Eyelids Frontman Chris Slusarenko Has a Fanbase for His Sweater Collection

Weezer had “The Sweater Song.” Eyelids have the Sweater Frontman.

For Chris Slusarenko, who owns more than 60 of them, a sweater is simply his preferred uniform—both in and out of rock.

“I run cold and I run hot,” he says. “A sweater onstage is a bit of a security blanket. It just feels right.”

Eyelids fans look forward to seeing which sweater Slusarenko might turn up in at each show. Comfort counts as much as style, including how much freedom it allows to play guitar. There’s one—a “U.K. three-tiered striped jumper”—he owns in triplicate, so for a 2019 show at Ecliptic Brewing, he wore all three at once, peeling them off like a pullover magician. And on Halloween at the Fixin’ To in 2021, he “crucified” a sweater as part of his costume.

Some of Slusarenko’s sweaters date back to his high school days. Many more were charity shop-scavenged by his wife, Scottish visual artist Jo Hamilton (and, as someone who often works in yarn, including the Eyelids’ crocheted stage backdrop, she’s also qualified to patch them). And Slusarenko believes a certain well-worn, green-striped Irish jumper dates back to the ‘90s and the Portland location of the Beastie Boys-associated store X-Large, which then employed Quasi’s Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss.

A collared shirt underneath—ranging from a red-and-white JCPenney houndstooth to a solid blue from Sheplers—typically completes the look. “I’ve always been a bit of a hyper-nerd in rock,” Slusarenko says, citing the likes of Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and David Byrne as geeky style avatars.

“On tour, fans will come up and say, ‘I haven’t seen that one before!’ or, ‘Oh, you’re wearing the classic,’” he adds. “It cracks me up, but I’ll take it.”