The Offspring biography
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1984. Formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Noodles, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada. Parada replaced former drummer Adam "Atom" Willard in 2007, during the recording of the band's eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, and has been a member of the band since. The Offspring is credited-alongside fellow California skate punk, ska punk, and pop punk bands Bad Religion, Sublime, Green Day, Rancid, Social Distortion, Pennywise and NOFX-for popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States in the 1990s. They have sold over 40 million records worldwide, being considered one of the best-selling punk rock bands of all time.
The band's first three albums for the independent record labels Nemesis and Epitaph earned them a following. Their 1994 third studio album Smash became a breakout success and eventually sold over 16 million copies worldwide, setting a record for most albums sold on an independent label. Smash was also the first album released on Epitaph to obtain gold and platinum status. The critical praise given to Smash garnered attention from labels, including Columbia Records, with whom The Offspring would sign in 1996. The Offspring continued to achieve success with their four follow-up albums, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), Americana (1998), Conspiracy of One (2000) and Splinter (2003), reaching platinum, multi-platinum, platinum and gold status respectively. Splinter was followed five years later by Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008), which was also successful, due to the album's second single "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" reaching number one on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart for 11 weeks and becoming their only gold single in America to date. Their latest studio album, Days Go By, was released on June 26, 2012. They have another album in the works.
Early years (1983-1987)
The foundations for The Offspring began in 1983, when guitarist/vocalist Bryan "Dexter" Holland (who was a drummer at the time) and bassist Greg Kriesel, who both met on their high school cross-country team, began playing music in a garage in Cypress. The duo eventually formed a local band called Manic Subsidal. The decision to form a band came outside of a Social Distortion concert when they were refused entry. Not long after their formation, Holland had changed his role from drums to guitar and vocals and James Lilja took over the drums. Doug Thompson was added for vocals, and Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman (formerly of Clowns of Death), the school janitor, was welcomed into the band, allegedly because he was old enough to purchase alcohol 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 1986.Biography from
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