Limp Bizkit

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Background information
Origin Flag of United States Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Genre(s) Nu metal
Rapcore
Years active 1994 - present
Label(s) Flip
Interscope
Geffen
Associated
acts		 Black Light Burns
From First to Last
Snot
Website http://www.limpbizkit.com/
Members
Fred Durst
Sam Rivers
John Otto
DJ Lethal
Former members
Wes Borland
Mike Smith
Rob Waters
Scott Borland
Terry Balsamo

Limp Bizkit (alternately spelled as limpbizkit) is a band from Jacksonville, Florida.

They are often credited, along with their discoverers Korn, for creating the nu metal genre and starting to widen its popularity.[1] Limp Bizkit was one of the most popular bands in the world during the late 1990s and early 2000s, and their albums have sold over 30 million copies worldwide.

Limp Bizkit's current members are vocalist Fred Durst, bassist Sam Rivers, drummer John Otto (Rivers' cousin), and turntablist/sampler player DJ Lethal. The band's guitarist Wes Borland departed in 2001 following the release of their first three albums to be replaced by Mike Smith for the band's fourth release Results May Vary. Wes rejoined for The Unquestionable Truth only to quit once again in 2006 to work with other projects Black Light Burns and From First to Last.

Contents

[edit] Band history

[edit] Early years

There are many rumors about where the band found inspiration for their name, and there have been several conflicting stories about its actual origin. Some, including the band's first guitarist Rob Waters, claim the name was chosen because of how a friend of the band described his brain (like a "limp biscuit") while on marijuana. The band themselves contend that they simply chose what sounded like the stupidest name they could think of at the time[citation needed]. A long standing rumor is that the band was named after the game limp biscuit, although there is no evidence of this.[citation needed]

As a teenager, Fred Durst found himself an outcast simply because he enjoyed two very different styles of music. He liked the break-dancing scene, and music such as Eric B. & Rakim, Michael Jackson etc.,[citation needed] which was labeled by others as 'black' music. On the other end of the spectrum, with his skateboarding background, he enjoyed heavy music such as Suicidal Tendencies, and Kiss[citation needed]. This definitely influenced his later works, and is one of the reasons why the band rose to fame.

Fred moved to Jacksonville, where he met Sam Rivers. Sam had gotten into music because of his cousin, John Otto, who played drums. Fred asked Sam if he wanted to get together for a jam session, and Sam accepted. Sam brought his cousin John into the picture, and they all instantly got along[citation needed]. Together they started an early version of the band. Originally Fred was going to play guitar, despite the fact that he didn't know how[citation needed]. The trio soon realized this wouldn't be acceptable, and recruited Rob Waters. In 1994 Limp Bizkit was born.

Waters didn't stay in the picture very long. A band's first four-track demo, entitled "Mental Aquaducts", was recorded with him but soon after that he was out of the band. John Otto suggested the group consider Wes Borland, who he had gone to school with, for the now vacant position. Otto stated Borland was an artist, but also a very good guitar player. Fred had noticed him playing at clubs and also wanted to recruit him. At first there was some tension on Sam's side, due to some differences he had with Wes in the past. They eventually all agreed it would be a worthwhile venture[citation needed]. Fred was going to Philadelphia, and he instructed the other members to talk to Wes and see if he'd join the band. Wes accepted, and the very night Fred came back to Jacksonville a show was scheduled. Fred and Wes met for the first time, practiced for a half hour, and then went and played the show.

The band continued to play various shows, their most popular venue being at the Milkbar in Jacksonville. Fred Durst met members of the band Korn when they first started touring and became friends with them[citation needed]. An incident occurred when Fred insisted on showing off his tattooing skills to the band and gave Reginald Arvizu and Brian Welch tattoos. While Arvizu's turned out fine, Welch's, which was supposed to be a "Korn" logo, ended up looking terrible[citation needed]. Durst had given Korn the band's first demo tape with Rob Waters, and they shrugged it off as nothing special. But when Wes came into the picture, a second demo was recorded and this time Korn was impressed. This three song demo included the tracks 'Counterfeit', 'Stuck', and 'Pollution', all of which would end up on Three Dollar Bill Y'all. Reginald Arvizu passed the demo tape onto Ross Robinson, who produced for Korn, and was also very impressed. Ross contacted Limp Bizkit, and stated his intent to produce for the band. Also, at a Garbage concert, Fred had met Jordan Schur and played his demo tape for him in Schur's car. He was impressed, and wanted to sign Limp Bizkit to his label, Flip. About this time they became friends with rap music's House of Pain when the group booked them as the opening act for a small Florida tour. When House of Pain disbanded in 1996, DJ Lethal decided to join Limp Bizkit.

