The Offspring

The Offspring is a popular American rock band from Orange County, California that was originally formed in 1984. The band now consists of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman, bassist Greg Kriesel (known as Greg K), and Atom Willard on drums. They have sold over 32 million albums worldwide.

The Offspring is often primarily considered a punk rock and Alternative Rock group, their music contains elements of ska, grunge and pop-punk. The band cites their main musical influences as Bad Religion, Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Descendents, KISS, Social Distortion and TSOL.

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, one of whom was multi-instrumentalist and school mate of future drummer Ron Welty, Marcus Parrish Marcus left to pursue a solo career before any recording was completed. Their only recorded song under the name Manic Subsidal was called "Hopeless," and was on a compilation album called Party Animal: We Got Power II, released in 1984 by Mystic Records [http://www.fuzzlogic.com/flex/p/3733.php.

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 to persue a medical career in gynaecology, 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. However, the CD release of the album would not surface until 1995.

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, 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, Voodoo Glow Skulls, and No Doubt.

Rise to fame (1994-2002)

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 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. Fueled by hit singles Come Out and Play, Self Esteem, and Gotta Get Away, The Offspring, along with Green Day, NOFX, and Rancid, helped revive punk for a new generation. Holland credits Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana for creating the environment which allowed the Offspring 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 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 Dexter's sole responsibility.

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. Not only this, but the move cause a fan backlash. Most fans of the Offspring music still signed to Epitaph thought that the move to Columbia was purely for financial gain; to this day the band still deny that charge.

The Offspring released their fourth album 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 with songs like All I Want, Gone Away, and I Choose. The video for "I Choose" was directed by Dexter himself. The band believe that when "Ixnay..." came out that the fans were expecting "Smash Part Two" (In their own words) which is why they moved away from their former style.

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 on the Hombre. 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.

In 2000, the band released a new and drastically different 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. However, under threat of legal action by Columbia, only the first single Original Prankster was released online. 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.

Post-Welty period (2003-present)

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 the drums and co-produces. The parties have not elaborated on the departure.

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, however his name remained absent from the album credits. 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.

In 2005, the band released a Greatest Hits album with a DualDisc. The Greatest Hits album contains 14 of the band's hits from 1994 to 2003, as well as the previously-unreleased song "Can't Repeat". The DualDisc contains video of Dexter and Noodles discussing the band's history and a bonus acoustic version of "Dirty Magic" from Ignition. About a month later, the band released a video DVD with music videos from all of their hits, 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. Atom Willard was recruited by Tom DeLonge for his band Angels and Airwaves and released an album, We Don't Need to Whisper, in 2006.

The band is currently recording tracks for their eighth album, with a planned release date of sometime in 2006 or 2007. As of now, an official title and release date for the album are yet to be confirmed and the current status of the album is unknown. There are also rumors of the band releasing a rare/b-sides album. A journal update on June 13, 2006 by Holland stated that the band (minus Willard) has been meeting every week and will begin recording shortly. He also comfirmed that Willard has not officially left the band and is only on tour with Angels and Airwaves. ^*

In July 2006, a new feature showed up on the band's webpage, called "Officially Endorsed by" which states that the following people, who are considered inherently amusing to most. It shows a picture of each person. Some believe that this a clue about the band's upcoming album.

Band Members

Current Members

Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Greg Kriesel - Bass, backing vocals
Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman - Lead guitar, backing vocals (Since 1985)
Atom Willard - Drums (Since 2003) - Also plays in Angels and Airwaves

Live Backing Members

Chris "X-13" Higgins - backing vocals, percussion, synthesizer, samples, and rhythm guitar on occasion

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

The Offspring - The Offspring.jpg

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	Chart positions
1989 (original version) November 21, 1995 (re-release)	The Offspring	Nemesis Records (original version) Nitro Records (re-release)	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
February 4, 1997	Ixnay on the Hombre	Columbia Records (US) Epitaph Records (Europe)	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 Gold

Note: The cover shown above for The Offspring is the original version. The re-release of the album had a different cover, which is shown below, due to the increasing popularity of The Offspring as well as the number of expensive, poor quality bootlegs that were being sold to fans.

