Time/Factoid-Line

1984 Following an Irvine show by hometown heroes Social Distortion, high school buddies Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel decide to form a band. Kriesel
names himself bass player by default.

1985
School custodian Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman is enlisted more for his ability to legally procure alcohol than his ability to play guitar. They continue to
practice in Kriesel's parents' house and play their first shows in Santa Cruz and San Francisco.

1986
Originally called Manic Subsidal, the band renames itself the Offspring. They press up 1000 copies of debut single "I'll Be Waiting" b/w "Blackball." The band glues the sleeves together at Holland's house and release on their own Black Label.

1987
After the band's original drummer leaves to devote more time to school, 16 year old Ron Welty joins the Offspring.

1989
The Offspring signs to Nemesis/Cargo. After tracking down producer Thom Wilson who had crafted their favorite records by T.S.O.L. (the band plays with them this same year as well), the Vandals and the Dead Kennedys, they release their first self-titled album which sells 3000 vinyl copies.

1991
The Offspring release a 7" EP, Baghdad, also on Nemesis/Cargo and records "Take It Like A Man" for the Flipside magazine compilation The Big One. The producer of this song is Epitaph Records owner Brett Gurewitz.

1992
Ignition, the Offspring's second album and first for Epitaph, is released, initially selling a respectable 60,000 copies (The record release party at Goodies in Fullerton draws a whopping 25 people). It has since sold over 600,000 copies.

1993-94
The band does two separate tours of the U.S., one with the Lunachicks and another with Pennywise. They tour Europe for the first time, as support for NOFX.

1994
Smash is released. Featuring "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)," "Self Esteem" and "Gotta Get Away," Smash sells over 11 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest selling rock record ever released on an independent label.

1995
Holland and Kriesel start Nitro Records. Based in the band's own Huntington Beach backyard, the label's roster grows to include the Vandals, AFI, Guttermouth and others, as well as the CD reissue of the Offspring's 1989 debut. Meanwhile, the Offspring's cover of the Damned's classic "Smash It Up" is featured on the Batman Forever soundtrack.

1997
The Offspring sign to Columbia Records and release Ixnay On The Hombre. While worldwide sales top off at approximately 3 million (Not bad, but not Smash, say detractors), Ixnay... garners a level of critical respect far above that of previous Offspring outings. "Punk-rock zealots can take their rage to the grave, but what this band cares about beyond everything else is what zealots can abide least: songs," says SPIN, while the Los Angeles Times calls Ixnay

June 1998
"richly varied and thoroughly smart... a mature, sometimes daring and always enticing effort by a band that consistently offers far more than meets the ear."

Fall 1998
An MP3 file of "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" is downloaded a record 22 million times in a 10-week period, landing it the #1 spot on Rolling Stone's 'Top Pirated Internet Songs' chart (April 15, 1999).

November 1998
Americana is released. Worldwide sales quickly break the 10 million mark on the strength of "Pretty Fly..." successors "The Kids Aren't Alright, "She's Got Issues," "Why Don't You Get A Job?" and a relentless touring schedule that stretches all the way to the Woodstock '99 and 1999 Reading/Leeds
Festivals.

1999
The Offspring make a cameo appearance in the cult horror/comedy Idle Hands. The band plays a cover of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Beheaded" from the first Offspring LP before Dexter is killed after speaking his one line.

2000
In the midst of writing album number six, the Offspring is slapped with a cease and desist order from Napster after offering T-shirts sporting the company's logo for sale on the Offspring website. The band defends its actions with the assertion that it was simply sharing Napster's logo with its
fans.

September 15, 2000
The Offspring announces its plans to give away its entire new record, Conspiracy Of One, over the Internet in advance of release. Fans downloading the record will be enrolled in a contest to win $1,000,000 directly from the band live on MTV on the record's release date. Fans who subsequently buy the record are rewarded for their loyalty with membership in the Offspring Nation digital fan club, receiving exclusive downloads of unreleased material, advance ticket sales, gated chats with the Offspring and more. "The reality is that this album is going to end up on the Internet whether we
want it to or not," Offspring singer Dexter Holland tells the Los Angeles Times, "So we thought, 'Why don't we just do it ourselves?' We're not afraid of the Internet. We think it's a very cool way to reach our fans."

November 14, 2000
Almost two years to the day from Americana's release, Conspiracy Of One marks the Offspring's return to active duty.