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Limp Bizkit is a rapcore band who—along with their discoverers, Korn—are often credited with creating the nu metal genre and widening its popularity. The band is currently signed to Geffen Records and were previously signed to Interscope Records; both labels are part of the Universal Music Group. They were one of the most popular bands in the world during the late 90s, and their albums have sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Limp Bizkit's current members are Fred Durst (the band's frontman and rapper), bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto (Rivers' cousin), and turntablist/sampler player DJ Lethal. The band's guitarist Wes Borland departed in 2001 following the release of their first three albums to be replaced by Mike Smith for the band's fourth release Results May Vary.

Though Limp Bizkit has enjoyed major success and sold well, they are often critically panned, particularly in recent years. Critics have labeled the group's hip-hop-influenced rhymes gimmicks, and heavily explicit content “cartoonish”Stevenson, Jane. "Durst takes the Bizkit". Toronto Sun, October 26 2000. and “cotton candy.”"Bite at the Bizkit!" NME.com, retrieved May 31 2006. In addition, leading allmusic.com critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine accused Fred Durst of being the "worst frontman in the history of rock"Erlewine, Stephen. "Results May Vary". allmusic, retrieved May 31 2006.in a negative review of the group's 2003 critical flop Results May Vary.

History

Early years

There are many rumors about where the band found inspiration for their name, and there have been several conflicting stories about its actual origin. Some, including the band's first guitarist Rob Waters, claim the name was chosen because of how a friend of the band described his brain (like a "limp biscuit") while on marijuana. The band themselves contend that they simply chose what sounded like the stupidest name they could think of at the time. Regardless, it's widely known that they did not name the band after the popular fraternity game limp biscuit.

As a teenager, Fred Durst found himself as an outcast simply because he enjoyed two very different styles of music. He liked the breakdancing scene, and music such as Michael Jackson, Erik B and Rakim, etc., which was labelled by others as 'black' music. On the other end of the spectrum, with his skateboarding background, he enjoyed heavy music such as Suicidal Tendencies, and KISS. This definitely influenced his later works, and is one of the reasons why the band rose to fame.

Fred moved to Jacksonville, where he met Sam Rivers. Sam had gotten into music because of his cousin, John Otto, who played drums. Fred asked Sam if he wanted to get together for a jam session, and he accepted. Sam brought his cousin John into the picture, and they all instantly got along. Together they started and early version of the band. Originally, Fred was going to play guitar in the band, despite the fact that he didn't know how. The trio soon realized this wouldn't be acceptable, and recruited Rob Waters. In 1994 Limp Bizkit was born.

Waters didn't stay in the picture very long. A band's first four-track demo entitled "Mental Aquaducts" was recorded with him, but soon after that, he was out of the band. Fred had noticed Wes Borland playing at clubs, and wanted to recruit him as the guitarist. At first the other members didn't like the idea, due to some differences they had with Wes in the past, but they eventually decided it would be a worthwhile venture. Fred was going to Philadelphia, and he instructed the other members to talk to Wes, and see if he'd join the band. Wes accepted, and the very night Fred came back to Jacksonville, a show was scheduled. Fred and Wes met for the first time, practiced for a half hour, and then went and played the show, that night.

The band continued to play around Jacksonville. Fred Durst had met members of the band Korn, and became friends with them. One incident occurred where Fred insisted on giving Brian Welch a tattoo, which ended up looking terrible. Durst had given Korn the band's first demo tape with Rob Waters, and they shrugged it off as nothing special. But when Wes came into the picture, a second demo was recorded and this time Korn was impressed. This three song demo included the tracks 'Counterfeit', 'Stuck', and 'Pollution', all of which would end up on Three Dollar Bill Y'all. Limp Bizkit was contacted by Ross Robinson, who produced for Korn. Ross stated his intent to produce for Limp Bizkit. About this time, they became friends with rap music's House of Pain, when the group booked them as the opening act for a small Florida tour. When House of Pain disbanded in 1996, DJ Lethal decided to join Limp Bizkit.

