The Offspring - All They Want Is To Rock Your World

No matter how you toss that word up, it pretty much applies to The Offspring. These Southern California rock masterminds have managed in a career spanning a mere four albums to set a number of precedents no other band can touch.

You may recall that, in the "punk explosion" of 1994, these boys released a little collection of turbo-charged songs called Smash, which went on to become the biggest independently released record of all time on the strength of the red-hot hit single, "Come Out and Play (Gotta Keep 'Em Separated)." With it came acclaim, financial reward, and the recognition befitting a superstar rock band. Perhaps most remarkably, they managed to balance commercial success with critical acclaim from diehard punk mags like Flipside, remaining true to their vision all the while.

To top it all off, they practically killed the "indie vs. major" label argument when they released Ixnay on the Hombre, their most mature and diverse effort yet, which eschewed the more basic punk grooves of their past work for a glorious mish-mash of influences as disparate as Jane's Addiction ("I Choose") and U2 ("Gone Away"), on their new home, Columbia Records. It was a dramatic departure for the irreverent rockers from Orange County, whose music could be characterized as anything but "corporate." Having their music tampered with was never a worry for lead singer Dexter Holland because, according to him, "They didn't even get a demo tape of songs from us. We just said that we didn't want to be up for audition. I knew that if we had songs on the radio, people would say we're trying to get on the radio, and if we had a bunch of punk songs, they'd say we're trying to be underground again. We knew we weren't going to win either way. We just went forward and made the record we wanted to make, and I figured there'd be enough of both types of songs to go around."

And indeed there was. The Offspring have proven themselves time and time again to be a band that breaks the "rules," one of the rules being that you can't make a successful record that pleases you and your fans and your record company simultaneously. Ixnay is one of the most listenable records of this year, replete with a variety of moods and musical flavors that seemed impossible for a "punk" band. The Offspring, though, have proven that stereotype to be no more than a joke time and time again, choosing to indulge in such exotic sounds as the Middle Eastern-tinged "Me and My Old Lady," a spicy little ditty that's literally about Dexter's girlfriend. Despite reports of a draught in the music industry and hoseannas about the end of "modern rock," the band has done nothing but excel and continue the stellar track record that saw them gaining immense popularity even with earlier efforts like Ignition.

Both of Ixnay's singles, "All I Want" and "Gone Away," have received massive airplay on both radio and video outlets, and the band's relentless touring has only endeared them to their true fans as well as recent converts. Sales of this album are near 3 million world wide, and The Offspring are gracing the stage at this year's 99X Big Day Out show to top it all off. Lead singer/guitarist Dexter Holland has even found the time to start his own civic organization with Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys and Lard, and the group is called FSU, which stands for a variety of things, some of which are unprintable here. (Think of the F word and the S word and figure out what the "U" is, genius) So now, on top of everything else, Dexter is a leader of his own civic organization, FSU, which, er, stands for, well, you know.

Explaining his vision for the group, Dexter notes, "A lot of it was really Jello's idea, as far as a charity foundation, where ourselves or any band could donate some money, and the money could be doled out to whatever causes we want it to rather than be earmarked to one specific thing. I like the idea of doing that, and we pledged to donate some of our shows to get this off the ground. You can call it a number of things, like Freedom Starts Underground or whatever. The other meaning was his idea. The point is that it's about bands showing that they care and they can make a difference."

Of course, the band's music is still Dexter's main priority, and his painstaking obsession with making it good with no regards to what anyone else thinks has proven very beneficial for the group. With expectations riding so high for what was one of the most eagerly awaited follow-ups of the year that was received very well by fans and critics alike, one had to wonder if the band was as happy with the record. After all, they're their own worst critics. "Well," Dexter observes, "I'm stoked with the way things turned out. I am glad that we, as a band, were able to make the kind of record we wanted to make. We made it virtually without ever talking to the label at all, which is good. They know when to back off and when to help out."

Who wouldn't be stoked with two consecutive multi-million sellers in their hands? It's remarkable enough that they have such a devoted following, but when the notoriously fickle record-buying public buys both Smash and a record as different yet as intense like Ixnay, you know that The Offspring are pretty much on fire. Dexter doesn't think the band has changed too much, however. As he sees it, "We don't want to stagnate. I don't think we're a completely different-sounding band, but we want to move forward and try some different things. It made us happy, as far as the record turned out. All you can do is what you like and see how it goes over."

One thing that no observer can say about The Offspring is that the group hasn't maintained their integrity. Following their own muse steadfastly, the band continues to rock like crazy in a world with record charts filled with the likes of The Spice Girls, a group Dexter doesn't particularly care for. In fact, he references them in noting the changes in what's "hip" between now and a couple of years back when Smash broke.

"Things do change," states the spike-haired screamer.
"The really mega-million stuff now is The Spice Girls. Do I have to make a record like that to sell millions? No thanks."

The opinionated young man remains remarkably calm when facing the group's critics, a testament to his wisdom in understanding the record business, an industry in which a few bean-counters noted with concern that Ixnay didn't sell as many copies as Smash, a ridiculous notion considering the scant number of acts that have had consecutive 8 million-selling albums. In fact, name one. Go ahead, we'll wait.

"It depends on how you look at it," remarks Dexter. "If we had done this number of records without Smash coming out, it would be a huge success. It did 3 million world wide. You can't complain about that. This is what every band goes through. You have a big record, and it'll taper off for a while, and some people will figure out whether you're in it for the long haul. I remember the same thing happening with the Beastie Boys. Paul's Boutique was a great record that didn't do as much as the one before it, but they just kept on doing what they were doing, and it paid off."

Paying off seems to be what these boys specialize in, in that they definitely give you a lot of bang for your buck, whether you spend 12 bucks for their CDs or a little more than that for their legendary, incendiary live show, which literally has people bouncing off the walls with energy. The band's live rep is one that it lives and dies by, but if their diehard following is any indication, dying won't be an option. The simple truth is that Offspring shows are marvels of punk spirit that must be seen to be believed. But let's not forget their albums, increasingly progressive punk/funk/alternative/whatever paeans to puberty that have all the power of a shotgun being fired at you from point-blank range, but the subtlety and tasteful restraint of a silenced .44. When I queried Dexter what the next album will sound like, he gave a typically playfully cryptic answer.

"Well, I've actually done some writing on the road, and we're going to tour throughout the year, but I am stoked about it. As far as what it sounds like, uh... it's a surprise. We're all electronic now."

So, does that mean we'll see you guys dragging some sequencers on the Big Day Out stage and unleashing that most wonderful of music offerings, the "remix" album?

"Sure," notes Dexter, laughing all the while.

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