Punk Supergroup Off! Announce Final Shows

05-07-2024

(Biz 3) OFF!, the trailblazing supergroup helmed by Keith Morris (Circle Jerks, ex-Black Flag) and Dimitri Coats (ex-Burning Brides) that evolved from barnstorming hardcore traditionalists to an expansive multimedia psychedelic punk institution over the course of its 14 year existence, have announced they will take an indefinite hiatus following a trio of shows this July in New York, Chicago, and their hometown of Los Angeles.

Each city will also play host to an advance screening of the freshly finished Free LSD feature film that was written and directed by Coats in parallel with the 2022 album of the same name.

The band will be joined by founding drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless) for the final trio of shows, in addition to a distinguished curation of support acts for each city including F***ed Up (New York), Shellac (Chicago), and Surfbort (Los Angeles). The advance screenings of the film will be followed by a worldwide digital release from distributor Buffalo 8 (more info soon).

Renowned for their ferocious, unyielding live performances, the band came out swinging on their 2010 debut First Four EPs - a full length that distilled 30 years of punk vitriol into 18 bracing minutes and, in retrospect, served as the opening salvo of an unfolding hardcore revival that continues to build momentum to this day. Over the course of three more albums the band continued to expand on that template without ever letting up on the intensity, culminating in their 2022 masterpiece Free LSD. As mentioned above, the album was written and recorded in parallel with the film of the same name. The multimedia approach provided impetus for Morris and Coats to diversify the band's trademark incendiary sound, bolstered on the album by the virtuosic talents of drummer Justin Brown (Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Herbie Hancock) and bassist Autry Fulbright II (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead), to include forays into psychedelia, free jazz, and noise in perfect balance with their trademarked hardcore snarl.
The film Free LSD follows the story of Keith (played by Keith Morris), an elderly sex shop owner who falls for a younger woman visiting his store looking for a gift. When their relationship turns physical, Keith's failure to perform leads him to a strange erectile dysfunction doctor who offers hope in the form of an experimental drug. The experience gives Keith much more than renewed manhood. It also provides a glimpse into a parallel universe where he is not only the singer of the band OFF!, but also the target of an advanced AI species that will stop at nothing to prevent the group from making a new album, which holds the key to an awakening of human consciousness.

The film, which closed the 2023 Slamdance Film Festival, was written and directed by OFF!'s Dimitri Coats and also features performances by Jack Black, Autry Fulbright II, D.H. Peligro (Dead Kennedys), David Yow (Jesus Lizard), Chelsea Debo, James Duval, Dana Gould, Barry Del Sherman, Davey Havok (AFI), Angelo Moore (Fishbone), Zander Schloss (Circle Jerks), Chloe Dykstra, Chris D. (The Flesh Eaters), Don Bolles (Germs), Don Nguyen, and more. That the film came accompanied by an album of the same name places the band in the rarified company of such artists as Pink Floyd, The Who, Prince, and a small handful of other ambitious polymaths.

OFF! FINAL SHOWS AND FREE LSD PREVIEW SCREENINGS

Chicago:
July 17 Free LSD film screening w/ Q&A @ Music Box Theatre
July 18 Lincoln Hall (w/ Shellac)

NYC:
July 19 Free LSD film screening w/ Q&A @ Village East by Angelika
July 20 (Le) Poisson Rouge (w/ F***ed Up)

LA:
July 26 The Belasco (w/ Surfbort)
August 2 Free LSD film screening w/ Q&A @ Nuart Theatre