Band Biography

By 1984, when what would have become the Offspring formed, the original Orange County punk scene had fractured. "We used to go this dance club called Circle City, and there'd be 10 different cliques," says Kriesel. "In our high school there was a rockabilly scene, as well as a mod scene and a New Wave scene, as well as a punk scene," Holland adds.

But at Pacifica High, a large public school in Garden Grove, Calif. Holland wasn't a member of any of those groups. He kept busy being a "good kid" and hoped to be a doctor. "Sports were a really big thing," Holland says, "I was on the cross-country team." He also happened to be class valedictorian (thus his nickname, Dexter).

His favorite bands were T.S.O.L. ,The Adolescents and bands that weren't as hung up on politic as their Bay Area counterparts.

Holland's cross-country teammate Greg Kriesel discovered punk even later. For most of high school, Kriesel was a sports fan and self-proclaimed jock. The first punk records he ever heard were the ones the ones Holland played for him. "Music wasn't something that meant a lot to me," he says. "But I started listening to it because it was around, and I got used to it."

Holland and Krisel formed their first band, Manic Subsidal, with two other cross-country teammates one night in 1984 after failing to get in a Social Distortion show. At the time, the two didn't even own instruments, much less know how to play them. "Bryan and I both learned together," says Kriesel, "and he wasn't even playing chords at the time, so he'd play on one string, and I tried to do the same thing. By the summer we were actually playing songs, but it took a while."

Kriesel's house was the site of the band's first gigs. "It's just always a hangout," Kriesel says, "on any given weekend night up to 20 people could drop by."

That fall, Holland began premed studies at USC (he's currently a Ph.D. candidate in molecular biology). Kriesel was attending Golden West Junior College and later recieved a B.A. in finance from Long Beach State while working part time in a print shop (he's planning to attend law school). Weekends were the only time the band could rehearse.

Once Holland had written a handful of songs the fledgling band headed for a cheap studio. Momentarily waylaid when its guitarist jumped ship, the band recruited Kevin Wasserman, who then worked as the school janitor. Pretty soon, Wasserman was "not doing a hell of a lot except practicing at Greg's house on weekends and drinking excessively."

Ron Welty moved to Garden Grove for part of high school, and it was there that his older stepsister introduced him to Holland. Welty was only 16 when he begged Holland to let him substitute for Manic Subsidal's drummer who had started medical school and was missing lots of gigs.

In 1987, the Offsping paid to release their own 7-inch single. Unable to afford the additional quarter per copy it cost to paste the front sleves to the backs, the band bought a case of beer and glue sticks and held a party for its friends. It took the band two and a half years to get rid of the 1,000 copies it printed.

Two years and a pile of rejections later, the Offspring scored a contract with Nemesis, a small punk label distributed by Cargo. After tracking down producer Thom Wilson, who had crafted their favourite albums by T.S.O.L., the Vandals and the Dead Kennedy's, the Offspring recorded another 7-inch single, called Baghdad and an album titled "The Offspring".

While recording a track for a Flipside compilation with Brett Gurewitz (owner of Epitah records and then Southern California's biggest punk success story - Bad Religion) the Offspring glimpsed a rosier future.

A year later, when the Offspring began circulating demos for what would become their next album to every punk label they could think of. In 1992 Epitaph released Ignition.

In 1994 their breakthough single Come out and Play and top hit Self Esteem helped push their third album Smash to the best selling independent record of all time (9 million plus).After the success of Smash, new fans discovered Ignition as it reappeared in stores. Due to the amount of overpriced, poor quality bootlegs, they rereleased their self titled The Offspring in 1995 with thier own label, Nitro.

In 1996, the Offspring signed with Columbia Records after disputes with Epitaph. Their next album, Ixnay On The Hombre was released in February 1997.

In October of 1998, the band released their fifth album, Americana, which produced the hits Pretty Fly and Why Don't You Get a Job. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard charts. After much anticipation they also released their first home video, Americana.

In 2000 the Offspring recorded and released their latest album Conspiracy of One. Although not as "punk" as the previos albums it still has that edge that true Offspring fans love.


