Jeff Ott
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Jeff Ott is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley punk community, having fronted such seminal bands as Crimpshrine and Fifteen.
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[edit] Partial history
At age 12 he started playing music with his friends Jesse Michaels and Aaron Elliot. At the age of 15 Ott first used a needle to intravenously inject methamphetamine, an addiction that followed him for 10 years. Since releasing his first 7" at the age of 16, he has released 27 albums under various names/groups. As of the year 2000, Ott has been unable to consistently sustain a touring band, primarily due to financial restraints and increased dedication to his family. 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.
[edit] Songwriting
Ott's lyrics are politically influenced and he writes about such controversial subjects as racism, 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,Danielle Harold, and conspiracy.
[edit] 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, however, has changed very little, if at all. He continues to play Fifteen and some Crimpshrine songs, though, but in this new style. 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. The latter, his most recent musical work to date, was accompanied by the release of his first book, My World: Ramblings of an Aging Gutter Punk (ISBN 0-9677287-0-3). The bulk of the content 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.
[edit] Links and organizations
Ott also supports and is involved in a number of non-profit organizations including:
[edit] External links
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