The Offspring is an American rock band formed in
Huntington Beach, CaliforniaHuntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in southern California, United States. According to the 2000 census, the city population was 189,594...
in 1984. Since its formation, the band's line-up had included
Dexter HollandBryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring, who are known for singles such as "Come Out and Play" "Self Esteem", "Pretty Fly " and "Why Don't You Get a Job?"...
(lead vocals, guitar),
NoodlesKevin Wasserman , best known by his stage name Noodles, is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for The Offspring.-Biography:...
(lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals),
Greg K.Gregory David Kriesel , best known by his stage name Greg K., is an American bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band, The Offspring.-Biography:...
(bass, backing vocals), and
Ron WeltyRonald "Ron" Welty was the drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring from 1987 through to 2003. He had replaced their original drummer, and was only 16 at the time of his joining...
(drums, percussion), who left in 2003. Their current drummer is
Pete ParadaPeter "Pete" Parada is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Parada's drumming career began in 1996 when he joined Steel Prophet and recorded one album with them a year later. Subsequently he joined Face to Face and Saves the Day, and in 2007 became the new...
, formerly of
Face to FaceFace to Face is an American punk rock band from Victorville, California formed in 1991 by frontman Trever Keith....
, and
Saves the DaySaves the Day is an American band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Manuel Carrero and drummer Durijah Lang....
, who has been with the band since 2007.
The Offspring has been credited, along with fellow California punk bands
Green DayGreen Day is an American rock trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tré Cool for the majority of its existence....
and
RancidRancid is an American punk rock band from Albany, California, formed in 1991. Founded by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong, both of whom previously played in ska punk group Operation Ivy, the band is credited with helping to revive mainstream popular interest in punk rock in the United States during...
, with reviving mainstream interest in
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the mid-1990s. To date, The Offspring has released eight studio albums, one compilation, four EPs and three DVDs. They have sold over 34 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling punk rock acts of all time. Each album since the release of their final Epitaph album Smash has sold over a million units.
Since the release of their 1994 album
SmashSmash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring, released on April 8, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The album was the band's last collaboration with record producer Thom Wilson, who produced their previous two albums, and marks their last release on Epitaph.Smash met high...
, which is the best-selling
independent labelAn independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels.-Overview:...
album of all time, The Offspring has achieved commercial success over five albums, with singles such as "
Come Out and Play"Come Out and Play" is a punk rock song by the Californian punk rock group The Offspring. It is the seventh track on their breakthrough album Smash and was released as the first single from the album. The song was the first major single to be released by the band...
", and "Self Esteem". The band's next three albums,
Ixnay on the HombreIxnay on the Hombre is the fourth studio album by the American punk band The Offspring. Released on February 4, 1997 it was the follow-up to the highly successful Smash and also the band's first collaboration with record producer Dave Jerden...
,
AmericanaAmericana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 . It debuted at 2 on the US Billboard 200 with around 174,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide...
and
Conspiracy of OneConspiracy of One is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on November 14, 2000 debuting at 9 on the US Billboard 200 with around 125,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide...
, were also successful, with
Ixnay on the Hombre and
Conspiracy of One reaching
platinum certificationMusic recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped a certain number of copies.Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories, which are named after the precious materials gold, platinum and diamond...
, and
Americana achieving multi-platinum status. Longtime drummer
Ron WeltyRonald "Ron" Welty was the drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring from 1987 through to 2003. He had replaced their original drummer, and was only 16 at the time of his joining...
left The Offspring in early 2003, and was replaced by Atom Willard. Later that year, the band released their next album,
Splinter, to moderate sales and fairly warm reviews. In 2005, The Offspring released a
greatest hits albumGreatest Hits is a compilation album by American punk rock band The Offspring released on June 20, 2005 internationally and June 21, 2005 in North America...
and toured in support of the compilation. Their most recent studio album,
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, was released on June 17, 2008 with the hit singles
"
You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" is a punk rock song by the The Offspring. It is the third track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and was released as the second single on September 4, 2008. The song peaked at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart...
" and "
Hammerhead"Hammerhead" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. The song is featured as the fourth track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and was released as the first single from the album. The song was first played at the Summer Sonic Festival in 2007.The song was originally...
