Small Town Weirdo: An Interview with Adam Bucci
It’s not every day that I hear the words “colorful,” “fun,” and “horror” in the same sentence–let alone see them in the same t-shirt. Adam Bucci (he/him) is a creative based in Los Angeles, California who has his finger on the pulse of film, fashion, and all things weird and queered. True to his roots in film, Adam’s colorful custom jean jackets and merchandise take inspiration from horror films and the LGBTQ community to show the strength and beauty of the underdog. We heard from Adam about his journey in painting jean jackets, starting Small Town Weirdo and what’s next for him.
Can you share a little bit about your background and how you decided to start Small Town Weirdo?
I am an actor and producer. During the pandemic, I had to switch gears like everyone else in the film industry. I went back to my art roots and started experimenting with fabric, which I had never done before. I started doing really intricate paintings on the back of jean jackets.
When I was 28, I came out, so I was a late bloomer. I got married to my husband four years ago. Since I met him 10 years ago, my world has really evolved, and my confidence has grown. I had no confidence when I was growing up in terms of fashion. I would be embarrassed if I wore sunglasses, a backwards hat, or tried to look cool. When I started this company, it was an excuse to let that confidence shine by creating and wearing things that I would never wear as an adolescent or in college. There’s glitter; there’s paint; there’s characters that I would have been embarrassed to show that I liked because I didn’t have a community. I am so comfortable in my own skin now, and I want to be able to wear this stuff with pride–no pun intended.
What kind of images did you start painting, and what was your inspiration for them?
I started painting images that were inspired by horror films. I love horror and always have. Growing up feeling like an outcast, I was drawn to the horror genre where they celebrate the underdog, monsters, the universal Frankenstein, and all different people that are outcasts. Now as an adult, I can see the correlation to how I felt growing up, the monsters, and the people in the movies. The horror genre is something I pulled from a lot at first when making my designs. I like to think of my company now more as horror and pop culture because it is not just a horror brand.
How was Small Town Weirdos received?
We’ve experienced very rapid growth for a small business. I’m lucky to be based in L.A. because I have a lot of friends—people that are in the industry—who saw them and wanted to buy them or wear them on the set of a movie. Because of this, I have gotten more and more eyeballs on it. For example, I have jackets that have appeared in Jack Quaid and Melissa Barrara’s Scream. Other people from Matt Bomer to Karen Gillan from Guardians of the Galaxy have ordered custom jackets. It was like this snowball effect that blew up out of nowhere.
It’s great to hear you’ve had so much success with the custom jean jackets. How have you grown Small Town Weirdo’s from there?
This last year and a half, I have been focused on expanding into merch like t-shirt, stickers, and cards to balance out the price point so more people can have access to my brand.
Tell us about your “Final Girl,” “Final Boy,” and “Final Queer” t-shirts.
I wanted to do a really simple t-shirt. To me, the term “final girl,” which refers to the survivor of a horror movie, felt like an empowering statement. Some people might think otherwise, but my feeling—and I think a large part of the horror community agrees—that final girl is a strong statement because that character is the survivor. Jamie Lee Curtis ended up wearing it on set, and it was very validating because I felt legit. I realized I was a part of the horror community, and that this community would accept me so I started doing conventions and meeting customers. The LGBTQ community within the horror community are some of the nicest and most supportive people.
I started adding rainbows and a couple months ago I was able to have “Final Queer” shirts made because I wanted to start to represent more people across the spectrum. So far, they are being received very well. My goal is to be able to expand this line so that I can represent more and more identities.
You tie together a lot of themes like “final girl” and the underdog. What message would you want to share with people who are feeling like the underdog?
Now is the time to be proud of who you are and let that show. Let other people see it. Now is the time to make everyone aware that you are not going anywhere. I am lucky to be in L.A. I hope people in other cities and other states get the opportunity to have confidence to wear what they want to wear and be who they are.
Small Town Weirdo has a lot to do with reframing the grotesque. Do you have a position on how you are bringing beauty into the world and what that means for your brand?
Not everyone loves horror. My work is fun. It is not dark. I like the quirky fun side of horror. Even if I do a morbid design, then people really love the artwork of it. The brand name was vague enough to include things from pop culture as well. I try to give beauty and positivity to things that would otherwise be seen as embarrassing or frightening.
What’s next on your horizon?
My husband, Adam Huss (he/him), and I have a production company. We have the same message in our production company as I do in my art. We want to celebrate the underdog and give representation to the LGBTQ community. We have a creature feature with an LGBTQ romance at its core called Let It Kill You that is going through the festival circuit right now. We also have a feature film coming up called Original Tru that is a gay rom com love story and Small Town Werido is going to have a shop that one of the characters is going to work at. We are excited to cross the art world and the movie world through this endeavor. It is exciting that we are cross branding and thinking bigger and bigger.
You can find Small Town Weirdo on Instagram @smalltown_weirdo and through their website smalltownwerido.com
Photos courtesy of Small Town Weirdo
