AMERICANA
includes 13 tracks as well as a punk version of Morris Albert's overwrought
"Feelings." As HOLLAND recently told Rolling Stone Online and JAMtv, "It
just seemed natural to do a punk version of it. It's got that 'whoa, whoa'
chorus and a lot of old Orange County punk stuff is like that...kinda."
Laughing, he adds, "I had to change some of the words into negative feelings,
really hateful feelings to make it work. But we're doing it."
AMERICANA
is being released as an enhanced CD in the U.S., containing all four videos
from Ixnay On The Hombre ("All I Want," "Gone Away," "Meaning Of Life"
and "I Choose"), plus b-roll footage and a Karaoke room. In the Karaoke
room, fans can hear instrumental versions of several new songs and sing
along as the lyrics scroll down the computer screen.
As
for lyrical topics of the band's original songs on AMERICANA, HOLLAND admits
he's been influenced by America's cultural craziness. "Lately, I've been
into this warped sense of Americana," he says. "The whole daytime talk
show culture fascinates me. It seems like the stuff that used to be the
fringe is more and more the everyday reality. If America was once barbecues,
big cars and life in the suburbs in the '50s, it's now totally a freak
show. I wanted to show that ordinary, average American life isn't so average
or ordinary anymore."
One
of the songs on AMERICANA "The Kids Aren't Alright," was inspired after
DEXTER took a trip through his old Garden Grove neighborhood in Orange
County, CA. "I was driving around the block thinking of all the stuff that
had happened to everyone growing up there--this one had a nervous breakdown;
another guy got killed in a driving accident," he said recently. "You grow
up in America, and [you're supposed to] have such a bright future. And
it's really not that way." Of the song "She's Got Issues," DEXTER says,
"Today, everyone has issues, and no one takes responsibility because their
mother or father drank too much or whatever. There's a lot of stuff that
really related to what I call 'Americana,' but more than that there are
a couple of songs that related to how one person can rise above that and
find their own place in the world, and, that hopefully, is the moral of
the story--that throughout all the bullshit you can still find your way."
THE
OFFSPRING will also be seen and heard in Idle Hands, a bizarre horror comedy
directed by Rodman Flender ("Party Of Five," The Unborn and Leprechaun
II) and stars Devon Sawa (Wild America), Seth Green (Can't Hardly Wait,
Austin Powers) and Vivica Fox (Soul Food, Batman & Robin, Independence
Day). THE OFFSPRING spent three days filming, playing a group performing
at a high school dance where, naturally, all hell is about to break loose.
"I got to speak one line before I get killed," says HOLLAND of his acting
debut. Prior to shooting the movie, the band went into WELTY's studio with
producer/engineer Jerry Finn and re-recorded "Beheaded," a song from their
self-titled debut album, as well as a cover version of the Ramones "I Wanna
Be Sedated." Both songs are expected to be included in the film--due out
in spring 1999--but not on the soundtrack.
THE
OFFSPRING are currently involved in an interesting radio promotion. In
Los Angeles, KROQ is hosting a contest whereby the winner will fly to the
band's Las Vegas show with DEXTER. What makes this contest different from
the norm is that...DEXTER will be the pilot. He's recently received his
pilot's license and will be flying a single engine four-seater plane to
the gig. Other unique promotions/contests will be announced.
Member
Faq available at Offspring.com
Rock
n World Bio
The
Offspring exploded onto the national scene in 1994 when they sold a staggering
4 million copies of their independent label release Smash. Since then they
have been one of the worlds most popular Punk bands.
The
band released their first album The Offspring in 1989, fans loved the power
of the music fueled by Dexter Hollands unique vocals. They quickly established
themselves as a artist that other aspiring punk bands had to look up to.
They found their first mainstream commercial success with the single Come
out and Play, which received healthy airplay on MTV, But it was their smash
hit Self Esteem which made the band superstars. Self Esteem was followed
up by Gotta Get away which also landed the band on the US charts.
The
band left their home label of Epitaph in 1996 after a heated bidding war
they signed with Columbia records. This move angered many die hard fans,
who called the band a sell out. Despite the controversy around the switch
to Columbia the bands 1997 release Ixney on the Hombre received critical
acclaim, and sold well.
The
follow up to Ixnay , Americana was released in 1998 and became a huge hit
for the band. With songs like Pretty Fly, She's got issues, the kids
aren't alright, and why don't you get a job the Offspring have
managed to produce a superb album which has kept long time fans happy while
attracting an entirely new audience. One thing is for sure the Offspring
are super stars and they have earned that title.