." The Offspring is currently planning a ninth studio album, which is due for release in 2010.
Early years (1984–1987)
The band was formed by guitarist
Dexter HollandBryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring, who are known for singles such as "Come Out and Play" "Self Esteem", "Pretty Fly " and "Why Don't You Get a Job?"...
and bassist
Greg K.Gregory David Kriesel , best known by his stage name Greg K., is an American bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band, The Offspring.-Biography:...
, who met on their
high schoolHigh school is the name used in some parts of the world, particularly in Scotland, Northern America and Oceania, to describe an institution that provides all or part of secondary education...
cross-country team, under the name "Manic Subsidal". The decision to form a band came outside of a
Social DistortionSocial Distortion is an American rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and Adam "Atom" Willard...
concert when both were refused entry. Doug Thompson was added for vocals, and
Kevin 'Noodles' WassermanKevin Wasserman , best known by his stage name Noodles, is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for The Offspring.-Biography:...
, the school janitor, was welcomed into the band, allegedly because he was old enough to purchase
alcoholAn alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits....
for Holland and Kriesel, both of whom were under the legal drinking age. The band used Thompson's friend, Jim Benton, as their drummer. Thompson was eventually forced out of the band, while Benton left. This led to Holland taking over on vocals, and James Lilja joining as the drummer. The band changed their name to "The Offspring" in 1985.
In 1986, the band released their first
singleIn music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats.-History:...
; the 7" "
I'll Be Waiting/Blackball"I'll Be Waiting"/Blackball" is the first release by punk rock band The Offspring. It was released as the 9th tracks on their debut self-titled album which was released in 1989 It was also the first single to be released by the band. The single was released in 1986, three years before the release...
". They released the single on their self-made Black Label record company, which was named after the brand of beer named
Black LabelCarling Black Label is the name of a brand of English lager in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain and South Africa. In Sweden it is known as Carling Premier.Carling brands are currently owned by the Molson Coors Brewing Company...
. Lilja quit shortly after the release to pursue a medical career in gynecology, and was replaced by
Ron WeltyRonald "Ron" Welty was the drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring from 1987 through to 2003. He had replaced their original drummer, and was only 16 at the time of his joining...
, who was only 16 years old at the time.
The Offspring and Ignition (1988–1993)
After recording a demo in 1988, The Offspring signed a record deal with a small-time label, Nemesis Records. Then in March 1985, the band teamed up with
producerIn the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
Thom WilsonThom Wilson is a now-retired American punk rock record producer and engineer.-Career:Wilson began his musical career in the mid-1970s, engineering recordings by soft rock artits Burton Cummings and Seals & Crofts. He began working on punk rock albums in the early 1980s while producing the...
(of
Dead KennedysThe Dead Kennedys was an American punk band, formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. Pioneers of hardcore punk during the 1980s, the band gained a large underground following in the international punk music scene....
,
Social DistortionSocial Distortion is an American rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and Adam "Atom" Willard...
and
The VandalsThe Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
fame) to record their first album, titled
The OffspringThe Offspring is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on June 15, 1989 on Nemesis Records as vinyl-only, and was not released on CD until November 21, 1995 on Nitro/Epitaph Records, with a new album cover but otherwise identical...
. The album was released in limited numbers by the label, only in a
12" vinylA gramophone record, commonly known as phonograph record, vinyl record, or simply record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc...
format, and a proper
CDA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
release did not surface until 1995. A six-week national tour followed, but
NoodlesKevin Wasserman , best known by his stage name Noodles, is the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for The Offspring.-Biography:...
was later stabbed during their
HollywoodHollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, United States, situated west-northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word "Hollywood" is often used as a metonymy of American cinema...
anti-nuclear benefit.
In 1991, The Offspring teamed up with Wilson again to produce the
BaghdadBaghdad was a 7-inch EP released by American punk rock band The Offspring in 1991. It is currently out of print, but sold 3000 copies within one week of its release...
7" EP. This EP was instrumental to the band's signing with
Epitaph RecordsEpitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record label. Gurewitz...
