When it comes to thrilling videos, no band even comes close to Off!. In their five year history, the Los Angeles punks – Keith Morris (vocals), Dimitri Coats (guitar), Steve McDonald (bass) and Mario Rubalcaba (drums) – have made 13 videos to accompany their singles. They’ve roped in the likes of Tenacious D’s Jack Black, Kids In The Hall’s Dave Foley, artist Raymond Pettibon and even a bear to help realise their ideas. Here’s Dimitri’s guide to the whole lot…
Upside Down
Dimitri: “We invited a few guys from the $lave skate team along with some fans and friends to the now defunct 6th St. Warehouse in downtown LA, where we played our first show. We set up mics and recored live audio. The performance is unique to that video. We actually played a whole set instead of running the same tune over and over.”
Darkness
“This was taped the same day as Upside Down. We moved our gear to a different part of the room, changed clothes, and blasted out a couple takes. The audio is also live. One of the $lave skaters spray painted OFF! on the wall behind us. We were directly under a skylight which made for a crisp B&W look.”
Black Thoughts
“I told Raymond Pettibon we needed another video and asked if he’d paint our our first EP cover on the wall. The idea was to shoot a time lapse which would be sped up to fit the length of the song. He was a good sport and it’s amazing to watch him work. He projected the image on the wall and bashed it out in under an hour.”
I Don’t Belong
“We walked around various areas of LA looking for people who stood out. Then we asked everyone to sing a line of the song. We’d try to match the look of each person to a specific lyric. In the end, we had a wide range of characters from homeless men to transvestites. Everyone seemed to be able to relate to the political theme, even though most of them had never heard the song.”
Wiped Out
“We’re fans of [filmmaker] Richard Kern and asked him to make a video for us. We returned to 6th St. Warehouse and invited a few fans. Richard brought a couple of his models to mingle with the crowd and create some chaos. He mixed in some surf and skate wipe out footage and added sex, drugs, and guns.”
_Cracked _
“Whitey McConnaughy directed this. The idea is that two opposing sign spinners get into a turf dispute. The band wasn’t around. I think we were on tour or something. Cracked is the only video we’re not in.”
Borrow And Bomb/I Got News For You
“[Kids In The Hall actor] Dave Foley stars as professional educator Dale Antwerp. Whitey McConnaughy recreated the vibe of an 80’s cable public access Teen Talk show with OFF! as the special musical guest. The talk topic: punk rock. The video continues with a commercial for Lethal Justice which would become the video for Wrong.”
Wrong
“It’s Mario vs. Jack Black and the rest of OFF! All Jack required was Zankou Chicken for catering. He was such a good sport getting sprayed with tons of blood and couldn’t have been any nicer. I was lifted by a crane and harness when Mario kicked me into a pile of trash. The Keith Morris dummy is pretty hilarious.”
Void You Out
“This is our tribute to [1981 punk film] The Decline of Western Civilization. Keith evokes [late Germs frontman] Darby Crash. I tapped into Chris Holmes from WASP in The Decline Of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years. The performance is live from the Casbah in San Diego and it was our first time playing Void You Out in front of an audience.”
_Hypnotized _
“David Yow from The Jesus Lizard plays a sad, drug-addicted superhero actor who encounters a similar character, played by Jack Grisham from TSOL. There’s a dispute over Hollywood Boulevard turf ending with Yow getting pissed on. David is actually a really good actor and is pursuing that career.”
Red White and Black
“Jimmy Hayward directed this one. Dave Foley returns as a white supremacist with [comedian] Brian Posehn as his sidekick. Word of their organization reaches a black biker gang, who decide to find their evil clubhouse and teach them a lesson. Mario couldn’t make the shoot so we used his photo on the No Minorities poster. We shot this at The Monty in downtown LA. There are a few fun cameos including Danny Carey, David Yow, Dale Crover, and Jack Grisham.”
Over Our Heads/Meet Your God
“I dreamed up the story with my friend David Dreyer. The idea originated from me asking Keith if there’s anything he wants to do before he dies. His answer was skydiving. We pitched the concept to Jimmy Hayward and Jack Black who both loved it. This was easily our biggest production so far. The wilderness footage was shot on [Tool bassist] Justin Chancellor’s property.”
