What no one knew until his death, however, is that Graham was saving and storing various memorabilia from all the concerts he promoted. Upon his death, the warehouse in San Francisco that he stored all these goods at was found. The discovery was simply mind-blowing: more than 22 million items from nearly 17,000 live shows with more than 10,000 performers represented within the collection. Included in the trove are concert t-shirts, posters, tickets, backstage passes, programs almost anything imaginable — and all originals.
With nowhere to go with all the merchandise, in October 2003, Bill Graham Presents decided to start Wolfgang's Vault. "We're really just putting the items back where they belong, into the hands of the fans," says Michael Oldenburg, spokesman for the company. Items on the site range in price from just a few dollars up to, and in excess of $3,500. There are still many great pieces that are $50 and below, though, Oldenburg says.
Although there are a few items on the site that aren't for sale, you'd be hard pressed not to find something you like. Almost every performing rock act of the last 40 years is represented. "It's just really cool because you can find stuff here that you'll never be able to find anywhere else," says Gordon Wright, company spokesman. "And it's all vintage, all original."
Be the first kid on your block to do it. Originality, as you'll find out, is a powerful thing.
-- Kevin Kampwirth can be reached at kkampwirth@kansan.com.