. Wilson had been trying to get The Offspring to switch to Epitaph, a label run by
Bad ReligionBad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley , Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz and Jay Ziskrout...
guitarist
Brett GurewitzBrett Gurewitz , nicknamed Mr. Brett, is the guitarist and a songwriter of Bad Religion. He is also the owner of the music label Epitaph Records. Gurewitz is Jewish and grew up in Woodland Hills, California....
. Gurewitz felt that
The Offspring was just not quite pronounced enough for his label, but
Baghdad convinced him to give the band a shot.
In 1992, Wilson and The Offspring returned to the studio to record their second album
Ignition, which was released in October of that year. The album exceeded all of the label's and band's expectations. The band went on tour for the next two years with other punk bands such as
PennywisePennywise is an American punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. Their band name is derived the monster, It from the Stephen King novel, of the same title....
, and ska punk bands like
No DoubtNo Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, founded in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album, No Doubt , failed to make waves...
and
Voodoo Glow SkullsVoodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California by brothers Frank, Eddie and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill...
.
Mainstream success with Smash (1994–1996)
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 band released what would become their biggest selling CD, titled
SmashSmash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring, released on April 8, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The album was the band's last collaboration with record producer Thom Wilson, who produced their previous two albums, and marks their last release on Epitaph.Smash met high...
(1994). Fueled by the hit singles "
Come Out and Play"Come Out and Play" is a punk rock song by the Californian punk rock group The Offspring. It is the seventh track on their breakthrough album Smash and was released as the first single from the album. The song was the first major single to be released by the band...
," "Self Esteem," and "
Gotta Get Away"Gotta Get Away" is a song by The Offspring, released as the third single from their breakthrough album Smash . The song was a modest hit in several countries, but peaked at #6 on Billboard's Modern Rock charts. "Gotta Get Away" was inspired by an early track, "Cogs", written while the band was...
," this album set the all-time record for most units sold by an independent label band at 16 million records.
Smash has continued to sell consistently well in the fifteen years since its release, and has also been certified 6x Platinum in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The album also sold very well outside the U.S., particularly in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, where it debuted #1 on the
ARIA ChartsThe ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
for three weeks in 1995.
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 RecordsNitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994....
, 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
The VandalsThe Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
,
GuttermouthGuttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Hopeless Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
and
Jughead's RevengeJughead's Revenge are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band formed in early 1989 and played their first show in November of that year. The original line-up consisted of Joe Rimicci , George Snow , Brian Priess , and Joe Doherty and Nenus Givargus...
. Soon after,
Nitro RecordsNitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994....
became solely Dexter's responsibility.
Ixnay on the Hombre, Americana, and Conspiracy of One (1997–2002)
The Offspring left
EpitaphEpitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record label. Gurewitz...
and signed with
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label founded in 1888.Columbia is the oldest surviving brand name in pre-recorded sound, being the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers,...
. The band began writing and recording their fourth album, titled
Ixnay on the HombreIxnay on the Hombre is the fourth studio album by the American punk band The Offspring. Released on February 4, 1997 it was the follow-up to the highly successful Smash and also the band's first collaboration with record producer Dave Jerden...
, in 1996. The album came out on February 4, 1997, which happened to be Noodles' 34th birthday. This album was not as successful as
Smash, although it did sell four 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"All I Want" is a punk rock song by the Offspring. It is the tenth track on their fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre and was released as the first single from the album in December of 1996. It reached #31 in the UK and #15 in Australia. The song was also featured in the video game Crazy Taxi...
," "
Gone Away"Gone Away" is an alternative rock/punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the seventh track on their fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre and was released as the second single from the album. The song also appears as the sixth track on their Greatest Hits .This song, according to the DVD side...
," and "
I Choose"I Choose" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the eighth track on their fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre and was released as the fifth and final single from the album....
." The video for "I Choose" was directed by Holland himself. Dexter commented that
Ixnay probably wasn't as well-received as
Smash was because it was such a departure, and that many fans probably were expecting
Smash Part Two.
In 1998, The Offspring released
AmericanaAmericana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 . It debuted at 2 on the US Billboard 200 with around 174,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide...
. Three of the album's singles: "
Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)"Pretty Fly " is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the fourth track from their fifth studio album Americana and was released as the first single from the album. It achieved significant pop and alternative radio play and popularity, peaking at number 53 on the US charts, and reaching #1 in...
