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Down the Highway

Interviewing the Influential Artists Behind American Roots Music

Keith Morris

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Hailing from Hermosa Beach in the South Bay of Los Angeles, Keith Morris is known for fronting bands Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, and most recently OFF! Entering the punk scene in the late 70s, Keith started Black Flag with guitarist Greg Ginn, who he met and befriended while working in a record store. Unable to land a record deal, they released albums under Greg Ginn’s label SST, a label created just for Black Flag (though later featuring other punk acts).

Morris was Black Flag’s lead singer in the late 70s, and his vocals appeared on later albums such as 87’s Wasted…Again. Leaving Black Flag’s genre-defining Nervous Breakdown for posterity, Morris split with the band in 1979. He went on to form The Circle Jerks with Greg Hetson, the former guitarist of Redd Kross. For the next ten years, The Circle Jerks heavily defined the hardcore punk scene. The band went on hiatus from 1990 to 1994, when they released Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities. This would be the band’s last studio album, and they toured on and off for the next fifteen years playing their still popular back catalog.

Morris started OFF! in 2010 with Dimitri Coats from Burning Brides on guitar, Steven McDonald from Redd Kross on bass, and Mario Rubalcaba from Hot Snakes on drums. The band has released three studio albums and one live album so far, the most recent being The Wasted Years in April of 2014. Morris continues to front OFF!, and the band has opened several times for The Red Hot Chili Peppers as part of their touring schedule.

In addition to his dedication to his bands’ projects, Morris has assisted with backing vocals for tracks by Bad Religion, My Chemical Romance, and Trash Talk, among many other bands.

Photos

Discography

Black Flag

  • Nervous Breakdown (1979)
  • Selections from Everything Went Black (1982)

Circle Jerks

  • Group Sex (1980)
  • Wild in the Streets (1982)
  • Golden Shower of Hits (1983)
  • Wonderful (1985)
  • VI (1987)
  • Gig (1992)
  • Oddities, Abnormalities and Curiosities (1995)

Bug Lamp

  • “Howling at the Moon (Sha-La-La)” on Gabba Gabba Hey: A Tribute to the Ramones (1991)
  • “El Dorado” on Roadside Prophets soundtrack (1992)
  • “The Ballad of Dwight Fry” on Welcome to Our Nightmare: A Tribute to Alice Cooper (1993)

Midget Handjob

  • Midnight Snack Break at the Poodle Factory (2000)

Off!

  • First Four EPs (2010)
  • Off! (2012)
  • Wasted Years (2014)

Links

http://offofficial.com/

Video

Down the Highway Interview with Keith Morris

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