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The Offspring

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The Offspring

The Offspring (sometimes referred to simply as Offspring) are a popular and influential[1] American punk rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984 in Huntington Beach, California.[1] Since its foundation, the band's line-up has included Dexter Holland (lead vocals, guitar), Noodles (lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals) and Greg K. (bass, backing vocals). Their current drummer is Pete Parada, formerly of Face to Face and Saves the Day, who has been with the band since 2007.

To date, The Offspring have released eight studio albums, one compilation, four EPs and three DVDs[8], selling over 32 million albums worldwide[9], making them one of the best-selling punk acts of all time.[10] The band is credited, along with fellow California punk bands Green Day and Rancid, with reviving popular interest in punk rock in the United States during the mid-1990s.[11]

Since the release of their 1994 album Smash, the best-selling independent label album of all time,[9] The Offspring have achieved commercial success over five albums, with singles such as "Come Out and Play", and "Self Esteem". The band's next three albums, Ixnay on the Hombre, Americana and Conspiracy of One, were also successful, reaching platinum certification and gold status respectively.[12][13] Longtime drummer Ron Welty left The Offspring in early 2003, and was replaced by Atom Willard. Later that year, the band released their next album, Splinter, to moderate sales and fairly warm reviews. In 2005, The Offspring released a greatest hits album and toured in support of the compilation. Their most recent studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, was released on June 16, 2008 in Europe and a day later in the United States.

Band history

Early years (1984–1987)

The band was formed in 1984 by guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland and bassist Greg K., who met on their high school cross-country team, under the name "Manic Subsidal". The decision to form a band came outside of a Social Distortion concert, when both were refused entry.[9] Doug Thompson was added for vocals,[14] and Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman, the school janitor, was welcomed into the band, allegedly because he was old enough to purchase alcohol for Holland and Kriesel, both of whom were under the legal drinking age.[9] The band used Thompson's friend, Jim Benton, as their drummer. Thompson was eventually forced out of the band, while Benton left. This led to Holland taking over on vocals, and James Lilja joining as the drummer. The band changed their name to "The Offspring" in 1985.[14]

In 1986, the band released their first single; the 7" "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball". They released the album on their self-made Black Label record company, which was named after the brand of beer named Black Label. Lilja quit shortly after the release to pursue a medical career in gynecology,[15] and was replaced by Ron Welty, who was only 16 years old at the time.[16]

The Offspring and Ignition (1988–1993)

After recording a demo in 1988[17], The Offspring signed a record deal with a small-time label, Nemesis Records. Then in March 1989, the band teamed up with producer Thom Wilson (of Dead Kennedys, Social Distortion and The Vandals fame) to record their first album, simply titled The Offspring.[17] The album was released in limited numbers by the label, only in a 12" vinyl format, and a proper CD release did not surface until 1995. A six-week national tour followed, but Noodles was later stabbed during their Hollywood anti-nuclear benefit.[17]

In 1991, The Offspring teamed up with Wilson again to produce the Baghdad 7" EP. This EP was instrumental to the band's signing with Epitaph Records. Wilson had been trying to get The Offspring to switch to Epitaph, a label run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Gurewitz felt that The Offspring was just not quite pronounced enough for his label, but Baghdad convinced him to give the band a shot.

In 1992, Wilson and The Offspring returned to the studio to record their second album Ignition, which was released in October of that year. The album exceeded all of the label's and band's expectations. The band went on tour for the next two years with other punk bands such as Pennywise, and ska punk bands like No Doubt and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Mainstream success with Smash (1994–1996)

When The Offspring returned to the studio to work on their third album in 1993, the band's relations with producer Thom Wilson had begun to strain. The band released what would become their biggest selling CD, titled Smash (1994). Fueled by the hit singles "Come Out and Play," "Self Esteem," and "Gotta Get Away," this album set the all-time record for most units sold by an independent label band at 16 million records. Smash has continued to sell consistently well in the fourteen years since its release, and has also been certified 6x Platinum in the United States. The album also sold very well outside the U.S., particularly in Australia, where it debuted #1 on the ARIA Charts in 1995.

