By Tim Byrnes
In the short, fast, loud world of hardcore punk, where song lengths average less than two minutes, a decade would equate to several lifetimes.
In that spirit, it feels like lifetimes have passed since Californian hardcore supergroup OFF! thrashed across Australian stages in 2013 at the now-defunct Big Day Out. Band co-founders Dimitri Coats and legendary hardcore frontman Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) spent that time feverishly working on the band’s next phase.
Their near decade of work was finally unveiled in 2022 in the form of Free LSD – the title of both their third album and psychedelic sci-fi film starring the band, as well as The Jesus Lizard’s David Yow, the late D.H. Peligro of The Dead Kennedys, and actor Jack Black.
While delivering the face-melting hardcore that has won them fans since their earliest releases, Free LSD expands the band’s palette with blasts of electronic noise and free jazz. It also expands their musical collab friends, with Keith and Dimitri joined by bassist Autry Fulbright II of …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, and Thundercat/Flying Lotus’ drummer-of-choice, Justin Brown.
While OFF! is currently touring South America, Morris found the time to answer some burning questions about their new album, filmmaking, and a conspiracy theory about Australia.
Where are you right now?
OFF! is on a tour of South America, and we’re playing the Primavera Sound Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Beck, The Pet Shop Boys and Blur.
We’ll go on in the late afternoon so as not to compete with any of the bands I mentioned. Apparently, they’re scared and don’t want us to steal any of their fans.
Free LSD, the album, is a massive departure from your previous work. What influenced the new direction? Was it fun venturing into psychedelic-noise-jazz?
Psychedelic-noise-jazz is a decent description of what we’ve created. It’s a departure, but we didn’t give up the aggressiveness and allowed ourselves to let some things fly. We’re known for certain things, so we decided to move away from painting things in black and white and use different colours.
Typically our listening palate would consist of Stiff Little Fingers, The Damned, Blue Oyster Cult, Z.Z. Top, Link Wray, Ramones, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, F Word, Germs, Black Sabbath, Bad Brains and a small army of others.
This time, we pointed our ears in different directions: Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, Throbbing Gristle, Blixa Bargeld’s Einsturzende Neubauten, Sun Ra and other artists who are not where a band from the genre we’re associated with would normally go for inspiration.
And to answer your question, it was a total mind fuck to be able to go to where we did. It would’ve been easy to return to the same places we’ve gone on our first three records, but our mentality was, ‘Let’s go somewhere else!’.
The new album is a companion to your long-laboured over sci-fi film of the same name. What is it about? What led to venturing into film? Was it a fun/stressful process, and are there any plans for a wider release or more films?
Free LSD is a love story with evil aliens and a group of musicians pulled together to fight for the survival of the human race. It’s sci-fi bloodshed with twists and turns along the way.
It was our intention from the beginning while we were creating songs to have our recording accompany a story and script that we would eventually film over two weeks in a break from some of the other stuff we were doing.
It was crazy; there were too many detractors saying it wouldn’t get made. The filmmaking process is the most difficult of all of the creative endeavours. Too many people involved, all with a bunch of ridiculous schedules!
Not only was it fun and exciting, but it was also way beyond hectic as our film budget would run out, and we would scramble to be able to pay the film crew. We had about four or five days when we didn’t know if we were going to be shooting or if we were cutting that scene from the movie. I wouldn’t hesitate to do it again at the end of the day or even at the beginning!
Now that it’s finished, a couple of people are trying to find a home for it. All of this is out of my hands.
As for other movies, Dimitri has a script/story for a movie that only has a handful of characters. I’m also sitting on five scripts, and I’ve been asked to play a role in a cowboy movie with John Doe (X) and, Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose) and other guys from bands, along with one of my friend’s ex-wife and daughter. I’ll be playing a quick draw gunslinger and actually have to ride a horse. . . OUCH!
Dimitri and I have been approached to play characters in a movie based on a book, Flash And Filagree by Terry Southern, who wrote some other incredible books, including The Magic Christian, Candy, and screenplays for Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider and The Loved One.
I’m also going to scout locations for another movie based on everything at the beginning of My Damage, which is my autobiography written with my friend, Jim Ruland, who is responsible for Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise And Fall Of SST Records and Do What You Want: The Story Of Bad Religion.
The band’s last visit was in 2013 on what would turn out to be the second-last Big Day Out. Any fond memories? Do you have any plans to make up for lost time?
It was a great experience every day because OFF! was sandwiched in between Jeff The Brotherhood – who played before us and had Jamin Orrall, who also played in Be Your Own Pet – and the awesome Alabama Shakes. This touring festival occurred during one of the worst heat waves in Australia’s history. Usually, when you look at a coloured weather map, you’ll see orange and red, but we were past brick-red and into some purple!
IT WAS F…… HOT!
There are no plans to make up for a few years that disappeared and will not make a remarkable comeback. That’s just the way it is. You lose something, and it won’t magically appear out of thin air. Poof! We’re just going out there and playing shows anywhere that’ll let us make our noise and be happy about it.
Keith, I hear you’re a fan of conspiracy theories. How do you feel about the conspiracy that Australia isn’t real?
Our newest recording’s lyrics are based on conspiracy theories – some of which have been proven true, others giant question marks. As for this one you’ve brought up regarding Australia’s nonexistence (which I’ve never read or heard of), we’ll consider it Fantasy Island where all our dreams can become a reality.
OFF! did indeed hit The Baso on Wednesday 17th Jan 2024 and were joined by Party Dozen and Sketch Method.
Listen to OFF! on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube
