Hit Parader: Does it bother you that the Offspring are considered almost a top-40 band by some people? Dexter Holland: People have always had the right to think whatever they want about us. It's just that there are a lot more people thinking about us now. It's not like we've changed our attitude at all since we started out ten years ago. Back then, we'd play in front of a dozen friends in a club, and it would be great. Today, we're playing three sold-out nights in New York, and that's great too. We've stayed true to the musical beliefs we've always had. It's the rock scene that's shifted more towards us. I remember back in the late-'80s when west coast rock ment basically heavy metal, I asked the guys in the band if they still wanted to keep playing punk music. We couldn't even imagine playing anything other than what we'd been playing all along. This is what we like to do, and if the fact that our music is now played on the radio bothers some people, that's not our fault.
HP: You mention that the band has been together for ten years. Why do you think it took so long for people to catch on to you? DH: I guess it's the same reason I just said. The music scene was very different ten years ago. We kind of stood out like a sore thumb against all the guys with the big hair and tight leather pants. What we were doing was not what the record labels particularly wanted. None of the small local labels in California would even waste a stamp on us to send us a rejection letter. It was a little frustrating. But we were still having fun, so we just kept on going. Making a lot of money from this has never been a big motivation. We kind of gave up on that idea a long time ago.
HP: How did you finally get around the dilema of not landing a record deal? DH: We took that into our own hands. Back in 1987 we recorded a few of our own songs for a 7-inch, and we pressed about a thousand of them. Believe it or not, we couldn't even give those things away! I get a laugh because some fans tell me that now those things are worth a little money because of our success, but back then we had to go two years before we unloaded the last of 'em. But a few of those records must have gotten into the right hands because some guys from Nemesis Records tracked us down in 1989 and gave us what they call a press and distribution deal, which means we pay for recording the record, but they'd distribute it for us. Unfortunately, the album we did for Nemesis didn't do much better than our first record; maybe two thousand of those sold. But we figured we'd give it one more chance, so we also did am EP for Nemesis, which featured our new songs. When that didn't sell, we realized we needed a label that could give us a little promotion. So we moved on.
HP: How were you paying your bills during all this? DH: We were doing ok in the clubs- though we'd only play about once or twice a month. There were a couple of places that we kept playng, and we developed a pretty strong fan base. Those club owners knew that when we were there, they'd have a good house, and that those people would spend some money. So they kept booking us. Some of the others places we would play would close after about a month- they couldn't stay in business. It wasn't easy, but we had other things going on in our lives, so the music was just for fun.
HP: Did you ever consider just giving up on the band and pursuing "real" lives?
"We accept this kind of success
for what it is, no big deal."
© 1998, 1999 chasm1
Get your own Free Home Page