Off with Their Heads (band)


Off With Their Heads is an American punk rock band formed in 2002 from Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Since their formation, they have often featured a rotating line-up of tour players, due to members of the band often touring with other music acts. Singer/guitarist Ryan Young has noted that having different musicians helps keep the band fresh. Though since 2013 the line up has remained more consistent.

History

According to the No Idea website, the band had planned to release The '69 Sound, a second singles collection of more recent split 7" material. However, this has since been refuted by No Idea, who commented saying "This thing will never happen."
On September 10, 2008, Off With Their Heads self-released a music video for "Fuck This, I'm Out"
In late 2009, the band was chosen as one of Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists," resulting in a spot in the publication's No. 11 issue, as well as an exclusive Q&A for the magazine's site.
In February 2010, it was announced that Off With Their Heads signed to Epitaph Records, with a new record due for June 1 of that year.
After Ryan Young suffered a nervous breakdown, the band dropped off of a Canadian Tour with The Flatliners in late 2013. The band took extended time from touring and only played sporadic shows over the course of 2014, later returning to the road in 2015.
In 2016 Ryan Young and Polydoros embarked on an acoustic tour in support of their acoustic album "Won't Be Missed"
In August 2019 the band released their fourth full-length album "Be Good"and a nation wide tour followed, many dates which were cancled due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. The band announced in May 2020 that due to the Covid-19 pandemic they would not be playing anymore live shows in 2020. In May 2020 the band put out their second acoustic album "Character" which features old and new Off With Their Heads songs as well as covers performed by a once again changed OWTH lineup.

Line-Up

While the line-up has never been stable, in addition to Ryan Young, the band also always included Justin Francis for most of its history. Though Francis eventually stopped touring with OWTH, he continued to write and record songs as the band's drummer and had played on every Off With Their Heads album through 2013’s “Home.” Similarly, Zack Gontard no longer toured with the band, he remained their guitarist for the purpose of recording through 2013. 2019's “Be Good” is the first album not to feature contributions from the pair. OWTH's current guitarist is John Polydoros. Their current drummer is Kyle Manning. Nate Gangelhoff had been the band's studio bassist from the recording of "Hospitals" through to the recording of "In Desolation" but was replaced by touring bassist, Robbie Swartwood, when the band recorded 2013's "Home."

Anxious and Angry

In March 2014 Ryan Young launched a podcast and online retail store titled Anxious and Angry. The podcast usually consists of interviews with musicians, writers, comedians and others as well as answering fan submitted questions usually relating to mental health. The overall theme of the podcast is mental health though the interviews do often provide information, stories, and history about the guest. The Anxious and Angry online retail store carries music, apparel, art, and other items from Off With Their Heads, as well as several other artists. It also serves as the exclusive distributor of the Anxious and Angry "flexi singles". The site takes its name from a lyric from the Off With Their Heads song "Nightlife".

2019 Vancouver Tour Accident

At about 12:30 am on October 12, 2019, in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood of Vancouver, a member of the band had gone to retrieve the vehicle after the show. While they were driving back to the venue, the driver unknowingly hit the victim, Desiree Evancio, as she attempted to cross the street where she was dragged under the trailer being towed by the vehicle. Reports have stated, the driver was given a breathalyzer test, detained, interviewed, and released shortly afterward. A few days later, police stated: "We can confirm that new evidence indicates the victim walked between the van and cargo trailer as it was stopped in traffic." A police spokesperson added there was "a degree of alcohol impairment" but did not speak to whether the driver had exceeded the legal limit. Investigators were still working to determine "what role, if any, that alcohol impairment had" in the incident.
Evancio suffered extensive life-altering injuries and has undergone numerous surgeries. Doctors prognosticate that she will remain in hospital for six months to one year; a GoFundMe account is seeking to raise $1 million for associated costs.

Releases

Studio Albums