," "Why Don't You Get a Job," and "
The Kids Aren't Alright"The Kids Aren't Alright" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the fifth track from the band's fifth studio album Americana and was released as the third single from this album....
" became the band's biggest hits, all three charting in the ARC Top 40 and making the album the peak of The Offspring's mainstream popularity. "
She's Got Issues"She's Got Issues" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the seventh track on their fifth studio album Americana and was released as the fourth and final single on October 19, 1999...
" was released too, and was a minor hit.
In 1999, the band appeared as themselves in the film
Idle HandsIdle Hands is a 1999 comedy/horror movie starring Devon Sawa, Seth Green, and Jessica Alba with Elden Henson and Vivica A. Fox. It follows the life of a teen whose hand becomes possessed and goes on a killing spree, even after being cut off from his arm....
. They played a cover version of "
I Wanna Be Sedated"I Wanna Be Sedated" is one of the best known songs by the punk rock group the Ramones. It was released in 1978 and appeared on their fourth album, Road to Ruin. The song was released as a single in the U.S. in 1980 by RSO Records from the Times Square soundtrack album.-History:"I Wanna Be...
" (originally by
The RamonesThe Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974, all of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname 'Ramone', though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring...
) and "Beheaded" at a school dance before Holland's character is killed. They also appeared at the infamous
Woodstock 1999Woodstock 1999, performed July 23-25, 1999 was the second large-scale music festival that attempted to emulate the success of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969. Like the previous concerts with the same name, it was performed in upstate New York, this time in Rome, New York, around 200 miles...
, where their performance was broadcast live on
pay-per-viewPay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast of that event to their homes. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
television.
2000 saw the band release their sixth album called
Conspiracy of OneConspiracy of One is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on November 14, 2000 debuting at 9 on the US Billboard 200 with around 125,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide...
. The band intended to release the entire album online through their official website, to show their support for
downloading musicA music download is the transferal of a music file from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment if required....
on the internet. However, under threat of legal action by Columbia through their parent company Sony, only the first single "Original Prankster" was released on their official website (the rest of the record was leaked to fan sites). The band also sold T-shirts on their website with the
NapsterNapster was an online music file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning while he was attending Northeastern University in Boston. The service operated between June 1999 and July 2001...
logo on it and donated money to Napster creator
Shawn FanningShawn Fanning , is a computer programmer. He is best known for developing Napster, one of the first popular peer-to-peer filesharing platforms, in 1998.- Career :...
with the profits.
The band also released a new single "Defy You" exclusively for the film
Orange CountyOrange County is a comedy film starring Colin Hanks and Jack Black. It was released on January 14, 2002. The movie was distributed by Paramount Pictures and produced by MTV Films and Scott Rudin...
.
Ron Welty's departure and Splinter (2003–2005)
Nearly three years after the release of
Conspiracy of One, long-time drummer
Ron WeltyRonald "Ron" Welty was the drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring from 1987 through to 2003. He had replaced their original drummer, and was only 16 at the time of his joining...
left the band in 2003 to start
Steady GroundSteady Ground was an alternative rock group best known for having former The Offspring drummer Ron Welty in its lineup. The band formed in 2003 following Welty's departure from The Offspring...
, a band in which he plays drums and co-produces. Neither Welty or the remaining members have elaborated on the departure.
In 2003, the band released their seventh album
Splinter. The Offspring recruited
Josh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, was the drummer for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records...
to record the drums for
Splinter and later announced that
Atom WillardAdam David Willard , known professionally by the pseudonym Atom, is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Willard's drumming career began in 1990 when he joined Rocket from the Crypt, who he remained with until 2000...
would be the official replacement for Ron Welty. The album's original title was to be
Chinese Democrazy (You Snooze, You Lose), from the name of the
long-delayed albumChinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on November 23, 2008, worldwide, except in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2008...
by
Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band, led by frontman and co-founder Axl Rose, has gone through numerous line-up changes and controversies since its formation...
