Offspring - Dexter Holland Interview

Q: What did 1998 mean to you?

A: We were off the road so it gave us a chance to figure out what to do next and really make a good record. It's easy to get into that cycle where you write songs, then you're straight back on tour. It sort of got away from us last time - between 'Smash' and 'Ixnay on the HombrČ', was three years. So it was a conscious effort to get it done quicker this time.

Q: Album of the year?

A: I liked the fact that it seemed there was rock 'n' roll again in 1998. Marilyn Manson's still pushing boundaries, which is what music's supposed to be about. We also had some great records on Nitro this year from Guttermouth, AFI and The Vandals. I'm trying to be impartial, but then I only sign bands that I like and they really were some of my favorite records.

Q: Film of the year?

A: The Tommy Lee/Pamela Anderson movie - that was great. They call him T-Bone? Well, he is genetically blessed, let's put it like that.

Q: Person of the year?

A: Greg K (Offspring bassist). I'm not going to say why, though - just to keep him wondering.

Q: Wanker of the year?

A: Have you heard of Jimmy Ray? He's this pop star over here and he is so annoying I just want to kill him.

Q: What were you drinking this year?

A: Jaegermeister. I'd never even heard of it until the first time we toured Europe and I felt like I was going to die the next morning. It really kicks your ass, But you do get used to it. Jaegermeister means 'master archer' - there's a picture of a deer on the bottle and there's a rumour that they use real deer's blood in it. Maybe that's what makes it so addictive...

Q: Bill Clinton - geezer or git?

A: He has to be a geezer. I'm not saying it wasn't morally wrong, but it amazes me to think that you can just say, 'No, I didn't' over and over again and virtually get yourself out of trouble by point-blank denial. I find that kinda funny.

Q: Who was the sexiest person you met this year?

A: Larry Bud Melman. 'The David Letterman Show' found this crazy guy who'd been driving buses for 30 years, and he comes on and just says these one-liners. He's strange but really funny, so we tried to have him do one on our record. Unfortunately, the word 'spinchter' was involved and he couldn't pronounce it. There's a version of him trying it on our website, though.

Q: Who was the biggest tosser you met this year?

A: Who did I even meet this year? When you're out on the road you meet loads of people - a lot of them are inevitably wankers. When I'm not on tour I don't really meet a lot of new people, so there's no one that stands out.

Q: Where did you go on holiday this year?

A: We've actually just got back from the place in Massachusetts where they had the Salem witch trials. That was pretty interesting and creepy. It's almost 400 years old now and it's been left pretty much how it was.

Q: Personal high point of 1998?

A: I drank four kinds of liquor without puking on July 4. It was Beer, Jaegermeister, Scotch and Tequila. And Tequila's a bitch. I was with a buddy of mine and we offered him 20 bucks to eat the worm at the bottom of the bottle. He guzzled down half a bottle to get to it and then, when he went to the store to get cigarettes, he got out of the car and puked all over the place. [Offspring guitarist] Noodles was going: 'Find the worm! Find the worm!'. The guy went through his own puke to find it - and ate it again! The grossest thing I've ever seen.

Q: Personal low point of 1998?

A: When my Sony Playstation broke. I'm a bit of an addict when I get the chance.

Q: Best band you've seen this year?

A: Just going to some bar where you can get a beer and watch a band - that's my idea of a Saturday night. There's a local band The Pushers who I like a lot. I saw Rancid play over in Berkeley and that was a great show. And The Vandals. I saw them play this tiny place in Hollywood, which was awesome - so that was my favorite show.

Q: Best song you wrote this year?

A: You know 'Mariach' the hidden track at the end of 'Americana'? I'll say that.

Q: Weirdest fan experience of the year?

A: The girl who was writing constantly from Belgium. She was always sending flowers, chocolates and love letters in French. I was wondering when I'd go out of my house and find a laser beam on my head. Then one of the guys in our crew who went over to Belgium decided to pay her a call. She always included her address, so he knocked on the door to confront her and it turned out she was a 60-year-old Grandma! She invited him in for tea!

Q: Most famous person you met this year?

A: I don't tend to meet famous people. We live in Orange County, so it's not like we moved to Hollywood and got a place next to Marilyn Manson. I did meet [ex-Stray Cats frontman] Brian Setzer for the first time, though, and he was a genuinely nice guy. Great musician, too.

Q: Most extravagant thing you bought this year?

A: A dog. We felt a little guilty because we should of went to the pound, but then we have got four dogs and two of them are strays. I'd wanted a Siberian husky for a long time because they're like wolves. They look evil but are really nice, and because I wanted one that was red, it was $800. But it's a rad dog.

Q: Most trouble you got yourself into this year?

A: At this radio show we played with Green Day and Scott Weiland. A lot of these sponsored radio shows reserve seats for industry people and a lot of them don't show up. So we had 10 000 kids and the front 30 rows were empty, which was really lame. I told the crowd to come up to the front, but security stopped them. So I ran up there myself and brought a load of these kids down. At the end, we had them come all onstage and it was mayhem. They called the police and accused us of starting a riot. I was led out with a coat over my head and taken to jail. I wasn't charged, but we had to pay for a lot of damages.

Q: Most outrageous thing you did this year?

A: I auditioned for The Kelly Family (cheesy singing family)!

Q: Favorite insult of 1998?

A: 'You suck in Spain!'. We played this show in Madrid in April and we thought it went alright but apparently they had problems with the PA and we sounded pretty bad. A couple of months ago, we were doing phone interviews with the Spanish press and I had about seven guys in a row saying, 'Why are you so bad when you play in Spain? Do you know you suck?'

Q: Favorite chat-up line of 1998?

A: You sweat much for a fat chick. That's an English one I just picked up.

Q: 'The moment I most felt like a prize tit in 1998' was...?

A: A prize tit is like a jerk, yeah? I always feel like that, then. Tit is my middle name.

Q: 'Titanic' - ace or arse?

A: It was definetly arse. I should say something about it but it's too easy a target. I did see the Spice Girls movie, though, and I enjoyed that."

Q: What's your New Year's resolution?

A: Not to suck in Spain.

From Rock Hard - 1999