Offspring

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.

From iMusic Modern Showcase with Offspring