. As a result,
Axl RoseW. Axl Rose is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Guns N' Roses....
filed a
cease and desistA cease and desist is an order or request to halt an activity, or else face legal action. The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization....
order against The Offspring, but eventually began to calm down when he realized the date this was announced was April 1. The first single "Hit That" enjoyed moderate success on MTV. "Hit That" used a variety of electronic samples, different from what The Offspring has done in the past.
In 2005, the band released a
Greatest HitsGreatest Hits is a compilation album by American punk rock band The Offspring released on June 20, 2005 internationally and June 21, 2005 in North America...
album in both
DualDiscDualDisc is a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and now under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
and regular CD editions.
Greatest Hits contains 14 of the band's hits between
SmashSmash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring, released on April 8, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The album was the band's last collaboration with record producer Thom Wilson, who produced their previous two albums, and marks their last release on Epitaph.Smash met high...
and
Splinter, and two previously unreleased songs, "Can't Repeat" and "Next to You" (a cover of
The PoliceThe Police were an English rock trio, from London, England, formed originally in 1977. The trio consisted of Gordon Sumner, CBE , widely known by his stage name of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
) (a hidden track). The compilation does not contain any material from the
first albumThe Offspring is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on June 15, 1989 on Nemesis Records as vinyl-only, and was not released on CD until November 21, 1995 on Nitro/Epitaph Records, with a new album cover but otherwise identical...
and
Ignition. The DualDisc contains video of Dexter and Noodles discussing the band's history and a bonus acoustic version of the song "Dirty Magic." About a month later, the band released a video DVD with all of their music videos, 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. During the hiatus, Willard was recruited by
Tom DeLongeThomas Matthew "Tom" DeLonge, Jr. is an American rock musician. He is the guitarist and one of the two lead vocalists for the pop punk band blink-182 as well as the guitarist and lead vocalist for the alternative rock band Angels & Airwaves...
for his band
Angels & AirwavesAngels & Airwaves is an alternative rock band fronted by Blink-182 and Box Car Racer guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge...
and released an album,
We Don't Need to WhisperWe Don't Need to Whisper is the debut album by Angels & Airwaves. It was released on May 20, 2006 in Australia, on May 22 in the UK, and on May 23 in North America.The album drew mixed reactions from critics, with a Metacritic average of 53....
, in 2006.
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2006–2009)
In November 2006, it was reported that The Offspring were back in the studio recording their eighth studio album,
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace with producer
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer.-Music career with Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:...
and "a fistful of demos". In July 2007, Dexter announced that the band had finished two more songs and the album was being recorded in Orange County, California. The album, in its entirety, can be streamed online for free at iMeem.com.
It was announced on July 27, 2007, that former
Saves the DaySaves the Day is an American band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Manuel Carrero and drummer Durijah Lang....
drummer
Pete ParadaPeter "Pete" Parada is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Parada's drumming career began in 1996 when he joined Steel Prophet and recorded one album with them a year later. Subsequently he joined Face to Face and Saves the Day, and in 2007 became the new...
had been chosen to be The Offspring's new drummer, replacing Atom Willard, who went on to join Angels and Airwaves. The band's first shows with Parada were at the Summer Sonic festival in Japan in August of the same year. It was during these shows that the band debuted "
Hammerhead"Hammerhead" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. The song is featured as the fourth track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and was released as the first single from the album. The song was first played at the Summer Sonic Festival in 2007.The song was originally...
" which would become the first single from the new album. Parada did not play on the new album however; Josh Freese once again handled drum duties, as he did with
Splinter.
On April 9, 2008, Dexter announced that the album would be called
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and would be released on June 17. The album's first single, "Hammerhead", went to radio on May 6. Additionally, The Offspring's official site provided an
MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage, as well as a de facto standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on...
download of the song to the general public on May 5. Their second single from the album, "
You're Gonna Go Far, Kid"You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" is a punk rock song by the The Offspring. It is the third track on the band's eighth studio album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace and was released as the second single on September 4, 2008. The song peaked at #1 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart...
", had topped the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and had stayed there for 11 weeks, a record for the band, along with proving the song to be one of the most successful singles the band has released in their twenty year career.
Also in April 2008,
Epitaph RecordsEpitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record label. Gurewitz...
also announced that the label would be re-issuing
Ignition and
SmashSmash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring, released on April 8, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The album was the band's last collaboration with record producer Thom Wilson, who produced their previous two albums, and marks their last release on Epitaph.Smash met high...