Before Limp Bizkit signed their record deal, Wes actually quit the band for a small period of time. He neglected to take pills prescribed for his ADHD, which caused him to lash out against his fellow band members, and ultimately he quit the band. At first Fred intended to go on without Wes, but everyone soon realized how instrumental he was to the band. Fred begged Wes to return to the band, and at first Wes rejected, but after Wes worked out his personal issues he returned to the band, and they went off to record their first album.

Three Dollar Bill Y'All$

Dollar Bill Y'All$" target="_blank" >*, their first full length recording, was released in 1997 on Interscope. The album fared poorly on the Billboard 200 at the time of its release and it wasn't until Limp Bizkit made further associations with Korn that they were able to promote their music via MTV, the Family Values Tour (Korn's own tour) and Ozzfest (where Borland's outlandish makeup and costumes made a memorable impression on viewers), which allowed the album to peak at number 25 on the chart. Although their first released single was "Counterfeit", they rose to fame on the back of the George Michael song “Faith”. The song appeared on the soundtrack of Peter Berg's 1998 movie "Very Bad Things" starring Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater and Jeremy Piven."Limp Bizkit Pays For 'Counterfeit' Play". MTV News, July 1 1998; retrieved May 31 2006.

Record company

It was around this time that Fred Durst formed his own record company Flip and assisted the careers of a number of up-and-coming bands, particularly Staind, Cold, Puddle of Mudd and Taproot (who later rejected Durst's contract). Most of these bands have since tried to cement themselves as an independent, standalone band and denounce Limp Bizkit's aid and influence.

Significant Other and Arising Controversy

In 1999, Limp Bizkit found major worldwide success with their second album Significant Other, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and received generally positive reviews *. The first single “Nookie,” was an enormous hit on rock radio, reaching the top 10 in both rock and rap charts. The band followed-up the single with three simultaneously released singles - "Break Stuff," "Re-Arranged" and "N 2 Gether Now" (featuring Method Man). The latter did not find mainstream appeal until 2000, but it reached a respectable place in the Billboard Hot 100 and charted on both rock and rap charts once it did.

In the summer of 1999, Limp Bizkit played at the highly anticipated Woodstock '99 rally. However, violent action sprung up during and after their performance, including fans tearing plywood from the walls during a rendition of the band's single Break Stuff, and several rapes and sexual assaults reported in the aftermath of the concert *, resulting in deliberately lit fires and looting when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played the next day. Some have blamed the band for this outbreak, although Fred Durst claimed that none of the instigations he had made at the concert were intended to cause damage. Consequently, the music video for the band's single "Re-Arranged" has the band being tried and punished for the Woodstock uproar.

Along with this episode, controversy involving the band's members began to arise. Durst particularly became involved in feuds with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (which gave basis to the belief that Durst practiced mafia-style tactics in the music industry), the nu-metal nonnet Slipknot, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Zakk Wylde, physical violence with Creed frontman Scott Stapp, verbal wars with rapper Eminem, and later, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. In addition, the band Taproot released on their website an answering machine message that Durst had left on the lead singer's phone as a 'revenge' for ending their record company contract with his record label.

Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Less than a year later, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was released on the 17th of October 2000, selling over a million copies in the US in its first week of release (a record for a rock album) and going on to sell almost 12 million worldwide. The first two singles "My Generation" and "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" (which became their biggest and most well-known hit) were released at the same time in promotion of the album. "Take A Look Around" was later added to the list as the theme song to the movie Impossible 2 starring Tom Cruise. A remix of "Rollin'" featuring Method Man, Redman and DMX was also a minor club hit. The fourth single "My Way" was commissioned as the opening theme for the WWF's (now WWE) WrestleMania X-Seven. Despite this, the album received mediocre reviews from many critics *. In late 2000, the band also stirred up some discontent by allowing the controversial peer-to-peer file-sharing network Napster to sponsor their Back to Basics tour, advertised as a chance for fans to 'get closer to the band.'

Rumors began to arise that Durst was an egomaniac. In an interview in 2001, Borland himself expressed dissatisfaction for the band and had left by the summer of that year to play with his side project Big Dumb Face. His departure was interpreted as a major blow by fans and critics to the band. He was often cited as a vital creative force to the group, due in part to his eccentricity.

