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Here you'll se Limp Bizkit from the start...to what it is today...
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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 Zant 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, Fla. (home to the likes of Molly Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd,
and .38 Special, no less). 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 Co. quickly adopted it (and like Zep, even altered the spelling a bit). Limp Bizkit
was officially born.
So the group was a functioning unit and named, but it had one more hurdle
to jump: getting noticed. That's where Durst's moonlighting gig as a tattoo artist came into play.
Legend has it that early on in Limp Bizkit's career, Korn was making a tour stop in Jacksonville. After
the show, Korn bassist Fieldy and guitarist Head descended on Durst's abode and employed his considerable
skin-art skills. As luck would have it, the three became fast friends. The next time Korn swung through
town, Durst unloaded Limp Bizkit's demo on them, and the band promised to pass it along to its producer,
Ross Robinson. Bada-boom, bada-bing. Robinson vibed with the LB sound, and the band began to gain serious
buzz within the music industry, landing tour slots with House of Pain and the Deftones.
Following
the tour with HoP (who broke up shortly thereafter) and about a year and a half before the release of
its 1997 breakout debut album, Three Dollar Bill Y'all$, Limp Bizkit gained its fifth and final member
in former House of Pain turntablist DJ Lethal. With the addition of Lethal, the band was given a seriously
demented hip-hop edge. "I bring a bunch of crap to the table," laughs Lethal in regard to his contributions
to the band. "Seriously, though, as far as Limp Bizkit goes, I try and bring new sounds, not just the
regular chirping scratching sounds. You won't really hear the regular, been-there-done-that scratching,
know what I mean? It's all different stuff that you haven't heard before. I'm trying to be like another
guitar player. That's my main goal."
After the release of Three Dollar Bill Y'all$, the band
embarked on a serious touring frenzy. Its over-the-top stage shows - giant toilets, sci-fi inspired
sets, breakdancers - helped them gain new fans and ultimately aided them in eclipsing the 1.5 million-copies-sold
mark. In addition to landing some high-profile spots on the 1998 Warped and Ozzfest tours, the band became
one of the core bands in the lineup of the initial "Family Values" entourage. Limp Bizkit also threw
its own traveling shindig titled, appropriately enough, "Ladies Night in Cambodia" - in a brilliant stroke
of marketing, the first 200 women to attend the show each night were given free admission.
While
incessant touring provided the band access to new fans, they also gained some notoriety via their irreverent
remake of George Michael's "Faith." Limp Bizkit's rage-in-the-cage version really blew the lid off the
band (not to mention some ironic timing, as the release of the song coincided with Michael's notorious
bathroom bust). The band made further headlines (albeit mostly in the trade press) in '98, when its label,
Flip/Interscope, was snagged in a payola scandal involving pay-for-play of its single "Counterfeit" at
KUFO radio in Portland, Ore. But the Bizkit proved to be Teflon-coated (that and the fact that the fans
really could care less about commercial radio tactics) and continued to rack up sales and gain new fans
through touring.
The group's sophomore effort, Significant Other, was released on June 22, 1999,
and sold well over half a million copies its first week out, helping maintain its steamroller-esque
momentum. Significant Other upped the rap-edged ante as it prominently featured production from Gangstarr's
DJ Premier, as well as a verbal cameo from the Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man on "N 2 Gether Now." Other cameos
on the album included a rant by MTV's Matt Pinfield, and the pairing of Stone Temple Pilots frontman
Scott Weiland and Korn's Jonathan Davis on "Nobody Like You." Hell, even Durst's mom made an appearance
on the album. But despite the guests, Significant Other was all Limp Bizkit.
Keeping its success
intact and the LB momentum at full throttle, the band once again was part of the "Family Values" tour
for the fall of '99.
The summer of 2000 saw Limp Bizkit smack in the middle of the Napster controversy
- on the opposite side of the fence as Metallica - when the music-sharing-software company sponsored
their free concert tour. It also found success with a new, edgy update of the Theme from Mission: Impossible,
which was the highlight of the top-selling Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack, which won the Best Rock
Video award at the 2000 MTV Video Awards.
