We were excited to talk with Dimitri Coats from Off! About how everything came together, rather quickly. The band also features Keith Morris (yes, that Keith Morris) Steven McDonald, and Mario Rubalcaba

NT: Being all involved in different projects, how did you manage to get together?

DC: Off! Didn’t start out as an intentional project. I started out doing some production work for Keith Morris (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) luckily the two other guys at the top of our list, Steven (Red Kross) and Mario (Hot Snakes, Rocket From The Crypt) were available. Things just started happening, and we really started clicking as a band, now were trying to figure out how to balance everything.

We have already been to Europe and Australia, soon we will be hitting the road with Refused. The Chilli Peppers ask us to open for them at The Staples centre.

NT: Tell me a bit about recording the album, I think you had scrapped the whole first recording.

DC: Not at all, we did everything in practically one whole take. The demo is almost the album. Keith and I wrote the songs in about a month and a half then practiced as a band for a couple of weeks before
hitting the studio. We recorded in two days and then mixed it in another two days. All this is by design, wee not U2, were arriving with an intensity and urgency. It’s all about stripping the fat, it’ like opening the hood of a car and ignoring the paint job, that’s what matters. That’s what were all about.

NT: The crowds at your shows much attract many ages? with all you guys being in the scene for so many years.

DC: The audience seems to be getting younger and younger. I manage the band, I was checking out
the Facebook demographics and of our fifty thousand plus fans, most of them are between the ages of 18-24 years old. That surprised me, but when we play shows, they are all there. I think that we have crossed over the hardcore genre and all sorts of people are curious about our music. If you asked ten people at one of our shows what their favourite records are, you’d be surprised. There not all Bad Brains and Ramones, which excites me, because i’m not really a punk rocker myself.

NT: What’s it like working with Vice Records? They really are involved in all aspects in the world of multi-media.

DC: We don’t have to go around with fliers and staple guns, there are virtual posters. Alot of people see them. We’ve adapted, we have become very involved in working with that sort of thing (multi media). We were interested in working with Vice, because of their marketing. They have alot going on and reach tons of kids. Keith is also a big fan of a number of bands Vice covers. We also envisioned ourselves playing festivals like ATP and getting on bills with bands like Deerhunter.

NT: You also did a split seven inch with The Melvins. How did that happen?

DC: Those guys are like family, my kids and Dale Crover’s kids play together. We both had spare
songs kicking around. We are also big fans of the band. I hope we can play shows with those guys in the future, we have never played live together.

http://offofficial.com/bio/
http://www.myspace.com/off
http://soundcloud.com/offofficial/wiped-out