; both albums were remastered, and
Smash contained a new 24 page booklet. The re-issues were released on the same day as
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, coinciding with the new album's release.
The supporting tour for the album began on May 16 with a performance at the
X-FestX-Fest is an annual music festival held each year in various venues throughout the U.S. by Clear Channel Communications radio stations. It features alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, grunge, and industrial rock bands....
festival in California. On May 28, it was announced on the band's website that
Scott ShiflettScott David Shiflett is a bassist. He plays with the band Face to Face and is also associated with the bands Viva Death, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Jackson United . He also played on 22 Jacks debut album Uncle Bob...
(from
Face to FaceFace to Face is an American punk rock band from Victorville, California formed in 1991 by frontman Trever Keith....
) would replace bassist
Greg KGregory David Kriesel , best known by his stage name Greg K., is an American bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band, The Offspring.-Biography:...
on current tour dates due to a birth in the family. Kriesel returned in mid-June. In October, with the addition of touring guitarist
Andrew FreemanAndrew Freeman is a vocalist and guitarist who has played for a number of bands. Most notably for the punk rock group, The Offspring, and for hard rock guitarist George Lynch's Lynch Mob.- The Offspring :...
, the band embarked on a 3 week Japanese tour followed by a tour of South America. On December 13, 2008, The Offspring headlined the nineteenth annual
KROQKROQ-FM is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting on 106.7 FM to the greater Los Angeles area. KROQ-FM airs a modern rock music format branded as "106.7 K-Rock". The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of the popular, long running...
Almost Acoustic Christmas. In an interview at the Almost Acoustic Christmas show, guitarist Noodles stated that The Offspring would be taking a break for a month or two and promised a
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
tour to kick off in 2009. They are currently touring
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
on their "Shit is Fucked Up" tour from May through July with
Dropkick MurphysDropkick Murphys are an Irish-American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA. First playing together in the basement of a friend's barbershop, they blended traditional folk rock and punk rock known as Celtic punk...
,
Alkaline TrioAlkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from McHenry, Illinois consisting of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano and Derek Grant...
,
Street DogsStreet Dogs are a punk rock band originally from Boston, Massachusetts. Among its ranks are Mike McColgan, former lead singer of The Dropkick Murphys, Johnny Rioux, Marcus Hollar, Tobe Bean III and Paul Rucker.-History:...
,
PennywisePennywise could refer to one of the following:*Pennywise, a monster that took on the disguise of a clown from Stephen King's novel It*Pennywise , a punk band named after the above-mentioned character...
,
Shiny Toy GunsShiny Toy Guns is a Grammy-nominated American rock band originally from Shawnee, Oklahoma, that formed in 2002 in Los Angeles, California. They have released three versions of their first studio album We Are Pilots, which featured three singles that peaked inside the top 30 in the Alternative Songs...
,
Sum 41Sum 41 is a rock band from Ajax, Ontario active since 1996. The current members are Deryck Whibley , Jason McCaslin , Steve Jocz , and Tom Thacker .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...
and
Frank TurnerFrank Turner is an English folk/punk singer-songwriter from London. Initially the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, Turner embarked upon a primarily acoustic-based solo career following the band's split in 2005. To date, Turner has released three solo albums, a rarities compilation...
.
Next album and beyond (2009–present)
In a May 2009 interview with
CalgaryCalgary is the largest city in the Province of Alberta, Canada.The Calgary census metropolitan area is the third most diverse in Canada in terms of visible minorities after Toronto and Vancouver when considering only CMAs with population greater than 200,000...
,
AlbertaAlberta is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1, 1905.Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the U.S. state of Montana to the south....
,
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's
X92.9CFEX-FM is a new modern rock station serving Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In 2006, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved a licence for Harvard Broadcasting to start a new FM station....
