During the loud exploding parts, the musicians have a tendency to jump and shake unpredictably and knock things over - especially mic stands. Combine this with the fact that the singers often fail to make it to the mike in time to sing, and decide just to scream at the absolute top of their lungs wherever they are when the time comes, means that often entire shows will pass without the audience being able to hear the vocals. If, however, the band has a lot of screaming during the quiet parts, this can be an extremely powerful tactic. Once in a while the trembler will grab the back of the head and rock back and forth. The more the person likes the band, the more he or she will double over.
Few bands make t-shirts.
Most records are put out on very small, home-run labels or on the band's private label. Emo recordings tend to be analog only, cheaply done, with a tendency toward mostly live tracking with few overdubs. Equipment is heavily weighted toward tube gear. Until recently, most emo records were made on vinyl only. CD reissues of broken-up bands' discographies are becoming common, though.