Jeff Ott (born June 24, 1970) is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley punk community, best known for playing guitar and singing in the bands Crimpshrine and Fifteen.
"[5] When Michaels left the group in 1984 Ott took up vocals and the band changed its name to Crimpshrine, derived from a nickname for a girl they knew who had "bleached-blond, burned, crimped hair.
[4] Ott was often asked if he was a fan of early Belfast punk group Stiff Little Fingers because of his rough vocal style, but neither he nor the other members of Crimpshrine had heard the Northern Irish band until after the ongoing comparisons.
compilation, and recorded their debut EP Sleep, What's That?, released in early 1988 on the newly founded label Lookout!
When Crimpshrine returned to the Bay Area, Paul Curran joined on bass and they recorded one final EP before disbanding in 1989.
Ott's politically charged lyrics tackle issues such as racism, homophobia, misogyny, classism, drug abuse, needle exchange, civil rights, gender roles, homelessness, addiction, environmentalism, social injustice, political conspiracy, and rape.
He has also published two books: 2000's 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, and 2005's Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Real War on Terror (ISBN 0-9677287-1-1), focusing on domestic violence, police brutality, sexual abuse, and how he sees these issues as more urgent and credible than the War on Terror.