, guitarist Noodles stated that frontman
Dexter HollandBryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring, who are known for singles such as "Come Out and Play" "Self Esteem", "Pretty Fly " and "Why Don't You Get a Job?"...
had been working with
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer.-Music career with Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:...
again in
HawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states, and is the only state made up entirely of islands. It is located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August...
for what would be the ninth Offspring album. Also in that interview, he said that the album may include some songs that never appeared on
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. Frontman
Dexter HollandBryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring, who are known for singles such as "Come Out and Play" "Self Esteem", "Pretty Fly " and "Why Don't You Get a Job?"...
told
OC RegisterThe Orange County Register is a daily newspaper published in Santa Ana, California. The Register has the third largest paid daily circulation in California, behind only the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle. The Register is the flagship publication of Freedom Communications, Inc., which...
in June 2009 that he wanted to try not to have the ninth Offspring record take as long as
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace. In regards to a new album, Holland told
Rolling StoneRolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J. Gleason.The magazine was named after the 1948 Muddy Waters song of the same...
that the band had conversations about working with
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer.-Music career with Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:...
again and plans to have the new album out sometime in 2010. Noodles also told the Edmonton Sun that the Offspring were planning to begin recording in the fall of 2009. He also said "We don't have any songs yet. Maybe a couple of demos here and there. But we're looking at old songs and seeing if we could flesh those out."
In a June 2009 interview with Billboard, Noodles stated that Holland and producer
Bob RockRobert Jens Rock, , is a Canadian musician, sound engineer, and record producer.-Music career with Payola$ and Rock and Hyde:...
"kinda went over a couple of things that were left off the last record" and "songs that were even left off
Splinter or maybe even
Conspiracy of OneConspiracy of One is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on November 14, 2000 debuting at 9 on the US Billboard 200 with around 125,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide...
and kind of looked at some things with free eyes and see if there was anything there that can be worked on." He also stated that he would like to have the new album out in 2010, but the band isn't likely to hit the studio until January. Asked in the interview if drummer
Pete ParadaPeter "Pete" Parada is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Parada's drumming career began in 1996 when he joined Steel Prophet and recorded one album with them a year later. Subsequently he joined Face to Face and Saves the Day, and in 2007 became the new...
will be involved in the recording process, Noodles replied, "He's great. We haven't actually done any real recording with him yet, but we're looking forward to that. He's a great drummer. He's got great ideas, just really on top of things. Nothing fazes him; we'll throw something at him, 'Hey, do this,' and, 'OK...' He's a really nice guy and just a real powerhouse drummer, so we're looking forward to working with him."
Music style and influences
While The Offspring are primarily considered a punk rock group, their music contains strong elements of 1980's American hardcore punk, 90's grunge, and occasionally ska. Since the band's inception, their songs have often contained refrains of "whoas" in either their verses (as in "
The Kids Aren't Alright"The Kids Aren't Alright" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the fifth track from the band's fifth studio album Americana and was released as the third single from this album....
" and "One Fine Day") or choruses (as in "Self Esteem", "Something to Believe In" and "All Along"). Their lyrics are typically sardonic and sarcastic and discuss wide-ranging issues from personal relationships ("
Hit That"Hit That" is a punk pop song by The Offspring. The song features as the fourth track on the band's seventh studio album Splinter and was released as the first single from the album. The song also appears as the 13th track on their "Greatest Hits" .The single was first released in the U.S. and...
" and "
She's Got Issues"She's Got Issues" is a punk rock song by The Offspring. It is the seventh track on their fifth studio album Americana and was released as the fourth and final single on October 19, 1999...
") to the degradation of United States ("L.A.P.D.", "Americana" and "Stuff Is Messed Up").
The band cites their musical influences as,
The AdolescentsThe Adolescents are an American punk band formed in 1980 in Fullerton, California. It is a hardcore punk supergroup, made up of early members of Agent Orange and Social Distortion...
,
Bad ReligionBad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley , Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz and Jay Ziskrout...
,
Channel 3Channel 3, also known as CH3, is a punk rock band from Cerritos, California. Part of the Southern California punk scene of the early 1980s, the band had a sound that was more melodic than many of their hardcore contemporaries, and lyrics which ranged from thoughtful and satirical to bratty and...
,
Dead KennedysThe Dead Kennedys was an American punk band, formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. Pioneers of hardcore punk during the 1980s, the band gained a large underground following in the international punk music scene....
, Descendents,
The DickiesThe Dickies are a punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
,
RamonesThe Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974, all of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname 'Ramone', though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring...
