The Offspring
The Offspring | |
|---|---|
| File:The Offspring.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Garden Grove, California |
| Years active | 1984 – present |
| Members | Dexter Holland Noodles Greg K. Atom Willard |
- For the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, see The Offspring (TNG episode).
The Offspring is an American pop punk band from Orange County, California that originally formed in 1984, consisting of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman, bassist Greg Kriesel (known as Greg K), and Atom Willard on drums.
History
Early career (1984-1993)
The Offspring started in 1984 by founders Bryan "Dexter" Holland and Greg K. The decision came outside of a Social Distortion concert, when both were refused entry. The Offspring started out as a small SoCal garage band dubbed Manic Subsidal. Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman was welcomed into the band because he was 21 and could purchase alcohol for Dexter and Greg, both of whom were under the legal drinking age. In those early times, they had multiple members filling in on other instruments. Their only recorded song under the name Manic Subsidal was called 'Hopeless,' and was on a compilation album called Party Animal, released in 1984 by Mystic Records [1].
In 1987, newly dubbed The Offspring, they recorded their first release, the 7" I'll be Waiting, released on the fictitious Black Label. Black Label was an inside joke by the band, as they could not find a production company to release the single, to make themselves more tempting to future labels, they decided to name their record company after the cheap beer they were drinking while they were pressing the records. The line up for this single was Dexter on vocals, Child C-2017 (Noodles) on Guitar, Greg on Bass, and James Lilja on Drums. Lilja quit shortly after this, and was replaced by Ron Welty, who was only 16 years old.
In 1989, The Offspring brokered a recording deal with a small-time label, Nemesis Records. With buddhist punk-guru producer Thom Wilson and a new lineup, the band recorded the album The Offspring. Their self-titled debut was released in limited amounts by the label, only in a 12" Vinyl format.
In 1991, again with Wilson, The Offspring produced the Baghdad 7". This single 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. Wilson and The Offspring entered the studio again and recorded Ignition. Released in 1992 (the only single off this album, Kick Him When He's Down, was not released until 1995), Ignition exceeded all of the label's and band's expectations. The band went on tour for the next two years with punk heavyweights such as Pennywise, The Voodoo Glow Skulls, and then ska band No Doubt.
Rise to fame (1994-2002)
When they went back into the studio, the Offspring's relations with producer Thom Wilson had begun to strain. The darker atmosphere in the studio resulted in 1994's landmark album Smash. This album set the all-time record for most units sold by an independent label band at 8 million records. Since then, the album has extended the record to 11 million units. Fueled by hit singles Come Out and Play, Self Esteem, and Gotta Get Away, The Offspring, along with NOFX, helped revive punk for a new generation. Holland credits Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana for creating the environment which allowed both the Offspring and Green Day to succeed.
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 The Offspring on CD. (The album had previously been released on vinyl and was long out of print.) The label also signed a number of punk bands, the best known of which are AFI, The Vandals, and Guttermouth.
After Smash and the subsequent two years of touring, Wilson, who during the Smash studio sessions criticized the direction of the band's music as straying away from punk, was fired.
Around the same time, the band left Epitaph and signed with Columbia Records, allegedly because they were offended by an insurance policy that Brett Gurewitz had taken out on the band. Epitaph sued, claiming that the band had not fulfilled its contract. The settlement was an estimated $2 million and the rights to all European single sales.
After three years out of the studio, The Offspring released Ixnay on the Hombre in early 1997. 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. The sales of this album were fueled by four singles: All I Want, Gone Away, The Meaning of Life, and I Choose.
A year and a half later in 1998, The Offspring released Americana. This album was lighter than Smash and Ixnay in attitude, while still maintaining a punk-like sound. The album was a success both with the audience and with critics, and easily outsold Ixnay. The four singles, Pretty Fly (for a White Guy), Why Don't You Get a Job, The Kids Aren't Alright, and She's Got Issues, were all big hits on MTV and radio. This period is generally regarded as the peak of the Offspring's mainstream popularity, and the world tour the band embarked upon was highlighted by an electric performance at the Woodstock '99 Festival in Rome, New York.
In 2000, after much touring, the band released a new and drastically different album: Conspiracy of One. The band intended to release the entire album for free online through their official website, to show their support for downloading music on the internet. However, under threat of legal action by Columbia, only the first single Original Prankster was released online. Want You Bad, the second single, was released in the standard manner. Conspiracy did not enjoy critical acclaim or fan approval, and is regarded by some as the Offspring's weakest effort. The song Huck It was featured as a hidden track to support a DVD of the same name. The band was also selling T-shirts on their website with the Napster Cat on it. The band donated money to Shawn Fanning of Napster with their profits.
Post-Welty period (2003-2005)
Nearly two 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 the drums and co-produces. The parties have not elaborated on the departure. In February 2006, Steady Ground released three demos on the bands' myspace.
