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The Offspring music biography continued...

1984 by guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland and bassist Greg Kriesel, who met on their high school cross-country team. The lineup was rounded out by guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman and drummer Ron Welty. In March 1989, the band teamed up with producer Thom Wilson (of Dead Kennedys, Social Distortion and The Vandals fame) to record their first album, titled The Offspring. For their sophomore album, Wilson hooked the band up with Epitaph Records, a small indie label, which released Ignition in 1992. The album exceeded all of the label's and band's expectations. The band went on tour for the next two years with other punk bands such as Pennywise, and ska punk bands like No Doubt and Voodoo Glow Skulls. In 1993, the band returned to the studio to record their third album, Smash, which was released the following year. Fueled by the hit singles "Come Out and Play," "Self Esteem," and "Gotta Get Away," Smash set the all-time record for most copies sold by an independent label band at 16 million records. Smash has continued to sell consistently well in the years since its release, and has also been certified 6x Platinum in the United States. The album also sold very well outside the U.S., making it clear that The Offspring were an international sensation.



In 1996, The Offspring jumped ship from Epitaph and signed with Columbia Records. Many punk rock purists criticized this decision, saying that The Offspring jumped from an independent to a major label, solely for financial gain. The band released their follow up to Smash in 1997. Entitled Ixnay on the Hombre, the commercial appeal of this record was somewhat disappointing, and it only went on to sell four million copies. However, the band came back with their 1998 release of the tune 'Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)' from the album Americana, which established The Offspring as a regular feature on MTV and a regular chart presence. After a greatest hits album, the band returned to the studio to record their eighth album, which was as highly anticipated as their previous work.