MY DAMAGE: Keith Morris And OFF!, 2016

 November 12th, 2016- When OFF! announced their eight-city West Coast November tour, I figured the best place to see them would be at The Garage, a dive bar in the beach town of Ventura, CA. The San Francisco choice was Slim's, which is a great venue, but it is more of a nightclub setting. I knew that the show at  The Garage would have cheap beer flowing and a rambunctious crowd. I was not disappointed.

Along the way, Keith Morris scheduled reading/book signing sessions prior to each show at record and book stores. Fortunately, the Ventura stop featured a signing at Saltzer's Records, a great store I've been going to for over twenty years.

As for the book itself, the former BLACK FLAG/CIRCLE JERKS frontman weaves a highly readable memoir, (with the help of co-writer Jim Ruland.) 

In the battle of the Black Flag singers/writers, Henry Rollins has published about 30 books, while Morris weighs in with a scant one. Keith's book is better than AT LEAST fifteen of Henry's books, and that is not a bad showing. (I bring Rollins' 1998 classic 'Smile, You're Traveling' on EVERY trip I take, because I find it to be very inspiring.)

Keith tells an interesting tale of growing up in Hermosa Beach, getting a little too involved in drugs and alcohol, and the perspective of being the lead singer of (at least) three legendary punk bands. 

The Black Flag beginnings are great, of course. The Circle Jerks chapters are engaging. The lean years, where the aging diabetic was earning his living by waiting tables on Sunset Boulevard, those parts are kind of tough. The creative rebirth that eventually materialized a few years ago with OFF! is a positive way to close out the book.

At the Saltzer's signing, my friend Steve and I walked in while Keith was reading from the book. There were about 60 people in attendance, listening to Morris recount the moment he joined Black Flag. I must admit, though, he didn't sound like he was into it. Here's a guy who usually sounds electric every time he speaks. On this occasion, he sounded like he was, well...Reading.

No big deal, however. I was just happy to get my copy of the book signed without being an autograph hound. I mumbled something to Keith about a part in the book I liked, and he just stared at me, offering up the fist for an old fist bump.

After exiting the record store, we had a couple of hours to kill before the OFF! show. When we trekked on over to The Garage, I was surprised to find this place located right in the suburbs. I felt like I was in my own neighborhood with the  residential street parking. As we walked to the bar, I laughed thinking about how the neighbors must love this place, that recently hosted the rambunctious D.R.I. and M.D.C.... 

It was 2150 Hrs. when we walked in, and OFF! were scheduled to go on in ten minutes. Perfect! Just enough time to grab a beer and get right up front. My kind of place: low stage, band members having to walk through the crowd to get to the stage, sweaty atmosphere. 

We stood in front of bassist Steve McDonald, who currently does triple duty in OFF!, THE MELVINS, and his original band REDD KROSS. Those three represent three styles of music, and how he can seamlessly transform between the three is beyond me. He not only rocks, he's also the co-star of one of my ALL TIME favorite movies, 'Spirit of '76.' 

Someone in the crowd yelled out, "I loved your book, Keith!," and the frontman responded "So did my mom..." 

The election was only a few days before, so I thought Morris would go off on the coming political apocalypse, (which I have seen him do in the past,) but Keith was stoic, inferring that he had an open mind for the future.

I would love to give you the set list. I really would. In fact, it would have been hilarious to even try, since we are talking a band that writes songs that average about one minute in length. They go by in short, sharp flurries. 

I did hear all my favorites, though, for sure- 'Jeffrey Lee Pierce,' 'Wiped Out,' 'Peace In Hermosa,' 'Poison City,' 'Rat Trap,' 'I Don't Belong,' 'Jet Black,' 'King Kong Brigade,' 'Hypnotized,' and 'Void You Out.'

The audience was great. Screaming, singing, starting a pit. Egging the band on. Guitarist Dimitri Coats, he IS the second coming of former Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. He was sporting two of the most beat up Marshall cabinets I have ever seen, and they still sounded great. 

I had lost faith in punk rock for years until I heard OFF! sometime in 2011. It was the perfect blend of old and new. (So new, in fact, that their 2012 fifteen-minute self-titled album broke the Billboard Top 100, coming it at number 96. That's impressive.)

Plus, their non-greedy ethos is refreshing. The show was cheap at $15, shirts were a steal at $15. CD's for $10, and FREE STICKERS with purchase! If I looked in the mirror during the show, I'd be shocked to find a dude in his late 40's, as I felt like I was 16. 

Drummer Mario Rubalcaba, is of course, great. I have no idea how he remembers the count in of each number, since OFF! songs vary, and when you're playing 30 cuts a night, my brain would be in a blender trying to keep track with them all. True professional. 

Before coming back for an encore, Dimitri asked the crowd to hurl as much abuse at the band as possible, as they would be filming this. It was pretty fun to yell "You Suck!" at the top of my lungs, sounding like I meant it, and other people were weighing in with their own brand of insults. It was pretty convincing. I filmed a portion of this and the people I showed it to asked me "What happened? Why did they boo?" 

As usual, at these awesome shows, it was over much too fast. The Ventura crowd howled it up and continued to party at The Garage. The merch table was doing brisk business, with T-shirts flying and one girl asking "What CD should I buy?" Since there was no backstage, Keith Morris fled to the band's van in the parking lot to recover.