The story surrounding Limp Bizkit is the
stuff of minor rock legend. A virtual overnight success story, Limp Bizkit
rose up from the depths of the supreme birthplace of Southern rock with
an unrelenting aural mash of hip-hop and metal that could easily cause Ronnie
Van Zandt to roll over in his grave.
Limp Bizkit's rise to the
cream-of-the-crop of the pre-millennial pop maelstrom began back in 1994
in the Southern rock stronghold of Jacksonville, FL. Everything got put into
motion when the band's vocalist, Fred Durst, teamed up with his longtime
friend (and bass player) Sam Rivers. Limp Bizkit's rhythm section
was solidified soon after when Rivers brought aboard his cousin, jazz drummer
John Otto. Guitarist Wes Borland was soon added and the nucleus of Limp
Bizkit was thus intact.
Now everybody knows that forming a band is only
half the battle. You've got to have yourself a catchy name, as well. Ironically,
the band's moniker was conceived in one of those rare moments of rock and
roll mystique that bears distinct flashback relevance to the legend of how
Led Zeppelin got its tag. Apparently Durst and a friend were talking one
day and the friend exclaimed that his brain was like a "limp biscuit."
Recognizing the cachet of such a phrase, Durst and company quickly adopted
it (and like Zep, even altered the spelling a bit). Thus Limp Bizkit was
officially born.