Dexter Holland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dexter Holland | |
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| Born | December 29, 1965 |
| Alias(es) | Dexter |
| Genre(s) | Punk rock Pop-Punk |
| Affiliation(s) | The Offspring (1984 - present) |
| Label(s) | Nitro Records Epitaph Records Sony BMG Music Entertainment Columbia Records |
| Notable guitars | Custom Ibanez RG570s |
| Years active | 1984 - present |
| Official site | www.offspring.com |
Bryan Keith "Dexter" Holland (born December 29, 1965)[1] is the singer and rhythm guitarist for the Californian punk rock band The Offspring and the owner of the independent record label Nitro Records.
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[edit] Career with The Offspring
After failing to get into a Social Distortion show in 1984, he decided to form a band with friend and fellow cross-country teammate Greg Kriesel. That band, "Manic Subsidal," would eventually become The Offspring.
The Offspring would later sign to Nemesis Records, for whom they recorded their first full length album entitled The Offspring in 1988 and released it in the following year. This album would eventually be re-issued on November 21, 1995 by Dexter's own record label, Nitro Records.
In 1991, the band signed with Epitaph Records (home of Bad Religion, L7, NOFX and other similar bands). The band's first album on Epitaph was Ignition. It was released in 1992.
The band's last album for Epitaph Records was 1994's Smash. The band then signed with Columbia Records (although Dexter claims that Brett Gurewitz, owner of Epitaph, sold the contract to Columbia), for whom they have released Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), Americana (1998), and Conspiracy Of One (2000).
Their seventh album, Splinter, was released on December 9, 2003. In March 2003, Dexter jokingly announced that it would be called Chinese Democracy, to spite Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses, whose highly anticipated album of the same name was constantly "in limbo." Dexter said, "Axl ripped off my braids, so I ripped off his album title."
As of now, Dexter is currently in the process of recording eighth studio album at a studio in Hollywood, California. He said that the band wanted to see if the fans liked the new songs before demoing the songs and having the fans not liking them. He also said that the new album will likely include the song "Pass Me By", which was previously demoed for Splinter.
Holland was recently ranked 73rd in the March 2007 Edition of Kerrang! 100 Stars Who Rock Your World List.
[edit] Personal Life
Dexter was the class valedictorian at Pacifica High School in Garden Grove, CA and was a Ph.D. candidate [2] in Molecular Biology from the University of Southern California, however he declined to get his Ph.D. in favor of focusing on The Offspring. He has a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's degree in Molecular Biology, both from the University of Southern California.
Dexter married hairstylist Kristine Luna, who wrote some of the Offspring's songs including "Session," in 1995. He has a daughter, Alexa (born c. 1987), from a previous relationship.
In his personal time he enjoys flying, being a licensed pilot who has made a solo trip around the world in 10 days. He also recently participated in the 2006 Los Angeles Marathon, his charity of choice was the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic that handles cases where post-conviction DNA testing of evidence can yield conclusive proof of innocence. Dexter finished 7900th with a time of 5:01.
[edit] Equipment
All of Dexter's Ibanez RGs have a DiMarzio Super Distortion bridge humbucker, except the diamond-plated ones, which have DiMarzio Super 3 pickups. Similarly, all of the RGs have basswood bodies except for the diamond-plated models, which have mahogany bodies.
- Custom Ibanez RG (tiger print finish)
Used in the Smash era.
- Custom Ibanez RG (root beer finish)
Used in the Smash era through the Conspiracy of One era.
- Custom Ibanez RG (purple finish)
Used in the Conspiracy of One era.
- Custom Ibanez RG (silver diamond-plate)
Used in the Splinter era.
- Custom Ibanez RG (black diamond-plate)
Used in the "Can't Repeat" era.
- Fender American Stratocaster (black and white finish)
Used for "The Worst Hangover Ever" live and "(Can't Get My) Head Around You" in the studio.
- Uses VHT Pitbulls and Mesa/Boogie Rectifiers for amps.
[edit] Trivia
- For a good part of the beginning of his professional singing career, his hair was worn in distinctive long, blonde braids.
- Dexter has cited bands such as The Adolescents, Aerosmith, Agent Orange, Bad Brains, Circle Jerks, The Descendents, KISS, The Ramones, Social Distortion, UFO and Van Halen, among others, as his early influences.[3]
- Dexter was killed in the Comedy-Horror Movie Idle Hands after a performance of the song, "Beheaded".
- Film director Tom Holland and US Air Force General Charles R. Holland are both Dexter's uncles, and actor Josh Holland is his cousin.
- Did backing vocals for the AFI album Black Sails in the Sunset most notably on "Clove Smoke Catharsis."
- Dexter is the creator of Gringo Bandito hot sauce, which was made available for sale to consumers and restaurants in 2006.[1]
- He appeared in the 2003 movie Pauly Shore Is Dead, but his scene was cut and is available on the deleted scenes on the DVD.
- He contributed a song, "Tokyo I'm On My Way," to Puffy AmiYumi's 2006 album Splurge.
- Did backup vocals on Look What I Almost Stepped In... by The Vandals.
- He really likes alternative rock bands such as Nirvana, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
- His favorite Offspring album is "Americana" and says he personally dislikes "Ixnay" after seeing it as a failure.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Some sources claim that Dexter Holland was born in 1966. See the article on age disputes and discrepancies for details.
- ^ Dexter Holland's Opus by Jonathan Slowik, Daily Trojan, April 12, 2004
- ^ Dexter Holland - Biography
