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The Offspring history1984: Orange County high school classmates Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel are inspired to form a band after an Irvine concert by local punk-rock heroes Social Distortion. With Holland the vocalist, Kriesel takes to the bass.1985: School custodian Noodles joins up, allegedly for his ability to legally procure alcohol for the underage trio. The threesome practice in KrieselСs parentsС house and play their first shows in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. 1986: The band, originally called Manic Subsidal, changes its name to The Offspring. They press up 1,000 copies of the debut vinyl single, УIСll Be WaitingУ b/w УBlackball,Ф on their own Black Label. The band pioneers its DIY method by glueing the sleeves together at KrieselСs house. Sixteen-year-old Ron Welty becomes the fourth member of The Offspring after the original drummer leaves to devote more time to school. 1989: Band signs to independent label Nemesis/Cargo. With punk producer Thom Wilson (T.S.O.L., The Vandals and Dead Kennedys), they release The Offspring, their debut album, which sells 3,000 vinyl copies. 1991: The band put out a 7У EP, Baghdad (Nemesis/Cargo) and records УTake It Like a ManФ for a Flipside magazine compilation, The Big One, produced by Epitaph Records owner (and Bad Religion guitarist) Brett Gurewitz. 1992: The band signs to Epitaph and record their second album, Ignition. After a record release party in Fullerton, CA draws 25 diehard fans, the album goes on to sell more than 1 million albums worldwide. 1993-'94: The band tours the U.S. once with Lunachicks and next with Pennywise. They also do a European jaunt supporting NOFX. 1994: Smash, their second album for Epitaph, is released. Featuring the mega-hits УCome Out and Play (Keep СEm Separated),У УSelf EsteemС and УGotta Get Away,У the album is a phenomenon. The disc sells more than 11 million copies worldwide, the most ever for a band on an indie label, after УCome Out and PlayФ becomes a gigantic MTV hit. The album peaks at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. 1995: Dexter and Greg start Nitro Records. The Huntington Beach-based label forms a roster that includes such California stalwarts as the Vandals, AFI, Guttermouth and others. Nitro also reissues the bandСs self-titled debut on CD for the first time. The OffspringСs cover of the DamnedСs УSmash It UpФ is featured on the best-selling Batman Forever soundtrack. 1997: The Offspring sign with Columbia Records, and release the Dave Jerden-produced Ixnay on the Hombre in February. The album sells more than 3 million worldwide and peaks at #9 on the Billboard 200, with singles УAll I Want,У УGone Away,У and УI ChooseУ all hitting the Modern Rock charts. Spin raved: УPunk-rock zealots can take their rage to the grave, but what this band cares about beyond everything else is what zealots can abide least: songs.У The L.A. Times praised the album as Уrichly varied and thoroughly smart.. a mature, sometimes daring and always enticing effort by a band that constantly offers far more than meets the ear.У Jello Biafra makes a cameo appearance on Ixnay and joins the band on-stage to perform version of Dead Kennedy classics УChemical WarfareУ and УHoliday in Cambodia.Ф 1998: An MP3 file of УPretty Fly (for a White Guy),У from the bandСs yet-to-be-released Americana album is downloaded a record 22 million times over a 10-week period, landing it the #1 spot on Rolling StoneСs Top Pirated Internet Songs chart. When Americana is released in November, worldwide sales climb past the 10 million mark, thanks to the catchy single and MTV video. Other singles include УWhy DonСt You Get a Job?,У УThe Kids ArenСt AlrightУ and УSheСs Got Issues.У The bandСs touring schedule takes them to Woodstock С99 for an acclaimed performance captured on film and the 1999 Reading/Leads Festivals in the U.K. УWe love what we do,У says Holland. УWe want to make the best music we can and try to top what we did before.Ф 1999: The group follows its tour of the U.S. with shows in Australia and Japan. The Offspring makes a cameo appearance in the cult horror/comedy Idle Hands, playing a cover of the RamonesС УI Wanna Be SedatedУ and УBeheadedФ from their self-titled debut before Dexter is killed after speaking his one line. 2000: The group is hit with a cease-and-desist order from file-sharing service Napster after offering T-shirts sporting the companyСs famed logo for sale on the bandСs website. The band defends its actions, claiming they were simply УsharingУ the logo with fans. The band spawns more controversy when they decide to offer their new album Conspiracy Of One free of charge via the Internet prior to its initial November release date. Fans downloading the record were automatically registered in a contest to be awarded $1,000,000 directly from the band (live on MTV) on the day of the albumСs release. Fans who go on to buy the record are awarded membership in the Offspring Nation digital fan club, receiving exclusive downloads of unreleased material, advance ticket sales, guarded chats with the band and more. Sony Music doesnСt agree and threatens a lawsuit. The band avoids the lawsuit by making individual singles available on their official website and MTV Online. УThe reality is this album will end up on the Internet whether we want it to or not,У Holland tells the L.A. Times. УSo we thought, СWhy donСt we just do it ourselves?С WeСre not afraid of the Internet. We think itСs a very cool way to reach our fans.Ф 2001: The Offspring headline KROQСs Inland Invasion at Blockbuster Pavilion in Devore with Incubus, Long Beach Dub Allstars, Pennywise, Social Distortion, Weezer, Mike D and Mixmaster Mike on July 18. In December, the band record УDefy YouФ with Brendan OСBrien for the soundtrack to Orange County, starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black. Dave Meyers directs the video. 2002: In March, The Offspring play the Las Vegas premiere of Tony HawkСs Boom Boom Huck Jam, with an array of action sports champions like Hawk, Bob Burnquist, Dave Mirra, Mat Hoffman and Carey Hart, then go on for four more dates that fall. In July, they play a benefit concert with T.S.O.L. at the Anaheim House of Blues for They Will Surf Again and Life Rolls On, not-for-profit organizations formed by professional surfers dedicated to finding a cure for spinal cord injuries. In September, they open the Kerrang! Awards in London before being presented with the Classic Songwriter award by GarbageСs Shirley Manson. Said the venerable metal mag: УThey have influenced and continue to influence new generations of K!