After the release of Smash, and armed with a newly expanded income, the band decided to buy out the rights to their first album. Holland and Greg K. then created their own record label, Nitro Records, and started signing bands. One of their first releases was a re-release of their first album The Offspring. The label also signed a number of punk bands including AFI, The Vandals, and Guttermouth. Soon after, Nitro Records became solely Dexter's responsibility.

Height of fame (1997–2002)

After two years of touring for Smash, The Offspring left Epitaph and signed with Columbia Records. The band began writing and recording their fourth album, titled Ixnay on the Hombre, in 1996. The album came out on February 4, 1997, which happened to be Noodles' 34th birthday. This album was not as successful as Smash, although it did sell 4 million units. The album saw the band move away from the political-punk themes common to many Epitaph bands, and more into mainstream rock with songs like: "All I Want," "Gone Away," and, "I Choose." The video for "I Choose" was directed by Holland himself. Dexter commented that Ixnay probably wasn't as well-received as Smash was because it was such a departure, and that many fans probably were expecting Smash Part Two.[18]

The Offspring performing live in 2001.

In 1998, The Offspring released Americana. Three of the album's singles: "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)," "Why Don't You Get a Job," and " The Kids Aren't Alright" became the band's biggest hits, all three charting in the ARC Top 40[13] and making the album the peak of The Offspring's mainstream popularity.

In 1999, the band appeared as themselves in the film Idle Hands. They play "Beheaded" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" at a school dance before Holland's character is killed. They also appeared at the infamous Woodstock 1999, where their performance was broadcast live on pay-per-view television.

2000 saw the band release their sixth album called Conspiracy of One. The band intended to release the entire album online through their official website, to show their support for downloading music on the internet.[19] However, under threat of legal action by Columbia through their parent company Sony, only the first single "Original Prankster" was released on their official website (the rest of the record was leaked to fan sites).[20] The band also sold T-shirts on their website with the Napster logo on it and donated money to Napster creator Shawn Fanning with the profits.

The band also released a new single "Defy You" exclusively for the film Orange County.

Ron Welty's departure and Splinter (2003–2005)

Nearly three years after the release of Conspiracy of One, long-time drummer Ron Welty left the band in 2003 to start Steady Ground, a band in which he plays drums and co-produces. Neither Welty or the remaining members have elaborated on the departure.

The Offspring in Leeds, in 2004.

In 2003, the band released their seventh album Splinter. The Offspring recruited Josh Freese to record the drums for Splinter, and later announced that Atom Willard would be the official replacement for Ron Welty. The album's original title was to be Chinese Democracy, the name of the long-delayed album by Guns N' Roses. As a result, Axl Rose filed a cease and desist order against The Offspring, and to avoid delaying the release, the band chose to simply rename the album. The first single "Hit That" enjoyed moderate success on MTV. "Hit That" used a variety of electronic samples, different from what The Offspring have done in the past.[21]

In 2005, the band released a Greatest Hits album in both DualDisc and regular CD editions. Greatest Hits contains 14 of the band's hits between Smash and Splinter, and two previously never released songs "Can't Repeat" and "Next to You" (a cover of The Police) (a hidden track). The compilation does not contain any material from the first album and Ignition. The DualDisc contains video of Dexter and Noodles discussing the band's history and a bonus acoustic version of the song "Dirty Magic." About a month later, the band released a video DVD with all of their music videos, and some videos from a live show.

During the summer of 2005, the band played the Vans Warped Tour for the first time, and followed that with a tour of Europe and Japan. After the "Greatest Hits" world tour the band took a break from writing, recording and touring. During the hiatus, Willard was recruited by Tom DeLonge for his band Angels & Airwaves and released an album, We Don't Need to Whisper, in 2006.

