The Offs
Encyclopedia
The Offs are a punk
/ska
band from San Francisco, started by guitarist Billy Hawk and singer Don Vinil, and later joined by former Hot Tuna
drummer Bob Steeler and a rotation of horn players including Bob Roberts, Richard Edson
and Roland Young. The Offs were major players in the early days of the San Francisco punk rock scene.
' Johnny Too Bad with the Billy Hawk-penned 624803 on the B-side. A subsequent release was the 1978 single Everyone's a Bigot, with 0° on the B-side, which was the first-ever release out of San Francisco's 415 Records
. That song later appeared on the Alternative Tentacles
hardcore
/art punk
compilation Let Them Eat Jellybeans
. Another early release was, "You Fascinate Me." Lead singer Don Vinil was known for his outrageous on-stage behavior. Fellow San Francisco punk group, Dead Kennedys
played their first show with the Offs in 1978. They frequently played at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens
.
The Offs also went through a number of bassists, including Denny Boredom, Olga de Volga and Fast Floyd. Eric Peterson joined as bassist in 1980, just as the group decamped San Francisco for New York where they quickly became a regular fixture at such New York institutions as the Mudd Club
, Danceteria
and Max's Kansas City
. The Offs counted among their fans and friends numerous people in the downtown New York art/music scene, including artists Jean-Michel Basquiat
, Keith Haring
, musician and actor Richard Edson
, who played trumpet with the band, and Glenn O'Brien, the peripatetic chronicler of the scene for Andy Warhol's
Interview
magazine. In 1984, David Ferguson's
label CD Presents released a full length album for the band called The Offs First Record, with artwork by Basquiat.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band from San Francisco, started by guitarist Billy Hawk and singer Don Vinil, and later joined by former Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
drummer Bob Steeler and a rotation of horn players including Bob Roberts, Richard Edson
Richard Edson
Richard Edson is an American actor and musician.-Biography:Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters: Andrea, who resides in Newton, Massachusetts and Jennifer, who resides in New York City. His father Arnold was one of...
and Roland Young. The Offs were major players in the early days of the San Francisco punk rock scene.
History
The Offs first record was a self-released 7" single featuring a cover of the SlickersThe Slickers
The Slickers were a Jamaican rocksteady and reggae group in the late 1960s and early 1970s.They are best known for the song, "Johnny Too Bad", which featured on the film soundtrack of The Harder They Come, and which was sung with additional lyrics by John Martyn on his Grace and Danger album.The...
' Johnny Too Bad with the Billy Hawk-penned 624803 on the B-side. A subsequent release was the 1978 single Everyone's a Bigot, with 0° on the B-side, which was the first-ever release out of San Francisco's 415 Records
415 Records
415 Records was a San Francisco record label created in 1978. The label focused its efforts on local punk rock and new wave music acts of the late 1970s through the late 1980s, including The Offs, The Nuns, Romeo Void, and Wire Train...
. That song later appeared on the Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
/art punk
Art punk
Art punk or avant punk refers to punk rock of an experimental bent, or with connections to art school, the art world, or the avant garde....
compilation Let Them Eat Jellybeans
Let Them Eat Jellybeans
Let Them Eat Jellybeans!, subtitled "17 Extracts From Americas Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States and its original release included an insert of all of the...
. Another early release was, "You Fascinate Me." Lead singer Don Vinil was known for his outrageous on-stage behavior. Fellow San Francisco punk group, Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
played their first show with the Offs in 1978. They frequently played at San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens
Mabuhay Gardens
The Mabuhay Gardens was a San Francisco nightclub located at , on the Broadway strip of North Beach, an area best known for its strip clubs....
.
The Offs also went through a number of bassists, including Denny Boredom, Olga de Volga and Fast Floyd. Eric Peterson joined as bassist in 1980, just as the group decamped San Francisco for New York where they quickly became a regular fixture at such New York institutions as the Mudd Club
Mudd Club
The Mudd Club was a TriBeCa nightclub that was opened in October 1978 by Steve Mass, art curator Diego Cortez and Anya Phillips, a figure in the downtown punk scene...
, Danceteria
Danceteria
Danceteria was a well-known four-floor nightclub located in New York City which operated from 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. Throughout its history, the club had seven different locations, three in NYC and four in the Hamptons...
and Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
. The Offs counted among their fans and friends numerous people in the downtown New York art/music scene, including artists Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
, Keith Haring
Keith Haring
Keith Haring was an artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s.-Early life:...
, musician and actor Richard Edson
Richard Edson
Richard Edson is an American actor and musician.-Biography:Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters: Andrea, who resides in Newton, Massachusetts and Jennifer, who resides in New York City. His father Arnold was one of...
, who played trumpet with the band, and Glenn O'Brien, the peripatetic chronicler of the scene for Andy Warhol's
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
Interview
Interview (magazine)
Interview is an American magazine which has the nickname The Crystal Ball Of Pop. It was founded in late 1969 by artist Andy Warhol. The magazine features intimate conversations between some of the world's biggest celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers...
magazine. In 1984, David Ferguson's
David Ferguson (impresario)
David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career – most of which has been spent on the West Coast—he has worked with musical acts such as The Avengers, John Lydon David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture...
label CD Presents released a full length album for the band called The Offs First Record, with artwork by Basquiat.