The Offspring are a popular American punk rock band from Orange County, California that originally formed in 1986, consisting of vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman (also on guitar), bassist Greg K. and Ron Welty on drums. In 2003, Ron Welty left the band and was replaced by Atom Willard .

Background

Although their first album, The Offspring, was very similar to late 1980s punk, the next album, Ignition, saw them move away from more traditional punk, heading into the punk of the mid-1990s with songs like "Dirty Magic". It was 1994's Smash that brought Offspring into the mainstream; that album sold over eleven million copies worldwide.

In 1996, The Offspring jumped ship from Epitaph and signed with Columbia Records. Many punk rock purists criticized this decision, feeling that The Offspring jumped from an independent to a major label, solely for financial gain. They released their follow up to Smash in 1997, entitled Ixnay on the Hombre. The commercial success of this record was somewhat disappointing, only going on to sell four million copies.

On each album, The Offspring always tend to have a couple of songs based on social/political subject matter, a testament to their punk roots. Songs like "Jennifer Lost The War" and "Kill The President" on The Offspring, "L.A.P.D" on Ignition, "It'll Be A Long Time" and "Not the One" on Smash, and "Meaning Of Life" and "Change the World" on Ixnay On The Hombre, communicated the band's general position on social and political issues (though the band has not been known to be outspoken or active politically, especially by punk standards).

Although Smash was the album that originally brought The Offspring into commercial success and wide recognition, it was the release of "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)" from the 1998 album Americana which established the band as a regular feature on MTV and established The Offspring as a regular chart presence. In 1995 the band formed their own record label, Nitro & released many punk groups, inclusive of The Damned's Grave Disorder. The Offspring often speak of The Damned's influence on the Califonia punk scene, covering & releasing as a single, "Smash It Up " by The Damned during The Offspring's commercial peak. Their latest is Splinter. They are working on a greatest hits album as their first compilation titled Greatest Hits, they'll release it on June 21, 2005. Also during the year, they are working on their 8th album that will not be released until probably later in 2005 or earlier in 2006.

The Offspring appeared as an unnamed punk band in the 1999 horror-comedy Idle Hands , where Dexter Holland was scalped by the titular possessed hand.

On March 18, 2003, Ron Welty left The Offspring to devote all his energies on a new band "Steady Ground". The Offspring held auditions for a new drummer, ultimately selecting Atom Willard as the new drummer. Atom Willard played in Rocket From The Crypt for ten years and more recently played with Moth , the Alkaline Trio and Melissa Auf Der Maur.

Discography

Studio Albums

The Offspring, 1989/1995 (re-issue) self-titled debut album	Ignition, 1992	Smash, 1994	Ixnay On The Hombre, 1997
Americana, 1998	Conspiracy Of One, 2000	Splinter, 2003

Compilations

• Greatest Hits, due for release on June 21, 2005

EPs

• "Baghdad", 1991

Singles

• "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball", 1987
• "Self Esteem", 1994
• "Come Out And Play", 1994
• "Gotta Get Away", 1995
• "Bad Habit", 1995
• "Smash It Up" (from Batman Forever), 1995
• "All I Want", 1997
• "Gone Away", 1997
• "Meaning Of Life", 1997
• "I Choose", 1997
• "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)", 1999
• "Why Don't You Get A Job", 1999
• "The Kids Aren't Alright", 1999
• "She's Got Issues", 1999
• "Original Prankster", 2000
• "One Fine Day", 2000
• "Million Miles Away", 2001
• "Want You Bad", 2001
• "Defy You" (from Orange County), 2002
• "Hit That", 2003
• "(Can't Get My) Head Around You", 2004

DVDs and Videos

• "Huck It", 2000
• "Americana" (The DVD), 1999

Filmography of songs

• All I Want and Way Down the Line were played in the game Crazy Taxi
• Come Out Swinging and One Fine Day were played in the game Crazy Taxi 2
• Want You Bad was played in the game Crazy Taxi 3
• Beheaded was played in the soundtrack of Idle Hands
• Bloodstains (song cover of Agent Orange) was played in the soundtrack of Ready to Rumble
• Defy You was played in the soundtrack of Orange County
• D.U.I. was played in the soundtrack of I Know What You Did Last Summer
• Smash It Up (song cover of The Damned) was played in the soundtrack of Batman Forever
• Take it Like A Man and Forever and a Day were played in the movie The Chase
• The Kids Aren't Alright was played in the soundtrack of The Faculty
• Total Immortal (song cover of AFI) was played in the soundtrack of Me, Myself and Irene

External links

• Official band web site
• Offspring Bandnews
• Offspring Fan Site
• Offspring fan site