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2006–present)

The Offspring in Leeds, in 2004.

In November 2006, it was reported that The Offspring were back in the studio recording their eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace with producer Bob Rock and "a fistful of demos". In July 2007, Dexter announced that the band had finished "two more songs" and the album was being recorded in Orange County, California.[22] The album, in its entirety, can be streamed online for free at iMeem.com.[23]

It was announced on July 27, 2007 that former Saves the Day drummer Pete Parada had been chosen to be The Offspring's new drummer, replacing Atom Willard. The band's first shows with Parada were at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan in August of the same year.[24] It was during these shows that the band debuted "Hammerhead" which would become the first single from the new album. Parada did not play on the new album however; Josh Freese once again handled drum duties, as he did with Splinter.[25]

In September 2007, The Offspring posted a studio cam on their fan board.[26] It shows the mixing and recording rooms, occasionally with the band members and producers/mixers. The cam updates every 30 seconds. In November 2007, the Offspring began posting short 'in the studio' videos on YouTube. The videos featured short segments of the band recording new material for the upcoming album.

When asked on Christmas Eve 2007 what the current status of the new album was, Dexter replied:

Wanna know what‘s going on with the new record? Well, I‘ve got two lyrics to do, a couple more to sing, and various musical tweaks and fixes to get done. Then we‘ll be ready to mix. We haven‘t announced a release date yet because we‘re just not quite close enough to know when we‘ll be finished. We want to thank all our fans who have been so patient, and we want you to know that we‘ve been in the studio nearly every day now for quite a while working hard to make a great record.

— Dexter Holland[27]
The Offspring at Download Festival in 2008.

On April 9, 2008, Dexter announced on The Offspring's official website that the band had finished recording the new album. He also announced that the album would be called Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and would be released on June 17th.[28] The album's first single, "Hammerhead", went to radio on May 6th.[29] Additionally, The Offspring's official site provided an MP3 download of the song to the general public on May 5th.[30]

The supporting tour for the album began on May 16th with a performance at the X-Fest festival in California. On May 28th it was announced on the band's website that Scott Shiflett (from Face to Face) will replace bassist Greg K on current tour dates due to a birth in the family. Kriesel returned in mid-June.[31]

Epitaph Records also announced that the label would be re-issuing Ignition and Smash; both albums were remastered and Smash contained a new 24 page booklet. The re-issues were released on the same day as Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, coinciding with the new album's release.[32]

Music style and influences

While The Offspring are primarily considered an alternative rock, skate punk or (simply a) punk rock group, their music contains strong elements of grunge, metal, and occasionally ska. Many of their songs contain refrains of "whoas" in either their verses (as in "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "One Fine Day") or choruses (as in "Get It Right", "Something to Believe In", and "All Along"), which are a sort of hallmark of the band's. Their lyrics are typically sardonic and sarcastic and discuss wide-ranging issues from personal relationships ("Hit That", "She's Got Issues") to the degradation of United States ("L.A.P.D.", "Americana", "Stuff is Messed Up").

The band cites their musical influences as, The Adolescents, Bad Religion, Channel 3, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, The Dickies, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, TSOL, and The Vandals.[33][34][35]

Band members

(1984–1985)
  • Dexter Holland – guitar, lead vocals
  • Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
  • James Lilja – drums, backing vocals
(1985–1987)
  • Dexter Holland – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
  • Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
  • James Lilja – drums, backing vocals
(1987–2003)
Classic lineup
  • Dexter Holland – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
  • Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
  • Ron Welty – drums, backing vocals
(2003–2007)
  • Dexter Holland – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
  • Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
  • Adam "Atom" Willard – drums
(2007–present)
  • Dexter Holland – rhythm guitar, lead vocals
  • Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman – lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Greg K. – bass, backing vocals
  • Pete Parada – drums

