Jeff Ott
Encyclopedia
Jeff Ott is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley
punk
community, having fronted such bands as Crimpshrine
, and Fifteen
.
and Aaron Elliot. Since releasing his first 7" at the age of 17, he has released 27 albums and 7"s under various names/groups. His most noteworthy groups included Crimpshrine
and Fifteen
, Phallucide, Phone Bill, The Tescoflex 7. As of the year 2000, Ott has been unwilling to endure a tour. However, he has toured and performed as a solo artist since then, albeit rarely and for limited durations. He is married and has two children and one granddaughter.
, homophobia
, misogyny
/male supremacy, classism
, drug abuse
, needle exchange, and civil rights
. Other topics frequently the subject of his lyrics include gender roles, homelessness
, addiction
, environmentalism
, social injustice
, conspiracy
, and rape
.
Ott has released two albums under his own name: 1998's Epithysial Union, an album also featuring songs by Amanda Ketchum (billed only as 'Amanda'), and 2003's Will Work For Diapers, his most recent musical work to date. He also published two books. His first book, My World: Ramblings of an Aging Gutter Punk (ISBN 0-9677287-0-3) consists of excerpts from his self-published zine
of the same name. His 2005 book Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Real War on Terror (ISBN 0-9677287-1-1), focuses on domestic violence, police brutality, sexual abuse, and how he sees these issues as more urgent and credible than the War on Terror
. Both books are published by Sub City Records
, a sub-label of Hopeless Records
.
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
community, having fronted such bands as Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and a friend, Jeff Ott. Within D.I.Y...
, and Fifteen
Fifteen (band)
Fifteen was a punk rock band formed by Jeff Ott. Ott was the group's main songwriter and only consistent member. According to Ott, the band had a total of fifteen members by the time it finally disbanded in 2000: Jack Curran, Mikey Mischief, Mark Moreno, Jean Repetto, Lucky Dog, Chris Flanagan,...
.
Partial history
At age 12 he started playing music with his friends Jesse MichaelsJesse Michaels
Jesse Michaels is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and artist from Berkeley, California. He is the son of the deceased author Leonard Michaels. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues.-Musical overview:...
and Aaron Elliot. Since releasing his first 7" at the age of 17, he has released 27 albums and 7"s under various names/groups. His most noteworthy groups included Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and a friend, Jeff Ott. Within D.I.Y...
and Fifteen
Fifteen (band)
Fifteen was a punk rock band formed by Jeff Ott. Ott was the group's main songwriter and only consistent member. According to Ott, the band had a total of fifteen members by the time it finally disbanded in 2000: Jack Curran, Mikey Mischief, Mark Moreno, Jean Repetto, Lucky Dog, Chris Flanagan,...
, Phallucide, Phone Bill, The Tescoflex 7. As of the year 2000, Ott has been unwilling to endure a tour. However, he has toured and performed as a solo artist since then, albeit rarely and for limited durations. He is married and has two children and one granddaughter.
Songwriting
Ott's lyrics are politically influenced and he writes about such controversial subjects as racismRacism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, misogyny
Misogyny
Misogyny is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Philogyny, meaning fondness, love or admiration towards women, is the antonym of misogyny. The term misandry is the term for men that is parallel to misogyny...
/male supremacy, classism
Classism
Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...
, drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
, needle exchange, and civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. Other topics frequently the subject of his lyrics include gender roles, homelessness
Homelessness
Homelessness describes the condition of people without a regular dwelling. People who are homeless are unable or unwilling to acquire and maintain regular, safe, and adequate housing, or lack "fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence." The legal definition of "homeless" varies from country...
, addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
, environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, social injustice
Social injustice
Social injustice is a concept relating to the claimed unfairness or injustice of a society in its divisions of rewards and burdens and other incidental inequalities...
, conspiracy
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
, and rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
.
Solo music and books
Since becoming a solo artist, Ott has traded punk's tearing guitars and rapid tempos for traditional singer/songwriter fare (i.e. a single acoustic guitar). His lyrical content, charged starkly with his removal of drug-use from his life, shedding metaphor almost completely for very literal meanings. His solo work uses many of the same songs and lyrical themes as his rock-band work.Ott has released two albums under his own name: 1998's Epithysial Union, an album also featuring songs by Amanda Ketchum (billed only as 'Amanda'), and 2003's Will Work For Diapers, his most recent musical work to date. He also published two books. His first book, My World: Ramblings of an Aging Gutter Punk (ISBN 0-9677287-0-3) consists of excerpts from his self-published zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
of the same name. His 2005 book Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Real War on Terror (ISBN 0-9677287-1-1), focuses on domestic violence, police brutality, sexual abuse, and how he sees these issues as more urgent and credible than the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
. Both books are published by Sub City Records
Sub City Records
Sub City Records is a record label which was created by Hopeless Records to raise funding and awareness for non-profit organizations. Sub City has been active for eleven years now, and has now over 30 releases....
, a sub-label of Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
.