Release Date: 14 July 2023
Label: Wienerworld
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 089353515829
Description
Ska-punk outfit The Offs showcase their genre-bending sound – melding post-punk styles of ska and no wave – on this rare live recording. The punk/ska band formed in 1978 by singer Don Vinil and guitarist Billy Hawk, soon joined by former Hot Tuna drummer Bob Steeler. Their rotating line-up of horn players included Bob Roberts, Roland Young, and Richard Edson – who was already known on the New York scene with post-punk dance band Konk, but more notably for being the original drummer in Sonic Youth, when he was drafted in to play trumpet.
The group was born out of the San Francisco punk scene in 1978, before adopting New York City as their home in the early 1980s. The sextet commonly appeared at legendary punk venue Max's Kansas City (they spent time living on the nearby Prince Street, and released a single on the Max's label), but gained a reputation for how uncategorisable they were. Were they punk? New wave? Avant-garde? Art rock? New York Noise? A new strain of art jazz? Some mutation of sax-screaming ska? Similar to U.K. contemporaries Blurt, they were varying combinations of many post-punk, funk and jazz sounds and styles – suited to fans of Madness and The Specials.
While hard to pin down sonically, the band’s ethos was undoubtably punk. Singer Don Vinil was a close friend and friendly competitor of Jello Biafra in San Francisco at the dawn of both bands’ careers. These weren't art school posers, they were smash-it-up party hooligans who wanted to do something fresh, within a remarkably creative late-'70s Bay Area scene – alongside Crime, The Nuns, The Avengers, Negative Trend, Flipper, Pink Section, The Mutants, and many others. This 15-track set was recorded at the Mabuhay Gardens on March 1, 1980 and features covers of The Velvet Underground, James Brown, T. Rex, Ray Charles, The Slickers and The Essex.
Tracklisting
Unwritten Law
The Flying Burrito Brothers
Shelly Manne
Madchild
Brother Jack McDuff
Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
The Selecter
Rhoda Dakar
The Skints
Random Hand
Random Hand
Jaya The Cat
The Dualers
The Dualers