Session musicians

Touring musicians

  • Chris "X-13" Higgins – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1994–2005)
  • Warren Fitzgerald – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (May 30, 2008–July 26, 2008) made a return appearance September 1, 2008
  • Scott Shiflett – bass, backing vocals (filled-in for Greg K. from May 30, 2008–June 8, 2008)

Discography

Main article: The Offspring discography
Year Title Notes
1989 The Offspring Debut album; was not released on CD until 1995.
1992 Ignition First release on Epitaph.
1994 Smash The most successful Offspring album to date and the best selling independent-label album of all time; last release on Epitaph.
1997 Ixnay on the Hombre In Europe, this album was released on Epitaph and in the U.S. on Columbia.
1998 Americana The second most successful Offspring album to date; also released as an Enhanced CD.
2000 Conspiracy of One Last album recorded with the "classic" line up; also released as an Enhanced CD.
2003 Splinter Although this album was recorded without an official drummer, studio musician Josh Freese handled the drum tracks. It was also released as an Enhanced CD.
2008 Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace The band's first full-length studio release in almost five years, the longest gap between The Offspring's studio albums to date; like the previous album, Josh Freese recorded the drum tracks for this one.

References

  1. ^ a b c The-Offspring on Punknews.org.
  2. ^ The-Offspring on Yahoo Music.
  3. ^ a b The Offspring at Rate Your Music, obtained February 19, 2008.
  4. ^ The Subgenres of Punk Rock, by Ryan Cooper of About.com.
  5. ^ Rotation The Offspring, by Chris Smith of the Houston Press, posted November 30, 2000.
  6. ^ Skate Punk on Rhapsody (online music service)
  7. ^ Skate Punk on YottaMusic.com.
  8. ^ For album and single sales information, see the Offspring discography page.
  9. ^ a b c d Band Bio on Offspring.com, obtained January 27, 2007.
  10. ^ The History
  11. ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. Pg. 357, ISBN 0-306-81271-1
  12. ^ RIAA (type in "Offspring" in the artist box), obtained May 31, 2008.
  13. ^ a b The Offspring at Rockonthenet.com, obtained January 27, 2007.
  14. ^ a b Biography of The Offspring, from Lycos.com, obtained January 27, 2007.
  15. ^ Dexter on song: Beheaded, by Dexter Holland, obtained January 27, 2007.
  16. ^ Interview with Ron Welty, from Tama Drums and Hardware, obtained January 27, 2007.
  17. ^ a b c The Offspring at NIPP, obtained November 10, 2007.
  18. ^ Offspring Complete Music Video Collection DVD
  19. ^ The Offspring to Release New Album Free Online By Robert Menta of MP3 Newswire, posted September 18, 2000
  20. ^ Sony Forces The Offspring to Cancel MP3 Giveaway By Robert Menta of MP3 Newswire, posted September 26, 2000
  21. ^ Punk's Offspring is aging well, by Randy Lewis of the LA Times, posted December 21, 2003.
  22. ^ Dexter's Journal Entry for July 18,2007
  23. ^ inTuneMusic: Listen to The Offspring's new album for free
  24. ^ The Offspring have a new drummer Posted July 27, 2007
  25. ^ The Offspring Announce New Drummer Posted July 30, 2007
  26. ^ Offspring Studio Cam Official The Offspring Forums
  27. ^ "Happy Holidays from The Offspring". TheOffspring.com. TheOffspring.com. December 24, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ The Offspring journal entry
  29. ^ The Offspring To Release New Single In May, from TuneLab Music, obtained April 3, 2008.
  30. ^ Free "Hammerhead" Download Available Now from The Offspring Official site, obtained May 5, 2008.
  31. ^ News: The Offspring
  32. ^ Punknews.org | Epitaph to re-issue Offspring's Ignition and Smash
  33. ^ Greatest Hits DVD
  34. ^ Americana: Soundtrack for a Declining Civilization
  35. ^ Dexter Holland's Opus
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