Dimitri Coats is best known as the frontman for the hard rock band Burning Brides and as the guitarist in the hardcore punk band Off!. The Brides have released four critically acclaimed albums and have toured with a variety of well-known acts ranging from The White Stripes and My Morning Jacket to Audioslave and A Perfect Circle. Dimitri is the songwriter and producer of the band which he formed with bass player and future wife Melanie Coats in 1999, a few years after he dropped out of the Juilliard School's acting program.

As the singer/guitarist for Burning Brides, Coats has twice performed on Conan O' Brien and his songs have been featured in several films, TV shows, and video games such as Guitar Hero.

Coats played guitar on Chris Cornell's 2007 album Carry On and performed the theme song to the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Coats played drums, guitar, and piano on two songs on Mark Lanegan's Bubblegum album. He contributed to I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine by Goon Moon, a project by Jeordie White and Chris Goss.[1][2]

In late 2009, Dimitri and Circle Jerks/Black Flag frontman Keith Morris formed the band Off! along with Steven Shane McDonald from Redd Kross and Mario Rubalcaba from Hot Snakes/Rocket From The Crypt. Coats produced the band's 2010 release First Four EPs, which he and Morris co-wrote.[