Compilation albums

Greatest Hits, June 21, 2005 (8 (US), 14 (UK), 2 (AUS)) RIAA Gold

EPs

Baghdad, 1991
Club Me, 1997

Non-Album Tracks

"52 Girls" (The B-52's Cover) - from Contains No Caffeine
"I Got A Right" (Iggy Pop and The Stooges Cover) - from the Club Me EP
"Smash It Up" (The Damned Cover) - from the Batman Forever soundtrack and the Club Me EP
"D.U.I." - from the I Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack and the Club Me EP
"Hey Joe" (The Leaves cover) - from Go Ahead Punk... Make My Day
"Beheaded (1999)" - from the Idle Hands soundtrack
"I Wanna Be Sedated" - from the "Why Don't You Get A Job?" CD Single and We're A Happy Family: A Tribute To The Ramones
"Hand Grenades" - from Short Music For Short People
"Bloodstains" (Agent Orange Cover) - from the Ready to Rumble soundtrack
"Totalimmortal" (AFI Cover) - from the Me, Myself and Irene soundtrack
"Defy You" - from the Orange County soundtrack
"80 Times" (TSOL Cover) - from the "Want You Bad" CD Single
"Autonomy" - (Buzzcocks Cover) - from the "Want You Bad" CD Single
"Sin City" - (AC/DC Cover) - from the "Million Miles Away" CD Single
"One Hundred Punks" (Generation X Cover) - from the "Defy You" CD Single
"Mission From God" - from Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10
"Next To You" - (The Police Cover) - from Greatest Hits

Manic Subsidal Tracks

"Hopeless" - from We Got Power, Volume 2 - Party Animal
"Religion" - Live In San Berubin, Canada 1987
"Tonight I Do" - Live In San Berubin, Canada 1987
"Ballroom Blitz" - Live In San Berubin, Canada 1987

DVDs and Videos

Americana, 1999
Huck It, 2000
The Complete Video Collection, 2005

Singles

Year	Song	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Main- stream Rock	UK singles	Germany	Album
1994	"Come Out and Play"	-	1	10	-	-	Smash
1994	"Self Esteem"	-	4	7	37	-	Smash
1994	"Gotta Get Away"	-	6	15	43	-	Smash
1995	"Kick Him When He's Down"	-	-	-	-	-	Ignition
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	"The 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	2	Americana
1999	"Why Don't You Get a Job?"	74	4	10	2	16	Americana
1999	"She's Got Issues"	-	11	19	41	-	Americana
1999	"The Kids Aren't Alright"	-	6	-	11	45	Americana
2000	"Totalimmortal"	-	36	27	-	-	Me, Myself, and Irene Soundtrack
2000	"Original Prankster"	70	2	7	6	46	Conspiracy of One
2001	"Want You Bad"	-	10	23	15	-	Conspiracy of One
2001	"Million Miles Away"	-	-	-	-	-	Conspiracy of One
2001	"Defy You"	77	8	8	-	62	Orange County Soundtrack
2003	"Hit That"	64	1	6	11	31	Splinter
2004	"(Can't Get My) Head Around You"	-	6	16	48	-	Splinter
2005	"Can't Repeat"	-	9	10	-	-	Greatest Hits
2005	"Next to You"	-	37	29	-	-	Greatest Hits

Live Performances

The Offspring have played shows in hundreds of venues all over the world. The band has additionally preformed at dozens of music festivals, including Vans Warped Tour, Not So Silent Night, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom HuckJam, the very first Dew Action Sports Tour, and also, Woodstock 1999 and the 1999, 2002, & 2004 Leeds and Reading Carling Festivals

Filmography of Songs

Movies

The Offspring appear as themselves in the film Idle Hands where they play "Beheaded" and "I Wanna Be Sedated" at a school dance before Dexter is killed.
"Take It Like a Man" and "Forever and a Day" are played in the movie The Chase
"Want You Bad" was featured in the movies Tomcats and American Pie 2
"Dammit, I Changed Again" was played in the film The New Guy
"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 film The Faculty
"Original Prankster" was played in the film The Animal
"Original Prankster" was played in the theatrical preview for the film How to Eat Fried Worms
"The Kids Aren't Alright" and "The Meaning of Life" were played in the anime movie Tekken
"Nitro (Youth Energy)" was played in the film Varsity Blues
"Come Out and Play" was played in the film Bubble Boy and the film Click
"Defy You" was played in the film Orange County

TV Shows

"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" played on TV shows including Ed, Edd 'n Eddy and King of the Hill.
"All I Want" and "Original Prankster" were played on the cartoon series Daria
"Come Out and Play" was the theme song for ECW wrestler Raven
"The Kids Aren't Alright" in advertisements for the 2001 MLB All Star Game on FOX.
"Hit That" is played in a cable television commercial.

Video Games

"All I Want," "Way Down the Line," "The Meaning of Life" and "Change the World" are featured in the game Crazy Taxi
"Come Out Swinging," "One Fine Day," "Walla Walla," "No Brakes," and "Americana" are featured in the game Crazy Taxi 2
"Want You Bad" and "Special Delivery" are featured in the game Crazy Taxi 3
"Blackball" was played in the game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
"Genocide" was played in the video game Jeremy McGrath Pro Supercross
"Self Esteem" is featured in the game Singstar Rocks!

Trivia

The single "Tokyo I'm on My Way!" by Puffy AmiYumi was written by Dexter Holland.

External links

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