DD Owen and Die Rötzz Are Taking Their Demented New Orleans Punk to Scandinavia

DD Owen. Image: Jen Cray

Culturally and geographically it doesn’t get more chalk and cheese - or Hurricanes and healthy heath care - as New Orleans and Helsinki. But garage rock reprobate Drew Owen will soon be taking his punk rock from the Big Easy to Scandinavia.

Originally from Baltimore, Owens has been living in New Orleans where he’s settled into the local punk scene including teaming up with rabble rousers Die Rötzz to release a split 7” single and an upcoming Scandinavian tour that will take them to Helsinki and Turku.

DD Owen's contribution to the record is a song about fellatio. The Die Rötzz side is about settling a dispute in a car lot with a 6-inch bowie boot knife. It’s time to find out just how liberal the Scandinavians truly are.

Listen to the tracks below and read some stuff from Drew and Paul Rotzz

Noisey: So you are really moving to Finland?
Drew Owen: Yes. America is dying. Finland is nice.

From Baltimore, to New Orleans, to Finland. What’s next?
I don't know, probably jail. It’s 7am on the Fourth of July here in the 7th Ward and I can hear my fucking neighbors yelling at each other hungover or still drunk. I think they’re related to Donald Trump. I cant wait to break my lease and get out of here.

What city are you most looking forward to on upcoming ?
Aarhus. See ya there Casper.

Noisey: Are knife fights a common occurrence in New Orleans?
Paul Rotzz: I don’t know what the statistic is now, but before the hurricane it was around 80% of all men in New Orleans got knife stabbed at some point in their life. After the hurricane and New Orlean’s so called renaissance stabbings have gone down. We lost a lot of the good people who made New Orleans what it was. New people moved down here and it was easier for some of the displaced people to stay gone. New Orleans lost a lot of people who would stand up for themselves. Now we have a lot of whiney carpetbaggers that can’t wait to call the police or get the government involved with disputes instead of handling it the old fashioned New Orleans way — the way I grew up with.

Would you be able to handle yourself in a knife fight?
I would never count Die Rötzz out.

What city are you most looking forward to on upcoming tour?
We are mostly looking forward to getting away from New Orleans summer. Anywhere thats cooler than 95f/35c will be perfect. Gothenburg for Sweden Day should be good. We got a friend who grows weed and mushrooms there. It will good for Die Rotzz to get back. It’s been 10 years.

DD Owen/ Die Rötzz Euro tour 7" out on Secret Identity Records and Red Lounge Records.

DD Owen and Die Rötzz​ European Tour 2016:

Aug 11 - Berlin at Bei Ruth
Aug 12 - Köln at Club Scheisse
Aug 13 - Holland TBA
Aug 14 - Holland TBA
Aug 15 - Aarhus
Aug 16 - Helsingoer
Aug 17 - Stockholm at Human Audio
Aug 18 - Tampere
Aug 19 - Turku
Aug 20 - Helsinki
Aug 22 - Gothenburg at Bengians Fink
Aug 23 - Malmo at Circulations Central
Aug 24 - Copenhagen
Aug 26 - Hamburg at Get Lost Fest
Aug 27 - Hamburg at Get Lost Fest