October was the month fans had been salivating for,
when the band whipped up its unappetizingly titled third album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored
Water. The disc rocketed to the top of the charts, selling more than a million copies in its first week,
the first rock album to ever achieve that accomplishment .
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Rap-rock revolutionaries led by the outspoken Fred Durst, Limp Bizkit became virtually an
overnight success story in America. Formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1994 by Durst (a much-acclaimed
tattoo artist) and his bass-playing friend Sam Rivers, the line-up was completed by Rivers' cousin John
Otto on drums and, after much persuasion, guitarist Wes Borland.
After gigging around the local
area, the band got a break when Korn's bassist Fieldy and guitarist Head met up with Fred after a show
in Jacksonville to get some tattoos. The next time the band came through town Durst gave them a demo
tape containing Limp Bizkit's track 'Counterfeit'.
They in turn passed it on to their producer
Ross Robinson. The band's reputation within the music industry quickly grew and they picked up a support
slot with House Of Pain and Deftones. Following the end of House Of Pain, DJ Lethal joined the Bizkit
posse.
The band signed to Flip and then inked a major deal with Interscope, releasing their debut
album 'Three Dollar Bill Y'all' in 1997. An abrasive mix of rap rhymes and rock guitar, it included a
pulsating cover of George Michael's 'Faith', which became a major radio hit over the following months.
Heavy touring, including supports with Faith No More and Primus and a slot on Ozzy Osborne's Ozzfest
extravaganza increased their burgeoning reputation.
However, their stock really rose with their
appearances on that summer's Family Values tour. Their second album 'Significant Other' was released
in the summer of 1999 and attracted rave reviews for its uncompromising fusion of styles. First single
'Nookie' became a massive hit Stateside and pushed the album to the top of the charts. It went on to
sell over four million copies.
The band's appearance at that summer's Woodstock festival got them
in hot water, though, as Durst was accused of inciting the mini-riot that erupted during their set and
which led to the plug being pulled.
Afterwards, a woman claimed she had been raped in the moshpit
and numerous people had sustained injuries. Undaunted, the band returned to headline the Family Values
tour while Durst was appointed Senior Vice-President at Interscope.
This year has seen the band
become embroiled in the debate surrounding the Napster issue to the extent that they embarked on a free
tour with Cypress Hill sponsored by the file-swapping site. Meanwhile, Durst found himself in court after
it was alleged he assaulted a security guard onstage in February.
On the musical side of things,
the band were commissioned to write the theme song for the Tom Cruise blockbuster Mission Impossible
2. The song 'Take A Look Around' went on to become their biggest hit to date.
Their third album
'Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavoured Water' was released in October 2000. With a healthy dose
of expletives and the usual mix of rap, rock and rage it became a massive seller. The band then headed
out on a co-headlining tour with another controversial figure, rapper Eminem.
Unfortunately tragedy
again dogged their live performance again when a 15-year-old girl died from injuries sustained during
the band's performance at the Sydney leg of the Big Day Out festival. The band said that her death "would
impact on their lives forever". They subsequently cancelled the rest of their appearances on the tour.
In an exclusive interview on dotmusic, Durst proclaimed that the band were going to become like Dreamworks
with plans to enter the film industry. Indeed, the frontman is scheduled to direct two films.
Whether
the band expand on their grand vision or not, you can expect them to 'Break Stuff' for a while yet.
It only looks easy. Not every band sells 1.5 million copies of their debut record, and shares stages
with the hottest acts in the world while amassing a gigantic international fan-base long before radio
and -- yes, you, dear press folk -- woke up and smelled the concrete. But Limp Bizkit rose out of their
hometown of Jacksonville, FL, on the backs of their friends and allies around the globe. Through ceaseless
touring and a dynamic live show, the little group with the curious name found themselves in heady company
indeed.They're that band with the DJ from House of Pain, you're thinking. The ones that got where they
are because they inked tattoos on their friends in Korn, those guys with the George Michael song. Yeah,
yeah, yeah... Limp Bizkit have heard it all before. Here's the scoop: Significant Other, the band's second
album for Flip/Interscope Records, shatters the sophomore jinx. Yes, they toured incessantly last year,
scoring an impressive trifecta by appearing on the 1998 Warped and Ozzfest excursions, as well as the
inaugural edition of the groundbreaking Family Values tour. This is the band that also threw a traveling
party of their very own called "Ladies Night in Cambodia" for two solid months, which provided free admission
for the first 200 women to attend each night. They had a massive hit on their hands with their inimitable
cover of George Michael's "Faith," and they watched sales of their album fly past Platinum certification.