Before Limp Bizkit signed their record deal, Wes quit the band for a small period of time. He neglected to take pills prescribed for his ADHD, causing him to lash out against his fellow band members, and ultimately he quit the band[citation needed]. At first Fred intended to go on without Wes, but everyone soon realized how instrumental he was to the band. Fred begged Wes to return to the band. At first Wes declined, but after working out his personal issues he returned to the band and they went off to record their first album.

Another major event that shaped the destiny of the band occurred before they were signed. It's not exactly clear when it happened due to conflicting accounts. Apparently it occurred after Wes had quit the band, while the remaining members still wanted to go on without him. The band had gotten an offer from major record label Mojo, a subsidiary of MCA. Seeing a greater opportunity with Mojo, the band decided to choose them over the smaller label, Flip. Durst called Jordan Schur, and said, regretfully, that he had decided to choose Mojo over Flip. He also said that the band was driving a van to Los Angeles to sign the record deal and that the only way they weren't going to sign was if the van flipped. These words proved to be an omen of sorts. While the group's van was driving through Texas the driver fell asleep at the wheel and the van flipped. The van rolled several times before landing on its roof. While everyone managed to escape with only minor injuries, the demeanor of the band changed completely. They took it as a sign and from then on wanted nothing to do with Mojo. Everyone, including Ross Robinson, started calling Wes, trying to get him to come back to the band. Once Wes came back, Fred called Jordan Schur and pleaded with him, telling him how big of a mistake they had made, and about how the accident was "a sign". It cost Flip $200,000 to buy out the Mojo contracts. When that was done, Limp Bizkit was signed to Flip. Being a small label, Flip entered into a joint venture with Interscope to distribute the band's first album.

[edit] Three Dollar Bill Y'All$

Three Dollar Bill Y'All$, their first full length recording, was released in 1997 on Interscope. The album fared poorly on the Billboard 200 at the time of its release, although it did sell steadily over time due to a huge amount of touring. It wasn't until Limp Bizkit made further associations with Korn that they were able to promote their music via MTV, Warped Tour, the Family Values Tour (Korn's own tour) and Ozzfest, which helped the album to peak at number 25 on the chart. At Ozzfest in particular, the band made a memorable impression on viewers due to the original set they played on, which consisted of a giant toilet. The band climbed out from the toilet at the beginning of the show, with Fred saying lines during the show such as "We're coming straight to you from the sewer" and "I am a piece of shit, and my band is a piece of shit". Sam Rivers once said during MTV Driven "Our music is fueled by negativity, so by saying these things you're only fueling the fire". Wes Borland's outlandish makeup also started making impressions on fans as well. Although their first released single was "Counterfeit", they rose to fame through a cover of George Michael's “Faith”. The song appeared on the soundtrack of Peter Berg's 1998 movie "Very Bad Things" starring Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater and Jeremy Piven.[2] Apparently, the song only took around 10 minutes to arrange. Later that year, Fred lent his vocals to KoRn's third album on the song "All In The Family", a rap-battle of sorts. The album also featured a second disc, with four remixes of the demo for the song and multimedia featuring inteviews between Fred, Wes and the rest of KoRn.

Another unique idea the band came up with was the "Ladies Night in Cambodia" tour. Fred had noticed that mostly young males went to their concerts, and wanted more women to come. So, they came up with the idea to let women get in for free at this tour. The tour was a huge success, and many more women would appear at their later concerts (even though letting them in free was only for that tour). The set was also fairly original, as it made the stage appear to be a jungle (hence the 'Cambodia').

[edit] Business beginnings

It was around this time that Fred Durst started to assist the careers of a number of up-and-coming bands, particularly Staind, Cold, Puddle of Mudd and Taproot (who later rejected Durst's contract). Most of these bands have since tried to cement themselves as an independent, standalone band and denounce Limp Bizkit's aid and influence. Some however, such as Staind , stay true to Durst's aid. Staind has always said how thankful they are to Fred. In 2006, when Fred Durst did the song 'Outside' live for the second time with Staind, Aaron Lewis replied to several hecklers with "Hey, if it wasn't for this motherfucker right here, I wouldn't be playing in front of you tonight".

[edit] Significant Other and arising controversy

In 1999, Limp Bizkit found major worldwide success with their second album Significant Other, which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 and received generally positive reviews [2]. The album sold 634,000 copies in its first week. The first single “Nookie,” was an enormous hit on rock radio, reaching the top 10 in both rock and rap charts. The band followed-up the single with three simultaneously released singles - "Break Stuff", "Re-Arranged" and "N 2 Gether Now" (featuring Method Man). The latter did not find mainstream appeal until 2000, but it reached a respectable place in the Billboard Hot 100 and charted on both rock and rap charts once it did. The album also featured the song "Nobody Like You" with vocals by Jonathan Davis of KoRn and Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots.

