In 1984, the band was formed by Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K., who met on their high school cross-country team, with the name "Manic Subsidal". The decision to start the band surfaced when a Social Distortion concert was held and they were refused of entry. For vocals, Doug Thompson was added and Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, the high school janitor was also welcomed. Thompson's friend, Jim Benton, was the drummer; he was forced out and Benton left. This resulted in Holland taking over as lead vocals and James Lilja joining as drummer. In 1985, they changed their name to "The Offspring" and released their first single in 1986, "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball". Soon after the release, Lilja quit the band to become a doctor and was replaced by 16 year-old Ron Welty.

The Offspring - Rise of Punk Rock

"We'd force them to listen to their own records until they exploded!" -Dexter Holland on touring boy bands

In 1984, the band was formed by Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K., who met on their high school cross-country team, with the name "Manic Subsidal". The decision to start the band surfaced when a Social Distortion concert was held and they were refused of entry. For vocals, Doug Thompson was added and Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, the high school janitor was also welcomed. Thompson's friend, Jim Benton, was the drummer; he was forced out and Benton left. This resulted in Holland taking over as lead vocals and James Lilja joining as drummer. In 1985, they changed their name to "The Offspring" and released their first single in 1986, "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball". Soon after the release, Lilja quit the band to become a doctor and was replaced by 16 year-old Ron Welty.

The Offspring-First album

When they finished recording their demo in 1988, they signed a record deal with Nemesis Records, a small-time label. However, in March 1985, they teamed with producer Tom Wilson to record their first album The Offspring. The album was only released in limited numbers in a 12" vinyl and a CD release was not available until 1995.

Again in 1991, the group collaborated with Wilson to produce the Baghdad 7" EP. It was an instrumental to the band's singing with Epitaph Records. In 1992, they returned to the studio to record a second album Ignition, released in October of the same year. It surpassed all the label and the band's expectations and they went on tour for the next two years. They did this with punk bands like Pennywise and ska punk bands, such as No Doubt and Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Success in the Mainstream

In 1993, they returned to the studio again to work with Wilson, but their relationship with Wilson was strained. They went on to release their biggest selling CD, titled Smash in 1994. It featured the hit singles "Come out and Play", "Self Esteem" and "Gotta Get Away". Smash sold 16 million copies and has continued to sell after fifteen years after its first ever release. The album has been certified 6x Platinum in the U.S. After Smash's release, the band decided to buy the rights to their first album; Holland and Greg K. created their own record label, Nitro Records and they themselves started signing upcoming bands.

In 1996, The Offspring left Epitaph and signed with Columbia Records. They began writing and recording their fourth album, Ixanay on the Hombre. It was released on February 4, 1997. The album was not as big as Smash, but it sold 4 million copies. The band moved from political punk-themes into more mainstream rock with "All I Want", "Gone Away" and "I Choose".

Americana was released in 1998. Three of the singles "Pretty Fly", "Why Don't Get a Job" and "The Kids Aren't Alright" were the bands biggest hits. All three charted in the ARC Top 40. "She's Got Issues", was also released, but it was only a minor hit.

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