"I went to a Need concert and I was wearing this white dress shirt," she says, tugging at its sleeve. "At the end of the show, everybody was climbing up on stage and getting signatures. I was like, 'Wow, I want a signature too!' I ran up there but I didn't have anything for them to sign, so I just asked [the band] to sign my shirt. Now I wear it to every concert I go to."
That's all it took to start this tradition. Having worn the shirt to several more shows since, Rebecca has gathered quite a punk-rock yearbook on her back.
"I haven't counted how many signatures I have, but I've got a lot. I've got the Need, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, the Gossip, the Bangs, Tracy and the Plastics...."
The list is long and impressive. When I ask her if she has a "dream signature," she cracks a big smile. "My dream signature was Kathleen Hannah, and I got it!"
Ms. Hannah's autograph didn't come as easily as the others: "Usually I just climb onstage and ask [people] to sign my shirt, but I was really annoyed when I got Kathleen Hannah's signature," laughs Rebecca. "I had to borrow a backstage pass from someone. It was worth it though. She wrote, 'We were born in flames' on it!"
"Would you ever think of selling it?" I ask. I can already see the bidding war on eBay.
"No way!" But then she ponders the possibility of someone offering a lot of dough. "I'd want it to go to a good home if I sell it--it's really special to me. It's all my memories." MEGAN SELING