Legal trouble

Controversy continued further in the event of a tragic death during a 2001 tour of Australia at the popular Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney. Teenager Jessica Michalik suffered from a heart attack when fans rushed the stage in the mosh pit. It was claimed by security and witnesses that Fred Durst was urging the crowd on in a possibly violent manner, or that he failed to attempt to calm the crowd after the accident. Jessica was announced clinically dead when she was pulled out of the pit by security guards, but regained consciousness after having air pumped into her lungs as well as an epinephrine shot to her heart from paramedics backstage. She was immediately rushed to Sydney's Concorde Hospital where she died a few hours later. In addition, Durst released contradictory statements to TV show Access Hollywood in America that he had 'visited the girl's bedside' and 'kept in touch with her family,' whereas police claimed he did 'no such thing.' *. Thirty fans were treated for minor injuries at the festival's medical tents.

Durst refused to fly to Australia in order to appear in court for the trial of the girl's death, which lawyers scoffed at *. He claimed that he was a 'nervous flier' and 'couldn't fit it into his schedule,' although he provided some of the band's managers with testimony. At the hearing, he claimed via a video connection from America that he had warned the concert's organizers and promoter Vivian Lees of the potential dangers of such little security, even going so far as to say Limp Bizkit would 'pull out' if they weren't properly addressed. Big Day Out attorneys attempted to pin the blame on Limp Bizkit however, because the band did not stop playing when they received news of the incident. Although the guitars, drums and bass ceased, DJ Lethal played a quiet computer-generated loop. While admitting that Lethal took it upon himself to play the interlude, Durst claimed that the quiet melody did have a soothing effect on the crowd. Limp Bizkit were found not guilty on August 10 2002, although the court decided the band 'could've been more helpful in efforts to aid the girl'. The security practices employed by festival organizers Creative Entertainment Australia bore the brunt of the blame. After viewing videotapes and hearing witness testimony, however, Milledge, the coroner, said it was evident that the density of the crowd was dangerous at the time Limp Bizkit took the stage. "Organizers Blamed In Limp Bizkit Mosh-Pit Death". MTV News November 8 2002; retrieved May 31 2006.

Results May Vary

With Borland's absence, Limp Bizkit began a nation-wide audition in 2002 for their new guitarist called "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is"."Limp Bizkit Scouring 22 Cities For New Guitarist". MTV News, December 21 2001; retrieved May 31 2006. Durst announced at the outset that he was interested in recruiting a possible female or more than one potential new member into the band *. Thousands of hopefuls were said to queue up to participate, all of which were required to sign a document giving Limp Bizkit the full ownership of any riffs they played. Each auditionee was allowed only fifty seconds in the first round to prove themselves in the eyes of the band. The final contestants were Monte Lee Pittman, Anousch and Jonas Anderson.

On March 7, 2003, Limp Bizkit announced they would perform live again for the first time in two years, at the upcoming WWE's WrestleMania XIX taking place on March 30."WrestleMania® XIX this Sunday". World Wrestling Entertainment press release, March 28 2003; retrieved May 31 2006. They also signed up for several live tours, despite their lack of a guitarist. The guitarists for the Wrestlemania tour were later revealed when Durst wrote in a post on the official website: "We are playing Wrestlemania this weekend. On the guitars will be Head from Korn and Mike Smith from Snot". This live lineup performed the song Crack Addict, which was rumored to be placed on their upcoming album, although it was not.

For whatever reason, the finalists from the "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is" contest were rejected in favor of touring former Snot guitarist Mike Smith, along with changing their logo to limpbizkit to promote their change of style.

The band had already recorded an albums worth of material for their upcoming release, but with Mike Smith now in the band, it was decided that they would go back in the studio and record another album's worth of songs, the best of all these tracks would make it to the final release. Fred refers to the tracks recorded during this period that didn't make it to the album as the 'Off The Record' tracks, as if it were an album in itself.

