Rude Girl and Fruit Bat t-shirts

Ian founded Rude Girl Records in 1992; at the time, only she and Ani DiFranco had their own record labels. The name references the time a reporter from the Associated Press took her to lunch at Sardi’s, a very fancy New York City restaurant. It was 1966, and figuring the reporter had an expense account, Ian ordered a steak. However, the paltry amount of food on her plate caused the 15-year-old to exclaim that her mother could feed the family for a week for what they charged. The reporter later complained that Ian was “not nearly as nice as Shirley Temple. In fact, she’s a very rude girl!”

Ian rather liked the label, and instead of feeling chastised, decided to take ownership of it. Her core fans adopted it, too, calling themselves “Rudies.”

Also pictured is one of Ian’s “Fruit bat” shirts. Her two favorite types of outdoor concerts were folk festivals and “zoo gigs,” where she’d be given a backstage tour of the inner workings at each zoo, meeting “everything from penguins to fruit bats.” Ian had these T-shirts made specifically for playing at zoos, and they always caused a chuckle.