In their off-time after Conspiracy, the band recorded the new song Defy You for the Orange County Soundtrack. The song and video were well-received by fans, some of whom took the song as an indication that the Offspring were attempting to distance themselves from the Pop-Punk genre. After a three-year hiatus, hopes were high for a new Offspring album.
In 2003, the band released Splinter. The album's name was the subject of some controversy, as its original title was to be Chinese Democracy. However, this was first 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, unlike the second single (Can't Get My) Head Around You, which had almost no MTV exposure, but had better luck on the radio waves. Overall, the album was not as successful as Smash, Ixnay, or Americana. Josh Freese played the drums on Splinter, but he left the band after recording and was replaced by Atom Willard.
In 2005, the band released three greatest hits packages, a CD, a DualDisc, and a DVD called The Complete Video Collection. The Greatest Hits album contains 14 of the band's hits from 1994 to 2003, as well as the new song Can't Repeat and the Police cover Next to You as a hidden track. The DualDisc is the same on the CD side, but contains a bonus acoustic version of Dirty Magic from Ignition on the DVD side. The Complete Video Collection holds all 17 of the band's music videos, plus a variety of bonus features including band commentary on each video.
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.
Current and future plans (2006-present)
The band is currently recording tracks for their eighth album, with a planned release date of sometime in 2006. An official title and release date for that album is yet to be confirmed as of March 2006. As well there are rumors of the band releasing a rare/b-sides album.
While Atom Willard is working as the drummer for Tom DeLonge's new band Angels and Airwaves, there are no indications he is leaving the Offspring. In fact, recently posted on the Offspring.com forums, Atom stated, "I am ABSOLUTELY NOT leaving the Offspring! I am very happy as someone said and plan to continue in that way! I have played with a lot of bands and I can honestly say.....these guys are the shit. Super cool, super fun......what else is there?". But on January 31, 2006, Europunk.net reported that Willard had already left and there is a rumour that Welty could rejoin. On the following day, frontman Dexter Holland wrote a journal on the band's webpage, and in it he mentioned that they recorded with Willard the day before. This means that he is still in the band. Holland also reported on February 7th, 2006, that they had re-recorded "Dirty Magic" from their 1992 album Ignition. Holland recently stated on the band's webpage that they are currently meeting with a possible producer for the next album.
On March 7th, 2006, it was announced on the band's webpage that Dexter Holland would be running in the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon, set to occur on March 19th. Quoted from the entry: "All I want to do is beat Oprah", says Dexter (Oprah‘s previous marathon time is 4 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds). "Well, I‘m also running to raise money for a really worthy charity called the Innocence Project." The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal clinic that handles cases where post-conviction DNA testing of evidence can yield conclusive proof of innocence.
Band Members
Current Members
- Bryan "Dexter" Holland - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, drums in very early stages
- Greg Kriesel - Bass, backing vocals
- Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman aka Noodles - Lead guitar, backing vocals (Since 1985)
- Atom Willard- Drums (Since 2003)
Live Backing Members
- Chris "X-13" Higgins- backing vocals, samples, and rhythm guitar on occasion
- Eric Serrano- percussion
- Ronnie King- synthesizer while performing "Hit That"
Past members
- Doug Thompson - Vocals (1984}
- Jim Benton - Drums (1984)
- James Lilja - Drums (1984-1987)
- Ron Welty - Drums (1987-2003)
- Josh Freese - Drums on Splinter, but not an official member (2003)
Discography
Studio albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | Chart positions | US sales | |
 |
1989 | The Offspring (original version) | Nemesis Records | Did not chart | ||
 |
October 16, 1992 | Ignition | Epitaph Records | Did not chart | RIAA Gold | |
 |
April 19, 1994 | Smash | Epitaph Records | 4 (US) 21 (UK) |
RIAA 6X Platinum | |
 |
November 21, 1995 | The Offspring (re-release version) | Nitro Records | Did not chart | ||
 |
February 4, 1997 | Ixnay on the Hombre | Columbia Records | 9 (US) 17 (UK) |
RIAA Platinum | |
 |
November 17, 1998 | Americana | Columbia Records | 2 (US) 10 (UK) 1 (AUS) |
RIAA 5xPlatinum | |
 |
November 14, 2000 | Conspiracy of One | Columbia Records | 9 (US) 12 (UK) 2 (AUS) |
RIAA Platinum | |
 |
December 9, 2003 | Splinter | Columbia Records | 30 (US) 27 (UK) 12 (AUS) |
RIAA Platinum |
Compilations
- Greatest Hits, 2005 #8 US, #14 UK, #2 Australia
EPs
Singles
