First I have to give out 'props', or whatever the current buzz word is for thanks, to Von Babasin bass player of ONOFFON. Not only has he contributed a very fine article to this site, but he also has religiously visited our site waiting for a review to be posted, thanks for massaging our egos by falsely inflating our hits Von, we love you for it!
Von is one-third of ONOFFON, a band that are about as easy to pin down to a musical definition as it is to grab a greased snake. They are a little bit Funk, a little bit Rock and a little bit more Jazz. If I had to try and nail their sound in one go I would probably go for ‘musician’s music’.
This 1997 release barely scrapes in under the seventy minute mark, with two of the eleven tracks weighing in at over eleven and twelve minutes respectively. So far what I have been describing is a commercial suicide, Jazz-Rock, twelve minutes plus songs, and it is fair to say nothing here is going to set the musical world on fire. That’s what I meant by musician’s music, so those of you looking for a quick pop or punk fix can just hit back and find another review.
OK, are the youngsters gone, good we can stop holding our stomachs in and start relaxing without having to seem cool. ONOFFON are the kind of band you have to have played in a band yourself or be past thirty to really get. I am still shy of the thirty mark but I did in my youth play in many a band, although I was a drummer so ‘musician’ is pushing it.
ONOFFON are a three piece, joining Von is Don Lake on Guitars and Vocals and Dave Goode on Drums (and according to the sleeve ‘bluejeans, fannypack and newspaper’ on one track). They produce a surprisingly complex and rich sound for just three guys.
Personally I think they are stronger when they focus their sound a little more, as they do on tacks such as ‘Please Baby Please’, ‘Your Reality’ (which has a definite Hendrix Voodoo Child thang going on) and ‘I Don’t Give No...’, than when they go off on musical adventures as the do on most of the rest of the album.
That said it is at no stage an album that isn’t pleasant to listen to, whether I agree with the journey being necessary, it is still a fun trip. So if you have a fondness for experimental different Jazz influenced rock then you could do a lot worse than give ONOFFON a listen. Now I wonder if I can convince Von to keep coming back to look for the review of their other album, we need the hits!

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