Fifteen Biography & Awards

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Artist Info

Formed

1988

Members

Mark A. Moreno, Jim Prior, Mikey Mischief, Scott Pierce, Jack, Jeff Ott, Lucky, Mike Kirsh, Jean Repetto

Biography

Formed in 1988 after the demise of the Bay Area punk band Crimpshine, from day one Fifteen forged punk-pop songs with strong social messages. Singer/guitarist Jeff Ott's lyrics focus on social justice and issues such as homelessness, drug abuse, environmental destruction, and government strong-arm tactics. Many of the themes that his songs deal with seem to be pulled from his own experience; sexually abused as a child, he left home at 13 and lived the life of a gutter punk on the streets for 11 years. Other bandmembers had their own struggles; their 1999 album Lucky was named after a former bassist who killed himself after suffering from an amphetamine addiction. Other albums included three apiece for Grass and Lookout Records, as well as their self-produced album, Extra Medium Kickball All-Star. In the summer of 2000, the band released an EP with Sub City Records, Hush. Fifteen followed up several months later with the full-length Survivor. Kickball All-Star was reissued in fall 2003 with appended tracks as a benefit for the organization Any Positive Change, which worked to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C through needles. ~ Stacia Proefrock, All Music Guide