|
|
THE OFFSPRING TIME LINE |
1984 Following an Irvine show by hometown heroes Social Distortion, high school buddies Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel decide to form a band. Kriesel names himself bass player by default. 1985 School custodian Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman is enlisted more for his ability to legally procure alcohol than his ability to play guitar. They continue to practice in Kriesel's parents' house and play their first shows in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. 1986 Originally called Manic Subsidal, the band renames itself The Offspring. They press up 1000 copies of their debut single "I'll Be Waiting." The band glues the sleeves together at Holland's house and releases the single on their own Black Label. 1987 After the band's original drummer leaves to devote more time to school, 16-year-old Ron Welty joins The Offspring. 1989 The Offspring signs to Nemesis/Cargo. After tracking down producer Thom Wilson, who had crafted their favorite records by T.S.O.L., the Vandals and the Dead Kennedys, they record and release their first album. Called simpley The Offspring, it sells 3000 copies on vinyl. 1991 The Offspring release a 7" EP, Baghdad, on Nemesis/Cargo and also record "Take It Like A Man" for the Flipside magazine compilation The Big One. The producer of this song is Epitaph Records owner Brett Gurewitz. 1992 Ignition, The Offspring's second album overall and first for Epitaph, is released, initially selling a respectable 60,000 copies. After a record release party at Goodies in Fullerton, Calif. that draws a whopping 25 people, the album goes on to sell over 600,000 copies. 1993-94 The band does two separate tours of the U.S., one with the Lunachicks and another with Pennywise. They tour Europe for the first time, as the opening act for NOFX. 1994 Smash is released. Featuring "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)," "Self Esteem," and "Gotta Get Away," Smash sells over 11 million copies worldwide (making it the biggest-selling rock record ever released on an independent label). 1995 Holland and Kriesel start Nitro Records. Based in the band's own Huntington Beach backyard, the label's roster grows to include the Vandals, AFI, Guttermouth and others. Nitro also puts out a CD reissue of the band's self-titled 1989 debut. Meanwhile, the band's cover of The Damned's classic "Smash It Up" is featured on the Batman Forever soundtrack. 1997 The Offspring signs to Columbia Records and releases Ixnay On The Hombre. While worldwide sales top off at approximately 3 million (not bad, but not Smash, say detractors), Ixnay gets more respect from the critics than previous releases. "Punk-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," says SPIN, while the Los Angeles Times calls Ixnay "richly varied and thoroughly smart … a mature, sometimes daring and always enticing effort by a band that consistently offers far more than meets the ear." Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra makes a cameo appearance on Ixnay and joins The Offspring onstage for performances of Kennedys classics "Chemical Warfare" and "Holiday In Cambodia." Fall 1998 An MP3 file of "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" is downloaded a record 22 million times in a 10-week period, landing it the #1 spot on Rolling Stone's "Top Pirated Internet Songs" chart. November 1998 Americana is released. Worldwide sales quickly break the 10 million mark on the strength of "Pretty Fly," "The Kids Aren't Alright," "She's Got Issues," "Why Don't You Get A Job?" and a relentless touring schedule that stretches all the way to Woodstock '99. 1999 The Offspring makes a cameo appearance in the cult horror/comedy flick Idle Hands. The band plays a cover of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" in addition to "Beheaded" from the first Offspring album before Dexter is killed after speaking his one and only line. 2000 In the midst of writing album number six, The Offspring is slapped with a cease-and-desist order from Napster after offering t-shirts sporting the company's logo for sale on their Web site. The band defends its actions with the assertion that it was simply "sharing" Napster's logo with its fans. September 15, 2000 The Offspring announces its plans to give away the first single from their forthcoming record, Conspiracy Of One, over the Internet in advance of release. Fans downloading the single, "Original Prankster," will be enrolled in a contest to win $1 million directly from the band. Fans who buy the CD will be rewarded with membership in The Offspring Nation digital fan club. November 14, 2000 Almost two years to the day from Americana's release, Conspiracy Of One marks The Offspring's return to active duty. |