On September 23, 2003, Results May Vary, their fourth album and last top ten recording, was released, with Mike Smith contributing to at least five of the album's songs, and other guest guitarists including Brian "Head" Welch of Korn, Rivers Cuomo of Weezer and a studio engineer known as Elvis. The album was considered a commercial flop, breaking the group's number-1 spree on the Billboard 200, and receiving platinum certification (1 million copies sold) in the United States after fourteen weeks on the charts, in comparison with their previous work Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, which sold one million albums in its first week. The album received generally poor reviews by critics also. Although Rolling Stone's review was generally positive, Playlouder called it 'f**king crap' *," target="_blank" >and another review stating that it 'suffered from an utter lack of form and direction.' The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" was a moderate hit on mainstream radio, its video featuring actress Halle Berry. "Eat You Alive" was released as the first single off the album, cracking the top 20 of both American rock charts with an accompanying video that features actress Thora Birch being berated. The album's ballad "Build a Bridge" was the official theme song of WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November 2003, although it was never released as an official single due to Mike Smith's departure [http://www.thearmpit.net" target="_blank" >*. Another song from the album, Almost Over, cracked the Rock Top 40, however it was also never released with a single or video.

'Results May Vary' is considered by some to be the last mainstream album that shall ever be released by the band in light of their latest album 'The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)' which received limited advertisement and is seen as both a relative commercial and critical failure in comparison to their previous albums. Most true fans remain optimistic however.

The Unquestionable Truth

Throughout July of 2004, various rumors on the internet began circulating claiming that Wes Borland had been playing with the band again. By July 8, a fansite released an official report that Wes Borland was recording with the band in London. Photos appeared on the band's official website of him playing with the band, and a live video of them playing a new song The Truth in studio was also posted on the website.

Durst said of Borland's re-entry, "We are very content with Mike being gone. We are the type of people that stay true to our family and our instincts and at any moment will act on intuition as a whole. Mike wasn't the guy. We had fun playing with him, but always knew, in the back of our minds, that he wasn't where we needed him to be mentally.""EXCLUSIVE: Fred Durst Interview". thearmpit.net August 15 2004; retrieved May 31 2006. At this stage, they reverted back to the use of their original logo.

Two months prior to the release of their fifth album The Unquestionable Truth, a homemade pornographic film starring Fred Durst was leaked onto the internet. The T Mobile Terrorist group claimed responsibility, although later Durst mentioned to MTV that it had been spotted by "a man who came to repair his computer" who then stole it and spread it about the net. "Fred Durst Says Sex Video Was Stolen From His Computer". MTV News, February 25 2005; retrieved May 31 2006. Durst was later approached by a company asking him if he wanted to sell the film on the market. Durst declined and filed a lawsuit against the hacker.

The band returned to the studio with producer Ross Robinson, who had worked with them on Dollar Bill Y'All$" target="_blank" >*, to create a seven track EP titled The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Drummer John Otto was only able to contribute to one track on the album due to personal matters, with Sammy Siegler providing percussion on the remaining tracks. Durst promised fans before its release that it would be a return to the 'rawer, more abrasive style' of their first album.

The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) was released as a 7-track EP internationally on May 3, 2005 with little fanfare or advertising, debuting at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and selling only 37,000 copies in its first week. The mini-album has not been certified gold or platinum by RIAA. Moss, Corey. "Limp Bizkit: What Happened?". MTV News; retrieved May 31 2006. It also received mediocre reviews, with many critics thinking that Durst was trying too hard to imitate Rage Against the Machine's lead singer Zack de la Rocha *.

Greatest Hitz

Limp Bizkit's first greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hitz, was released on November the 8th in 2005, containing material from the band's first four albums (nothing was included from The Unquestionable Truth because no singles were released from it). An additional DVD, which featured music videos for most of their major hits, was released in conjunction with the CD. The album and DVD were heavily promoted by the band's label, even to the point where Durst claimed he was being forced to do interviews about a compilation he wasn't very excited about.* The endorsement did not pay off, with the album debuting at number 47. The compilation album featured 3 previously unreleased songs, "Why" and "Lean On Me," which were acoustic-based leftovers from Results May Vary, dropped in turn for heavier songs*, and a medley of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" titled Bittersweet Home, which was released to radio but did not receive much, if any, airplay.

