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Biography

(2tone/ska/skinhead reggae Band from Cosenza, Italy - update your tags to "The Offenders".) The Offenders were a hardcore band from Austin, Texas. They were active from approximately 1980 to 1985, putting out 2 albums and 4 7-inches, as well as appearing on various compilations (notably the P.E.A.C.E. compilation in 1984) They are considered by their fans to be 'right up there' with the most classic and impressive 'old school' hardcore bands, yet were relatively overlooked in their day and are...

(2tone/ska/skinhead reggae Band from Cosenza, Italy - update your tags to "The Offenders".)

The Offenders were a hardcore band from Austin, Texas. They were active from approximately 1980 to 1985, putting out 2 albums and 4 7-inches, as well as appearing on various compilations (notably the P.E.A.C.E. compilation in 1984)

They are considered by their fans to be 'right up there' with the most classic and impressive 'old school' hardcore bands, yet were relatively overlooked in their day and are still somewhat overlooked when seen in relation to the popularity of comparable hardcore bands such as MDC, Die Kreuzen, D.R.I., etc.

Like those same bands their brand of hardcore was hyper-energetic, fast and raging, though they had a full on passion in their music which somehow made them more rousing and emotional than many (perhaps bringing them closer to MDC, who they nevertheless generally surpassed in this aspect).

It may be that their tendency to play with such energy that it sounds on the verge of falling apart (though it never does), as well as a sound on their first album that makes it sometimes close to an 'aural blur', puts off some listeners, but the band and their releases remain a classic of powerful, raging, passionate hardcore.

All members took on the surname 'Offender', and the most famous became Mikey Offender (Donaldson), noted for his impressive bass skills and loved by many who knew him, as well as playing around in such acts as Sister Double Happiness (a later, San Francisco based, project of Dicks vocalist Gary Floyd), D.R.I. (adding bass to their popular album, Dealing With It), MDC (earlier in their career and also later when they reformed), and eventually relocating to Europe to play with a reformed Nitwitz (an early Dutch punk band with members who went on to form the 80s Dutch hardcore band BGK.

The Offenders did a reunion show at Emo's in Austin in March 2002.

Mikey Donaldson passed away in his sleep in Barcelona, Spain on September 22nd, 2007 at the age of 46. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.