Worthy and respectable efforts, all. "I think we've successfully set a landmark for this type of music,"
he states. "Other bands have combined singing and heavy rock and rap, but no one's done it all to the
extent where the rap is totally hip-hop credible, the heavy parts can move 100,000 people at a time in
an arena, and the melodies can make the whole world sing. That crash you just heard was the gauntlet
hitting the ground. For the band - including guitarist Wes Borland, drummer John Otto, bassist Sam Rivers,
and turntable-man DJ Lethal -- Significant Other is the album that will dispel the doubters and silence
the skeptical. It's a collection of songs that Limp Bizkit say that they learned to write from playing
to audiences around the world, watching their fans in action. "The title refers to male-female relationships,
of course," says Wes Borland. "But it also refers to this record as our 'significant other'. This is
the record that we've wanted to make since we started this band." Co-produced by the band with famed
noise technician Terry Date (Pantera, White Zombie, Staind) and mixed by Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam,
Stone Temple Pilots), Significant Other's incisive tracks range from the corrosive fury of "Break Stuff"
and "Nookie" (the album's first video and radio track) to the more measured and tuneful "No Sex" and
"Rearranged." "It's a record about betrayal," Fred says. "I guess I ask for it sometimes. The way I get
treated by back-stabbing friends and girls, it's probably due to my own actions." His trauma is captured
in the record's rich sonic experimentation, such as the orchestral flourishes that creep into the dramatic
"Don't Go Off Wandering." Or the slinky, phat beats of the landmark hip-hop jam, "N2gether," which pairs
the band with Method Man from the Wu-Tang Clan and features production by DJ Premier of Gang Starr. Further
adding to the excitement are the appearances of a host of luminaries, including the unlikely alliance
of Korn's Jonathan Davis and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland on the dynamic "Nobody Like You." In
a humorous interlude, you can hear MTV veejay Matt Pinfield vent his spleen on the state of today's gutless
rock environment.
And Fred Durst's own mom even makes a cameo! Ever since they formed in late
1994, Limp Bizkit have blazed a trail for themselves like few other bands of the 1990s. Armed with their
Three Dollar Bill, Y'all$ debut, the band were unafraid to perform for any crowd, anywhere, at any time.
The band could be seen on MTV, rocking the beach on the network's "Spring Break" edition of Fashionably
Loud. And there they were again on the channel come New Year's Eve, effortlessly grooving with ex-House
of Pain rapper Everlast and Kid Rock, and getting props from teen queen Jennifer Love Hewitt. Aided in
their quest by their overactive imaginations, Limp Bizkit began their Ozzfest sets by emerging from a
gigantic, filthy toilet, and brought down the house on the Family Values tour, armed with a troupe of
break-dancers and a science fiction-themed stage straight out of Mars Attacks. In the meantime, one-time
tattoo artist Fred Durst has proven himself one of the hardest-working men in show business. He's acted
as an A&R rep for Flip Records (signing the band Staind and producing the upcoming second album from
Jacksonville homies Cold); he's been a guest on records from such notables as Korn, Videodrone and Soulfly;
and he directed the heavily-rotated video for "Faith" as well as the video for "Nookie." The singer helped
design and create the outlandish above-described stages. He's even writing a screenplay! "Look at George
Lucas!" laughs Fred, when asked about his energy and unflagging attention to detail. "That motherfucker,
he don't stop, dude! If we do enough amazing things - films, videos, songs, music - you become legends,
and a whole new generation becomes tripped-out to work with you." With a headlining spot secured on the
second Family Values tour, and tentative plans to return yet again to the studio late this year, Limp
Bizkit might appear to have their hands full dealing with all the attention they're certain to receive.
Fred Durst is unconcerned. "I've never been so confident about our focus until right now," he grins.
"I cannot wait to go on tour, and I'm usually the one who can't wait to go home!"
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