The future

Limp Bizkit's future remains uncertain. There was a mention of future Limp Bizkit albums when The Unquestionable Truth was released, including a follow-up to it, (The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2), and there was previously no basis to this belief. The band has remained extremely quiet as a whole, making no public appearances, and with many of the members pursuing personal goals. Several of the band's members worked with solo hard rock artist Rob Zombie on his latest release Educated Horses.

Wes Borland has spoken a number of times regarding the status of Limp Bizkit, including an interview with MTV in March 2006, where he said that the band were on 'extended hiatus' *. In other interviews, he has declared that Limp Bizkit has split and that The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2 will not be released, although he does not rule out the possibility of Limp Bizkit re-uniting ever.

Surprisingly, Durst contradicted Borland's assertions, leading to myspace wars by both members on the future of the band. Durst has assured press that The Unquestionable Truth Part 2 will be coming out and that the band will tour to support it, but with some songs that do not feature Borland on guitar. He has also claimed it will be a full length release rather than an EP and will be even more experimental and aggressive than the first. * Borland has been focusing on his side project Black Light Burns of late, while Durst has plans to direct his first motion picture film. He claimed to be touring in the northeastern United States. *

To help fans keep hope in Limp Bizkit, Fred has been posting multiple songs on the myspace such as these: "Poison Ivy", "Cowgirls From Hell" (Formerly known as Cowgirls From Heaven), "When It Rains", "Relentless", "Masterbation", "Crack Addict", as well as earlier songs. Most of the "new" songs (not including the two interludes) added are the some of the original 19 tracks recorded for the album, originally titles "Less Is More" but was later changed to the name "Bipolar", before ex-guitarist Mike Smith joined the band and before they re-recorded what would become Results May Vary.

With Fred now deep in production of filming The Education Of Charlie Banks, he has stated numerous times that in his spare time he continues to work on lyrics for the next album. Apparently, once the film is finished on July 25, the band will go directly into the studio for recording of the next album. [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=931623093&n=2

Discography

Demos

Mental Aquaducts (1995)

Studio albums

Album cover Album information
Dollar Bill Y'All$" target="_blank" >*
Significant Other
Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water
New Old Songs (Remix album)
Results May Vary
The Unquestionable Truth
Greatest Hitz

Singles

Year Song US Hot 100 U.S. Modern Rock U.S. Main- stream Rock Rhythmic Top 40 UK Top 40 Germany Album
1997 "Counterfeit" - - - - - - Three Dollar Bill Y'All
1998 "Sour" - - - - - - Three Dollar Bill Y'All
1998 "Faith" (Charted 1999) - 28 33 - - - Three Dollar Bill Y'All
1999 "Nookie" 80 3 6 - - - Significant Other
1999 "Re-Arranged" 75 1 8 - - - Significant Other
1999 "N 2 Gether Now" (ft. Method Man) 70 - - 7 - - Significant Other
2000 "Break Stuff" - 14 19 - - - Significant Other
2000 "Crushed" - 31 - - - - End of Days
2000 "Take A Look Around" - 8 15 - 3 4 Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water (Also on the Impossible 2 Soundtrack)
2000 "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" 65 4 10 38 1 10 Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water
2000 "My Generation" 18 33 15 23 Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water
2001 "My Way" 75 3 4 - 6 38 Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water
2001 "Boiler" 30 - 18 50 Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water
2003 "Crack Addict" (Premiered Live Only) - - - - - - Unreleased
2003 "Eat You Alive" - 20 16 - 10 13 Results May Vary
2003 "Behind Blue Eyes" 71 20 16 - 18 2 Results May Vary
2003 "Almost Over" - - 33 - - - Results May Vary
2005 "The Truth" (Internet Only) - - - - - - The Unquestionable Truth
2005 "Home Sweet Home/Bittersweet Symphony" (Medley) - - - - - 45 Greatest Hitz

Guest appearances in Limp Bizkit videos

Guest appearances in other videos

References

Fred Durst- Catalyst- Adrenaline Fred Durst- Methods of mayhem (tommy lee, lil kim) - Get naked

See also

External links

1990s music groups | 2000s music groups | Alternative musical groups | Rap metal groups | Rapcore groups | Rhythmic Top 40 acts | Florida musical groups | American musical groups | Nu metal musical groups

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