When SF punk bands were first posted here, one group that readers wanted to hear more of was The Offs. The Offs released two 1978 singles on the band's own Crack In The World label: "Johnny Too Bad" b/w "624803"; and "Zero Degrees" b/w "Everyone's A Bigot". The latter single was reissued by 415 Records.
The Offs collaborated with Earl Zero on a 12" single with an extended version of Billy Hawk's "Why Boy". The blog Tone And Wave posted Zero Vs. The Offs last year. It's included in today's post, along with live Offs tracks from the Eastern Front and Deaf Club compilations.
The Offs relocated from SF to NYC, and Max's Kansas City Records released the third single, 1980's funky "You Fascinate Me" b/w "My World". The posthumous First Record (an LP released after singer Don Vinil's 1983 death) was produced by jazz clarinetist Roland Young. Richard Edson (from SF's Alterboys and NYC's Konk) played trumpet, and Jean-Michel Basquiat drew the album cover.
The band had chops. Offs bassist Denny DeGorio was part of Jorma Kaukonen's trio Vital Parts with drummer John Stench (from Chrome and Pearl Harbor & The Explosions), and Denny later played with Alejandro and Javier Escovedo in The True Believers. Offs' drummer Bob Steeler had been a member of Hot Tuna, and saxophonist Bob Roberts played with Ruben & The Jets.
The Offs' original songs were written by guitarist Billy Hawk (sometimes in collaboration with Don Vinil). In addition to The Slickers' "Johnny Too Bad", The Offs recorded covers of "Bye Bye Baby" (originally by Mary Wells) and "I've Got The Handle" (written by Leroy Sibbles of The Heptones). The Offs are sometimes labeled a ska punk band, but there's more to them than that.
All Of The Offs: http://www.mediafire.com/file/vt541yiqm3dkuzr/TheOFFS.zip/file
ReplyDeleteThanks again to Tone And Wave for sharing the Earl Zero 12".
Maybe TMI, but I'm getting Offs right now.
ReplyDeleteHey, Nathan! Back in 2007, you had this to say about The Offs: "The greatest thing about this San Francisco sextet was their inability to be pigeon-holed. Were they punk? New wave? Avant-garde? Art rock? No New York noise? A new strain of art jazz? Some odd form of mutant ska gone wrong with bleating sax & screeching vocals? Like their U.K. contemporaries, Blurt, they were sort of all these things, & still others with names that haven't been invented. But what tied them to the punk community was the basic blazing energy to everything they did. These weren't a bunch of art school posers, they were smash-it-up party skanksters who wanted to do something fresh within an absolutely remarkably creative late-'70s Bay Area scene -- in cahoots with Crime, Nuns, Avengers, Negative Trend, Flipper, Pink Section, Tuxedomoon, Vktms, Mutants, Lewd, Dils, Zeros, & more."
DeleteWell put, my friend.
Ah, shucks
DeleteVery, very excited to dive into this. I've been picking up Offs cuts in drips and drabs, so I'm stoked to finally get it all in one place.
ReplyDeleteI have the LP, two of the singles, and the Deaf Club comp; but listening to the whole body of work shows how much The Offs evolved. "624803" could be a leftover from Grand Mal (the punk band that Don and Billy had with Will Shatter before The Offs formed). By the time of the LP, they are firing on all cylinders and hobnobbing with the downtown NYC art crowd (as well as the junkies, unfortunately). Don was a real showman, and I wish I could have seen them perform. Imagine him in your face with those eyes!
DeleteI hate to see The Offs lumped in with ska punk, because they didn't play it for laughs. "My World" is uplifting, but there's a lot of rage in the music. Closer in spirit to The Specials than any of the other ska revival bands.
have needed a good OFFS post for a decade, thanks Jonder!!
ReplyDeleteHey, Jonder! Great band; saw 'em play a few times. They also did (yet another) version of "Handle" on the 415 Music collection....if you don't have it, I did a rip a few years back and think I scan track it down, upload it, and send you the link....
ReplyDeleteOh, good one! I have 415 Music somewhere and will add it. Thank you for the suggestion! I bet they put on a hell of a show.
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