OFF!

Ever heard of a band called OFF!? That wasn’t me shouting. Their name is OFF! I realise that every time I end a sentence with their name, it will look like I am shouting. I am not, and I will try to avoid this. If you haven’t heard of them, which is likely, they are a hardcore punk rock supergroup. Ever heard of Black Flag? That’s more likely. Well, the lead singer of OFF! is the original lead singer of Black Flag. See? You’re not totally lost now.

How did I discover them? Good question. It all started with Red Hot Chili Peppers. Red Hot Chili Peppers are my favourite band and have been for the past ten years now. When I first started getting into them it was during the album cycle of, I’m With You. During their world tour, Anthony Kiedis wore a baseball cap bearing the word “OFF!” on it. I assumed it was a reference to the band that I wasn’t aware of. Then, I became friends with a beautiful human who I will call Flatz because that is his nickname. Flatz is a diehard Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, and when I met him during a Spanish camp in Galway (yeah, that sounds funny when you think about it), he had an OFF! hat. I asked him about the origins, and he had no idea. So, I decided to do a little digging.

It turns out Keith Morris and Anthony Kiedis are good friends, and Kiedis wore the hat as a way of promoting Morris’ band. How nice is that? Cut to me finally listening to the band, and I was blown away. It is proper Californian hardcore punk. They have three albums, two of which are under 30 minutes long. It’s bloody great!

If you watch Red Hot Chili Peppers' latest interview on Howard Stern, guess what Kiedis is wearing? An OFF! shirt. This particular one looked so cool to me that I decided to buy one myself. It took forever to arrive, but when it did, I was enamoured. I think it’s my favourite t-shirt.

 Go listen to OFF! I was shouting at you this time. It won’t take you long either. That’s enough fanboying for one day. Thank you for reading. You are badass. Thank you for your time.