Watch This Now: OFF! – “Wrong”
“Don’t put me on your list, because you are wrong…”
When I saw OFF! back in December of last year, it was pure fucking chaos. My brother and I were in the front row, getting kicked in the head and pushed against the foldback and screaming every word to every song. In other words, it’s exactly what a punk show should be. What was even cooler was that a stack of touring musos at the time had snuck side of stage – Pink Eyes from Fucked Up, Nate Mendel from the Foo Fighters, Kyle Gass from Tenacious D… and, yes, the D’s other half, Jack Black.
That chance encounter must have left an impression, as nearly a year later, here we are with the third video released in support of OFF!’s self-titled debut. Here, we get to see JB take the role of a sharp-dressed gangster as he brings in his chronies (vocalist Keith Morris, bassist Steve McDonald and guitarist Dimitri Coats) to beat up Mexican brawler Allisco, played by drummer Mario Rubalcaba. It’s done very cheesily, in the style of a Saturday afternoon movie. None apart from Jack are qualified actors, which makes it all the funnier to watch. Although it’s gone in 90 seconds, this is one I’d love to see the band return to – how about a prequel with King Kong Brigade as the soundtrack?
Watch This Now: OFF! – “Borrow and Bomb / I Got News For You”
OFF! are about as punk as it gets. With a huge background of bands between its four members, ranging from Black Flag to Redd Kross and all the colours in-between, OFF! do punk rock in abrasive, blunt and exciting fashion. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And even if it is, trash your instruments regardless. Similar to Band of Horses, OFF! have just been announced as part of the 2013 Big Day Outline-up, so I figured now was as good a time as ever to find out what this lot has been up to. They dropped their debut album earlier this year and have been rolling through film clips like nobody’s business – and now seemed as good a time as ever to double up and throw two songs in the same clip.
That’s right – with OFF!’s songs being so short as it is, why not grab two and stick them together? First up is Borrow and Bomb, in which a delightfully awkward Dave Foley plays an educator on a public access show called Teen Talk. “What the heck is punk rock?” he asks, and after some more delightfully awkward conversation, we find out. OFF! perform and startle Foley something chronic. It’s great viewing. Changing channels eventually leads to a dance-aerobics class where they bust out an awesome routine for I Got News for You. Of course. Spandex has never looked or felt so right, ladies and gents. Get amongst it. Two for the price of one is nothing to be sneezed at!
Watch This Now: OFF! – “Wiped Out”
“I’m wiped out! I’M WIPED OUT!”
Self-described as “the new old guys on the block,” OFF! have been tearing the hardcore punk scene apart as a collective unit for only a short amount of time, and yet have already knocked out four EPs and their debut album, set for release next month. To celebrate, here is the first single, which clocks in at a whopping 74 seconds and features a video that shoves far more into its running time than should physically be possible. Crazy, but hey – that’s OFF! for you.
Described as a celebration of west coast punk culture, Wiped Out gives us shots of slam pits, stacks on skateboards, making out and a bit of surfing for good measure. It’s not quite idealistic and it’s not quite nostalgic. It’s simply a quick montage of the thing that the guys in OFF! love – and really, what’s wrong with that? Works for me, at least. There’s also footage of the band playing live – and if you’ve ever seen them play, you’ll know that they mean business when that shit goes down. The debut album can’t come fast enough. Let’s trash this place.
Yes, We've Got a Video! 