| Year | Song | US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Main- stream Rock | UK singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "I'll Be Waiting" | - | - | - | - | The Offspring |
| 1987 | "Blackball" | - | - | - | - | The Offspring |
| 1994 | "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)" | - | 1 | 10 | - | Smash |
| 1994 | "Gotta Get Away" | - | 6 | 15 | 43 | Smash |
| 1994 | "Self Esteem" | - | 4 | 7 | 37 | Smash |
| 1995 | "Kick Him When He's Down" | - | - | - | - | Ignition |
| 1995 | "Bad Habit" | - | - | - | 26 | Smash |
| 1995 | "Smash It Up" | - | 16 | - | - | Batman Forever Soundtrack |
| 1997 | "All I Want" | - | 13 | - | 31 | Ixnay on the Hombre |
| 1997 | "I Choose" | - | 24 | 5 | 42 | Ixnay on the Hombre |
| 1997 | "Meaning of Life" | - | - | - | - | Ixnay on the Hombre |
| 1998 | "Gone Away" | - | 4 | 1 | - | Ixnay on the Hombre |
| 1998 | "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" | 53 | 3 | 5 | 1 | Americana |
| 1999 | "Why Don't You Get a Job?" | 74 | 4 | 10 | 2 | Americana |
| 1999 | "She's Got Issues" | - | 11 | 19 | 41 | Americana |
| 1999 | "The Kids Aren't Alright" | - | 6 | - | 11 | Americana |
| 2000 | "Totalimmortal" | - | 36 | 27 | - | Me, Myself, and Irene Soundtrack |
| 2000 | "Original Prankster" | 70 | 2 | 7 | 6 | Conspiracy of One |
| 2001 | "Want You Bad" | - | 10 | - | 15 | Conspiracy of One |
| 2001 | "Million Miles Away" | - | - | - | 21 | Conspiracy of One |
| 2001 | "Defy You" | 77 | 8 | 8 | - | Orange County Soundtrack |
| 2003 | "Hit That" | 64 | - | 6 | 11 | Splinter |
| 2004 | "(Can't Get My) Head Around You" | - | 6 | 16 | 48 | Splinter |
| 2004 | "Spare Me the Details" | - | - | - | - | Splinter |
| 2005 | "Can't Repeat" | - | 9 | 10 | - | Greatest Hits |
| 2005 | "Next to You" | - | 37 | 29 | - | Greatest Hits |
- Videos were made for the songs 'Mota', 'Burn it Up', 'Cool To Hate', and 'Da Hui', but they were never released as singles.
DVDs and Videos
- The Complete Video Collection, July 19, 2005
- Huck It, 2000
- Americana (The DVD), 1999
Filmography of Songs
- Come Out and Play was played on an episode of Cold Case
- The Worst Hangover Ever was played on a news story about hangovers
- All I Want, Way Down the Line, The Meaning of Life and Change the World were played in the game Crazy Taxi
- Come Out Swinging, One Fine Day, Walla Walla, No Brakes, and Americana were played in the game Crazy Taxi 2
- Want You Bad and Special Delivery were played in the game Crazy Taxi 3
- Beheaded and I Wanna Be Sedated (a cover of The Ramones) was played in the soundtrack of Idle Hands
- Bloodstains (song cover of Agent Orange) was played in the soundtrack of Ready to Rumble
- Defy You was played in the soundtrack of Orange County
- D.U.I. was played in the soundtrack of I Know What You Did Last Summer
- Smash It Up (song cover of The Damned) was played in the soundtrack of Batman Forever
- Take It Like a Man and Forever and a Day were played in the movie The Chase
- Want You Bad was played in the soundtrack of American Pie 2
- Totalimmortal (song cover of AFI) was played in the soundtrack of Me, Myself and Irene
- Blackball was played in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
- Dammit, I Changed Again was played in the film The New Guy
- Want You Bad was played in the film Tomcats
- Genocide was played in the video game Jeremy Mcgrath Pro Supercross
- Nitro (Youth Energy) was played in the film Varsity Blues
- Come Out and Play was played in the film Bubble Boy
- Come Out And Play was the theme song for ECW wrestler Raven
- Americana was played in the film Bowling for Columbine
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) was played in the film Loser
- The Kids Aren't Alright was played in the advertisement from MTV
- The Kids Aren't Alright was played in the film The Faculty
- Baghdad (sister song of Tehran) was in the album Rock Against Bush
- Original Prankster was played in the film The Animal
- Hit That played in a Control Your TV commercial.
- Can't Repeat was the Theme song of the 2005 Dew Action Sports Tour.
- Want You Bad was played on an episode of Dawson's Creek
- Want You Bad was played In The Movie American Pie 2
- All I Want was played on an episode of the cartoon series Daria
- Original Prankster was played on an episode of the cartoon series Daria
- Staring at the Sun was one of the theme songs on the Japaniese version of Yu-Gi-Oh!
- The Kids Aren't Alright was played in an advertisement for the 2001 MLB All Star Game on FOX.
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) played in an Ed, Edd 'n Eddy commercial
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) played on an episode of King of the Hill.
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) played on a commercial for Family Guy
- Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) played on an episode of Pizza.
- The Kids Aren't Alright was played in the anime movie based on the video game Tekken (film)
- The Meaning of Life was played in the anime movie based on the video game Tekken film
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
See also
External links
