Fred Durst

William Frederick Durst (born August 20, 1970 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is the controversial lead singer for the nu metal/rapcore band Limp Bizkit.

There is some confusion over his birthdate. A fan biography claims his birth year was 1971, and the All Music Guide biography lists two birthdates: August 20, 1971 and December 4, 1971. (Durst confirmed his birthday is August 20 on his Xanga blog.) The reason for the confusion is unknown.

Career

Together with Sam Rivers, Wes Borland, and John Otto, Durst formed the band Limp Bizkit in 1994. DJ Lethal, formerly of the rap group House of Pain, joined the band in 1996.

With Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst became one of the biggest rock stars of the late 1990s. Limp Bizkit's first big hit, a cover of George Michael's late '80s hit "Faith," gained great traction thanks to heavy airplay on MTV, especially during the first year of Total Request Live. The band's other major hits include "Nookie", "Break Stuff", "Take A Look Around", "Rollin'" and "My Generation." He has directed most of his band's music videos, as well as videos for Korn's "Falling Away From Me" and Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and "Just Go."

Musical influences

Fred Durst's influences include Tool, KISS, Wu Tang Clan, Blondie, Smashing Pumpkins and Suicidal Tendencies. ^* He has cited Maynard James Keenan, Mike Patton, and Ice Cube as main vocal inspirations.

Other professional interests

Durst has dabbled in acting with a minor role in the 2005 TV miniseries Revelations, playing the role of Odgen. He also starred in the movie Population 436 with Jeremy Sisto, as a police officer named 'Bobby Caine'.

Durst also chairs his own record label, Flawless Records, a division of Geffen Records. It has signed such bands as Puddle of Mudd, The Revolution Smile, Ringside and She Wants Revenge.

In recent years, Durst has also shown a great interest in directing films. He was hired to direct the film Lords of Dogtown, but for some reason turned it down. During an interview he even went as far as saying that he had aspirations to become a director before his musical career. He is currently directing the film The Education of Charlie Banks, which will be concluded on July 25, 2006.

Controversy

Durst's career has been fraught with multiple controversies, some of which have caused harm to others.

Live performances

Durst's live stage presence has created controversy on multiple occasions. In 1999, the media portrayed his perfomance of "Break Stuff" during Woodstock 1999 as contributing to many of the festival's problems with violence and vandalism.

Despite being asked to help diffuse an already volatile situation by concert promoters, Durst told the crowd, "I don't think you should mellow out. This is 1999, motherfuckers - stick those Birkenstocks up your ass!"

In response to the song, which would later become a hit, concert-goers committed acts of vandalism, tearing planks from the stage and throwing garbage at an MTV crew. ^*

Durst was also involved in the death of Australian teenager Jessica Michalik, who was crushed to death during Limp Bizkit's set at the at 2001 Big Day Out concert in Sydney. Durst claims that he made his concerns about security known days before the incident, but they fell on deaf ears. ^*

Slipknot

Durst was embroiled in controversy with the band Slipknot after lead singer Corey Taylor heard from a friend that Durst referred to their fans "the fat ugly kids" in a Spin Magazine interview. ^*

Clown, the band's percussionist, threatened violence against him if he criticized their fans again, and Taylor later said in an interview with MuchMusic that he saw Durst as a great businessman, but not as an artist.

In a 2001 post on LimpBizkit.com, Durst disputed the perceived ill will against the metal band. He was quoted as writing, "We really like Slipknot and are very happy that they hate us, because it makes their music heavier, angrier and real!!" ^*

Britney Spears

In 2003, Fred Durst appeared on Howard Stern's nationally syndicated radio program, claiming that he had a sexual relationship with multiplatinum pop star Britney Spears while helping write and produce tracks for her album In the Zone, released later that year. ^*

While Durst claimed he only came forward with details about the relationship due to paparazzi photos spotting the two together, he went into great detail on the radio show, including intimate details about Spears' body, in response to Stern's continued prodding.

The professional relationship soured as a result of the affair, which Spears denies ever occurred, and Durst's contributions did not end up on the album.

Spears' spokesperson described the situation as "very junior high."

Sex tape

In February 2005, a three minute composite of video clips of Durst having sex was leaked to the Internet after the video clip was taken from his computer's hard disk. ^* The video also revealed that he had a Prince Albert piercing, although he was not wearing the jewelry.

Backlash

Durst's outspokenness and negative public image have resulted in a backlash, with entire web sites devoted to criticism of the rock star.

Critics claim that he takes the spotlight away from his bandmates, especially in the band's videos. In the 2003 video for the band's cover of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes," the rest of the band isn't seen at all. Additionally, Limp Bizkit's intense popularity has caused many to label the band, and Durst, as sellouts.

One heavy metal web site, Encyclopaedia Metallum, refers to their banning process as being "Dursted", named after Durst, who is considered a blight upon heavy metal by the site.

Various musical artists have also cited their differences with Fred Durst, such as Black Label Society guitarist-vocalist Zakk Wylde and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, rappers Eminem and Mos Def, and metal bands Taproot and Slipknot.

Personal life

Early life

The son of a policeman, Durst was born in Jacksonville, Florida and was raised in Gastonia, North Carolina, where he lived until his teens.

After high school, he returned to Jacksonville, Florida for brief period of service in the United States Navy.

He married his first wife, Rachel Tergesen, at the age of 20. They had one daughter, Adriana, but the couple divorced soon after Durst discovered that his wife had an affair. He was later incarcerated for a month for assaulting his wife's partner. ^* After jail, Durst shortly returned to North Carolina as a sponsored skateboarder, then came back to Jacksonville again to be a tattoo artist.

Post-fame

With the success of Limp Bizkit, Durst became notorious for his love life. He has either dated or reported to have dated various Playboy playmates such as Jaime Bergman, Jennifer Rovero and Summer Altice, and celebrities such as Alyssa Milano, Geri Halliwell, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Naomi Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Halle Berry, Paris Hilton, Carmen Electra, and Thora Birch.

Durst also has a son, Dallas Durst, born August 30, 2001. ^*

He's also been an active blogger in recent years, first on Xanga and later on MySpace. He recently announced via his MySpace blog that he is engaged to a woman named Krista that he met while filming The Education of Charlie Banks in Rhode Island.

Discography

Limp Bizkit

Dollar Bill Y'All$" target="_blank" >^* (1997)
Significant Other (1999)
Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water (2000)
New Old Songs (2001)
Results May Vary (2003)
The Unquestionable Truth (2005)

Filmography

Staind - Just Go (1999; Director)
Staind - Home (1999; Director)
Staind - It's Been Awhile (2001; Director)
Staind - Epiphany (2002; Director)
Limp Bizkit - Eat You Alive (2003; Director)
Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (2003; Director)
The Education Of Charlie Banks (2007; Director/Actor) (In production until July 25th)

External links

American Alien - Fred Durst's personal blog
Fred Durst at NNDB
Limp Bizkit's My Space Page and Fred's current blog

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