	NOTHING FROM SOMETHING \| home News \| Band Biography \| Discography \| lyrics \| Pics \| Links \| Contact Me Band Biography n eBryan "Dexter" Holland - Lead Vocals/Guitar Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman - Lead Guitar/ Additional Vocals Greg Kriesel - Bass/Additional Vocals Ron Welty - Drums Chris Higgins - Additional Vocals/Guitar(occaisionally)/Sound Effects ffe By 1984, when what would have become the Offspring formed, the original Orange County punk scene had fractured. "We used to go this dance club called Circle City, and there'd be 10 different cliques," says Kriesel. "In our high school there was a rockabilly scene, as well as a mod scene and a New Wave scene, as well as a punk scene," Holland adds. But at Pacifica High, a large public school in Garden Grove, Calif. Holland wasn't a member of any of those groups. He kept busy being a "good kid" and hoped to be a doctor. "Sports were a really big thing," Holland says, "I was on the cross-country team." He also happened to be class valedictorian (thus his nickname, Dexter). His favorite bands were T.S.O.L. ,The Adolescents and bands that weren't as hung up on politic as their Bay Area counterparts. Holland's cross-country teammate Greg Kriesel discovered punk even later. For most of high school, Kriesel was a sports fan and self-proclaimed jock. The first punk records he ever heard were the ones the ones Holland played for him. "Music wasn't something that meant a lot to me," he says. "But I started listening to it because it was around, and I got used to it." Holland and Krisel formed their first band, Manic Subsidal, with two other cross-country teammates one night in 1984 after failing to get in a Social Distortion show. At the time, the two didn't even own instruments, much less know how to play them. "Bryan and I both learned together," says Kriesel, "and he wasn't even playing chords at the time, so he'd play on one string, and I tried to do the same thing. By the summer we were actually playing songs, but it took a while." Kriesel's house was the site of the band's first gigs. "It's just always a hangout," Kriesel says, "on any given weekend night up to 20 people could drop by." That fall, Holland began premed studies at USC (he's currently a Ph.D. candidate in molecular biology). Kriesel was attending Golden West Junior College and later recieved a B.A. in finance from Long Beach State while working part time in a print shop (he's planning to attend law school). Weekends were the only time the band could rehearse. Once Holland had written a handful of songs the fledgling band headed for a cheap studio. Momentarily waylaid when its guitarist jumped ship, the band recruited Kevin Wasserman, who then worked as the school janitor. Pretty soon, Wasserman was "not doing a hell of a lot except practicing at Greg's house on weekends and drinking excessively." Ron Welty moved to Garden Grove for part of high school, and it was there that his older stepsister introduced him to Holland. Welty was only 16 when he begged Holland to let him substitute for Manic Subsidal's drummer who had started medical school and was missing lots of gigs. In 1987, the Offsping paid to release their own 7-inch single. Unable to afford the additional quarter per copy it cost to paste the front sleves to the backs, the band bought a case of beer and glue sticks and held a party for its friends. It took the band two and a half years to get rid of the 1,000 copies it printed. Two years and a pile of rejections later, the Offspring scored a contract with Nemesis, a small punk label distributed by Cargo. After tracking down producer Thom Wilson, who had crafted their favourite albums by T.S.O.L., the Vandals and the Dead Kennedy's, the Offspring recorded another 7-inch single, called Baghdad and an album titled "The Offspring". While recording a track for a Flipside compilation with Brett Gurewitz (owner of Epitah records and then Southern California's biggest punk success story - Bad Religion) the Offspring glimpsed a rosier future. A year later, when the Offspring began circulating demos for what would become their next album to every punk label they could think of. In 1992 Epitaph released Ignition. In 1994 their breakthough single Come out and Play and top hit Self Esteem helped push their third album Smash to the best selling independent record of all time (9 million plus).After the success of Smash, new fans discovered Ignition as it reappeared in stores. Due to the amount of overpriced, poor quality bootlegs, they rereleased their self titled The Offspring in 1995 with thier own label, Nitro. In 1996, the Offspring signed with Columbia Records after disputes with Epitaph. Their next album, Ixnay On The Hombre was released in February 1997. In October of 1998, the band released their fifth album, Americana, which produced the hits Pretty Fly and Why Don't You Get a Job. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard charts. After much anticipation they also released their first home video, Americana. In 2000 the Offspring recorded and released their latest album Conspiracy of One. Although not as "punk" as the previos albums it still has that edge that true Offspring fans love.