The Offspring

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• Genre: Skate Punk
• Hometown: Los Angeles
• The Offspring Website

About

The Offspring got their start much like any other Southern California band in the wake of that region's first punk explosion, playing songs that were lacking some of the first wave's abrasiveness but were musically more adept. The Offspring made their first appearance in 1989 with a self-titled release (on the Nemesis label) that featured many of their trademark sonic elements: crunchy guitars wrapped up in power chords and occasional surf riffs, with vocal stylings that hover between yells and grunts. In '90, the band signed to California indie label Epitaph. With the '94 Smash LP, and the accompanying single "Come Out and Play," the group became the biggest-selling indie artist of all time. Since then, the group have had consistent success with alternative radio, most recently with the single "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)." Since that single hit the charts in 1998, the Offspring have steadily released albums, with Conspiracy of One and Splinter appearing in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace following in 2008.

- Mike McGuirk