got their own system. It’s easy, but also easy to forget, especially when there’s a rush.”

Though his bands disbanded following his move to the United States, he says that selling merchandise and being behind the scenes of the performances does have its advantages.
“Perks of being a merch dude would be meeting all your favorite bands, getting to hear the sound check and of course getting tons of free stuff. I think I have a million black band shirts.” said McCann.

As a fan of the band, the job is extremely enjoyable. Many Bay Area punk fans would love to be in his position, traveling and working for one of the most famous musicians of that genre. “I have always been a huge Lars Frederiksen fan and working with him has been a dream come true, said McCann.”

Working for The Old Firm Casuals has taken him all over the Bay Area, something that is valuable to him as a resident of only four years, as well as Southern California and Las Vegas.

Taking a break from tour life to focus on his family, McCann works at Amoeba Music, continuing in the world of music sales, as well as being a construction worker in the East Bay, rarely getting a full day off. His fiance Zoie is pregnant with their first child, coincidentally due on St. Patrick’s Day.