Americana - Love It Or Leave It!

"Being in the Offspring is getting to be more and more fun actually, because we're really comfortable," explains Dexter Holland. "The whole thing had been such a rollercoaster up to this point, especially with the Smash record. Smash did really well, over 11 times platinum, and we were really happy about it. But then there was this inevitable backlash, and so much scrutiny on the next record. Even though Ixnay On The Hombre was our fourth album, it was still treated like the sophomore jinx record, and I think people were looking at it under a microscope. Now that's all in the past, and we've done so many songs now that we've shown the spectrum of what we do. And people either like it or they don't like it--there isn't all the hoopla as to whether it's good or bad anymore."

Holland, who also runs his own record company, Nitro, has plenty of reasons to be happy about being the leader of the Offspring. Besides selling millions of albums and garnering legions of fans all over the world, this little punk rock quartet from Orange County has also managed to keep its musical and creative integrity--despite what some people may say about the increasing accessibility of its music. "We have to do what makes us happy," he says plainly. "I can't cater to people that never want us to change and want us to stay stuck. That wasn't why they liked us the first time around. I think people already know if they like us or they don't by now. We have a lot of fans, and they're really great people, so we're happy with that."

The Offspring's latest offering, Americana, is their second Dave Jerden-produced album for Columbia Records and their fifth overall. It's got catchy tunes ("Pretty Fly [For A White Guy]," "Staring At The Sun"), social commentaries ("She's Got Issues," "Americana"), musical diversity ("Pay The Man") and hey--it's even got the Offspring's punk-rock version of the '70s cheeseball tune "Feelings."

"The theme of the album started to become apparent after a few songs," says Holland. "I didn't start to write it with anything in mind. It's so hard when somebody asks you how you feel. That's why I have trouble doing interviews, because sometimes it's hard for me to articulate specifically how I feel. I could choke up a big gray hairball, something gross, and say well, that's how I feel, but that doesn't really describe it. So that's where this record ended up going, and the songs seemed to relate to the fact that American culture today is completely distorted from what it used to be. American culture used to be more like Norman Rockwell, and now it's the WWF or Jerry Springer."

The Offspring haven't lost the humor they're famous for on this record--if anything, they've honed it into an artform. Check out the first single release "Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)," with its funky beats over funny lyrics and background vocal hijinx--it even kicks off with a sample of the beginning of Def Leppard's "Rock Of Ages." "I think this album is a little more fun than the last one," Holland says. "I wanted to make a record that's a commentary on something--a record that has themes and is more than just a collection of songs. But I think you can comment on something and still be humorous at the same time." (Incidentally, the Americana enhanced CD also comes with videos and karaoke capabilities!)

After five records and over 10 years together, does Holland feel the Offspring has grown as a unit? "Um, hopefully we've gotten a little bit better," he says with a laugh, as he contemplates his band's upcoming year-long world tour (some of the proceeds of which will most likely be donated to FSU, the benefit foundation Holland runs with former Dead Kennedy Jello Biafra). "I hate saying stuff like 'We've gotten better as a band,' because I don't want to come across as being conceited. But hopefully we're tighter. Once you've played songs with the same guys hundreds of times, you can't really avoid it."

By Lesley Holdom, from Launch - 1998