,
Sex PistolsThe Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
,
Social DistortionSocial Distortion is an American rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and Adam "Atom" Willard...
,
TSOLTSOL are an American punk band which formed in 1979 in Long Beach, California. TSOL is short for True Sounds of Liberty although they are rarely referred to by their full name....
, and
The VandalsThe Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
.
Band members
Current members
- Dexter Holland
Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring, who are known for singles such as "Come Out and Play" "Self Esteem", "Pretty Fly " and "Why Don't You Get a Job?"...
– lead vocalsThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. Lead vocalists may also play one or more instruments...
, rhythm guitarRhythm guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chordal accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the acoustic, country, blues, rock or metal genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the...
, pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(1984–present)
- Noodles – lead guitar
A lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays...
, backing vocalsA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
(1985–present)
- Greg K
Gregory David Kriesel , best known by his stage name Greg K., is an American bass guitarist and backing vocalist for the punk band, The Offspring.-Biography:...
– bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
, backing vocals (1984–present)
- Pete Parada
Peter "Pete" Parada is an American drummer who has been a member of several notable musical acts. Parada's drumming career began in 1996 when he joined Steel Prophet and recorded one album with them a year later. Subsequently he joined Face to Face and Saves the Day, and in 2007 became the new...
– drumsA drum set is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person . The term "drum kit" first became used in the 1700s in Britain...
, percussionA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration...
(2007–present)
Former members
- Doug Thompson – lead vocals (1984)
- Jim Benton – drums, percussion (1984)
- James Lilja – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1984–1987)
- Ron Welty
Ronald "Ron" Welty was the drummer for the American punk rock band The Offspring from 1987 through to 2003. He had replaced their original drummer, and was only 16 at the time of his joining...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals (1987–2003)
- Adam "Atom" Willard – drums, percussion (2003–2007)
Session musicians
- Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, was the drummer for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records...
– drums on Splinter (2003) and Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008)
Touring musicians
- Ronnie King
Ronnie King is a musician, producer, and co-owner of Blue Label Records with Sean Couevas. He says of himself, "Sometimes I feel like this generation's Billy Preston."-Credits include:* 2Pac, keyboards on Still I Rise, Until the End of Time...
– keyboardA keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organs as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
s, percussion, electronicAn electronic musical instrument is a musical instrument that produces its sounds using electronics. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical audio signal that ultimately drives a loudspeaker....
s (1993–2004)
- Chris "X-13" Higgins – percussion, backing vocals, keyboards (1994–2006)
- Warren Fitzgerald
----Warren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2008)
- Andrew Freeman
Andrew Freeman is a vocalist and guitarist who has played for a number of bands. Most notably for the punk rock group, The Offspring, and for hard rock guitarist George Lynch's Lynch Mob.- The Offspring :...
– rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2008)
- Scott Shiflett
Scott David Shiflett is a bassist. He plays with the band Face to Face and is also associated with the bands Viva Death, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and Jackson United . He also played on 22 Jacks debut album Uncle Bob...
– bass, backing vocals (2008)
- Todd Morse – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2009)
Timeline
Discography
- The Offspring
The Offspring is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on June 15, 1989 on Nemesis Records as vinyl-only, and was not released on CD until November 21, 1995 on Nitro/Epitaph Records, with a new album cover but otherwise identical...
(1989)
- Ignition (1992)
- Smash
Smash is the third studio album by American punk rock band The Offspring, released on April 8, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The album was the band's last collaboration with record producer Thom Wilson, who produced their previous two albums, and marks their last release on Epitaph.Smash met high...
(1994)
- Ixnay on the Hombre
Ixnay on the Hombre is the fourth studio album by the American punk band The Offspring. Released on February 4, 1997 it was the follow-up to the highly successful Smash and also the band's first collaboration with record producer Dave Jerden...
(1997)
- Americana
Americana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 . It debuted at 2 on the US Billboard 200 with around 174,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide...
(1998)
- Conspiracy of One
Conspiracy of One is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring. It was released on November 14, 2000 debuting at 9 on the US Billboard 200 with around 125,000 copies sold in its first week, and has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide...
(2000)
- Splinter (2003)
- Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008)
- TBA (2010)
External links