-heads. TonightСs award nails not only The OffspringСs glorious past, but their ongoing relevance.Ф 2003: The Offspring cover the RamonesТ УI Wanna Be Sedated,Ф which they first did for the film Idle Hands, on the tribute album WeТre a Happy Family (Columbia), joining Metallica, Eddie Vedder, Marilyn Manson and KISS and among others. The band lay down demos for the new album at HollandТs D-13 studios in his native Huntington Beach, then continue recording with producer Brendan OТBrien in Atlanta at Southern Tracks Recording and Henson Recording Studios in L.A. Drummer Ron Welty leaves the band. Former Vandals and A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese takes over duties for the recording process. The group is also joined in the studio by two old-school SoCal punk pals, PennywiseТs Jim Lindberg and T.S.O.L.Тs Jack Grisham, who takes time off from his campaign for Governor of California to lay down some background vocals. Holland announces the record will be called Chinese Democracy as an obvious tweak to Axl Rose, who had previously announced that was the title to the new Guns N Roses album heТs been working on for much of the past decade. УIt was so damn funny,Ф says Dexter. УWe felt like we had to do it. The idea of stealing the title of an album someone else has been working on for so long was very funny to us. You snooze, you lose. Axl ripped off my braids, so I ripped off his album title.У But ultimately, the band announced on their website that the decision to title the album Chinese Democracy had somehow caused production to come to a halt. УThat album title jinxed us,У said Dexter. The band visit Hawaii, where they film a surfing video with Da Hui, a notorious gang of native islanders who welcome them to their North Shore turf. The footage will appear as extra footage on their upcoming CD. In October, they bring in drummer Atom Willard, who was in Rocket From the Crypt for 10 years as well as playing with Moth and the Alkaline Trio. The group decide to name the new album Splinter and the first single УHit ThatУ debuts at radio. Combining live action with computer-generated images (and no band members), the unique video for УHit ThatФ directed by John Williams and David Lea soon premieres. The band fly to Europe for secret club shows in London, Berlin and Paris and return to the US for more shows before SplinterСs release on December 9. 2004: The Offspring begin the year with performances on Top Of The Pops in the UK and then at ESPNСs Winter X-Games in Aspen, Colorado. A video is shot for the single У(CanСt Get MyУ) Head Around YouУ using 125+ cameras from just as many angles to create Уthe ultimate performance video.Ф In February, the Splinter World Tour kicks off in full force in Europe followed by 2 legs of dates in the US, then Australia, Japan & Asia, back to Europe, South Africa (for the first time ever), South America and finally the band wraps up the tour headlining the Holiday Havoc festival in Anaheim, California on November 14. 97 shows, 22 countries, 161,682 miles and many an empty beer bottle. The Rock Against Bush compilation, featuring The OffspringСs УBaghdadФ is released in May. A longtime dream of his as a pilot, Dexter celebrates the end of the tour with a 9 day solo flight around the entire globe. 2005: The Offspring begins the year working on new songs, old songs and covers with producer Jerry Finn, including УCanСt RepeatУ a new track and single for the soon upcoming Greatest Hits album. Los Angeles radio station KROQ offers a flight on DexterСs jet as part of their South Asian Tsunami benefit auction. In March, Dexter takes the winners up over Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon before buzzing their house. In April, the band heads to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco for a photo shoot in advance of the Greatest Hits release. Soon after, they visit a Los Angeles soundstage to shoot the video for УCanСt Repeat.У Epitaph releases Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10 June 7 including The OffspringСs УMission From God.У The Offspring headline the Dew Action Sports Tour stop on June 11 in Louisville, Kentucky before heading out on their first summer aboard the Vans Warped Tour. The Greatest Hits collection hits stores in North America on June 21. The collection features all of the bandСs major hits plus УCanСt Repeat.Ф Greatest Hits is released in both DualDisc and standard CD configurations. The DualDisc version featured the entire album on the audio-only side while the DVD side includes the full album in 5.1 stereo; a chat with Dexter and Noodles about the bandСs history and the stories behind the songs; and an exclusive in-the-studio acoustic performance of УDirty Magic.У A few weeks later, The OffspringСs Complete Music Video Collection is released on DVD. The 2Ц1/2 hour DVD showcases all of the bandСs videos including the band-produced video rarities УDa HuiУ and УCool To HateУ Further bonus features on the DVD include 5.1 surround sound; audio commentary on the videos from Dexter Holland and Noodles; a selection of live television performances; and УGuy Cohen: Where Is He Now?,У DexterСs penetrating interview with the actor from УPretty Fly (For A White Guy).Ф Capping off 46 Warped Tour dates, The Offspring play a benefit show at the famed New York City club C.B.G.B.Сs to aid in the clubСs efforts to resolve their lease issues and remain in their historic location. The show rocks, C.B.s gets kicked out anyway. In September, the band head to Europe for a string of dates followed by a quick tour of Japan in October. The band return to the U.S. to find radio stations playing their cover of УNext To You,Ф originally by The Police and an unlisted final track on the US version of Greatest Hits album. The stations picked up on the song from Offspring fans calling and requesting it. The Offspring headline the closing-night concert at the BlizzCon computer/video game festival in Anaheim, CA. materials from offspring.com BAND NOW: Dexter Holland: vocals, guitarNoodles: guitar Greg K: bass Pete Parada: drums |
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