In the summer of 1999, Limp Bizkit played at the highly anticipated Woodstock '99 rally. However, violent action sprang up during and after their performance, including fans tearing plywood from the walls during a rendition of the band's single Break Stuff. Several rapes and sexual assaults were reported in the aftermath of the concert [3], resulting in deliberately lit fires and looting when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played the next day. Some have blamed the band for this outbreak, although Fred Durst claimed that none of the instigations he had made at the concert were intended to cause damage. Consequently, the music video for the band's single "Re-Arranged" has the band being tried and punished for the Woodstock uproar.

Along with this episode, controversies involving the band's members began to arise. Durst particularly became involved in feuds with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (which gave basis to the belief that Durst practiced mafia-style tactics in the music industry), the nu-metal nonet Slipknot, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Zakk Wylde, physical violence with Creed frontman Scott Stapp, verbal wars with rapper Eminem, and later, Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. In addition, the band Taproot released on their website an answering machine message that Durst had left on the lead singer's phone as 'revenge' for ending their record company contract with his record label.

[edit] Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water

Less than a year later, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was released on the 17th of October 2000, selling over a million copies in the US in its first week of release (a record for a rock album) and going on to sell almost 12 million worldwide. The first two singles "My Generation" and "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" were released at the same time in promotion of the album. "Take a Look Around" was later added to the list as the theme song to the movie Mission: Impossible 2 starring Tom Cruise. A remix of "Rollin'" featuring Method Man, Redman and DMX was also a minor club hit. The fourth single "My Way" was commissioned as the opening theme for the WWF's WrestleMania X-Seven. Despite its commercial success, the album received mediocre reviews from many critics [4]. In late 2000 the band also stirred up some discontent by allowing the controversial peer-to-peer file-sharing network Napster to sponsor their Back to Basics tour, advertised as a chance for fans to 'get closer to the band.'[citation needed]

In an interview in 2001, Borland expressed dissatisfaction with the band and left by summer of that year to play with his side project Big Dumb Face. His departure was interpreted as a major blow by fans and critics to the band. He was often cited as a vital creative force in the group, due in part to his eccentricity.

[edit] Legal trouble

Controversy continued with a death during a 2001 tour of Australia at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney. Teenager Jessica Michalik suffered a heart attack when fans rushed the stage in the mosh pit. It was claimed by security and witnesses that Fred Durst was urging the crowd on in a possibly violent manner, or that he failed to attempt to calm the crowd after the accident. Jessica was announced clinically dead when she was pulled out of the pit by security guards, but regained consciousness after having air pumped into her lungs as well as an epinephrine shot to her heart from paramedics backstage. She was immediately rushed to Sydney's Concord Hospital where she died a few hours later. Durst released statements to the TV show Access Hollywood in America that he had 'visited the girl's bedside' and 'kept in touch with her family,' though police claimed he did 'no such thing.'[citation needed] Thirty fans were treated for minor injuries at the festival's medical tents.

Durst refused to fly to Australia in order to appear in court for the trial of the girl's death, which lawyers scoffed at [5]. He claimed that he was a 'nervous flier' and 'couldn't fit it into his schedule,' although he provided some of the band's managers with testimony. During the hearing he claimed, via a video connection from America, that he had warned the concert's organizers and promoter Vivian Lees of the potential dangers of such minimal security, even going so far as to say Limp Bizkit would 'pull out' if the issue wasn't properly addressed. Big Day Out attorneys attempted to pin the blame on Limp Bizkit because the band did not stop playing when they received news of the incident. Although the guitars, drums and bass ceased, DJ Lethal played a quiet computer-generated loop. While admitting that Lethal took it upon himself to play the interlude, Durst claimed that the quiet melody did have a soothing effect on the crowd. The Coroner's Court decided the band 'could've been more helpful in efforts to aid the girl'. The security practices employed by festival organizers Creative Entertainment Australia bore the brunt of the blame. After viewing videotapes and hearing witness testimony, however, Milledge, the coroner, said it was evident that the density of the crowd was dangerous at the time Limp Bizkit took the stage.[3]

[edit] Results May Vary

With Borland's absence, Limp Bizkit began a nation-wide audition in 2002 for their new guitarist called "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is".[4] Durst announced at the outset that he was interested in recruiting a female or more than one new member into the band [6]. Thousands of hopefuls were said to queue up to participate. Some controversy occurred when rumors surfaced that all contestants were required to sign a document giving Limp Bizkit the full ownership of any riffs they played. Fred Durst said on the band's website that what they signed was only a release form so that each person's likeness could be used in a documentary if the band were to make one.[7] Each auditioner was allowed only sixty seconds in the first round to prove themselves in the eyes of the band. The final contestants were Monte Pittman, Anousch and Jonas Anderson. Christopher Arp of Psyopus auditioned in this guitarist search, as he later said in an interview with Terrorizer magazine, and Eddie Van Halen auditioned for fun due to his being friends with the band.

On March 7, 2003, Limp Bizkit announced they would perform live for the first time in two years, at the upcoming WWE's WrestleMania XIX taking place on March 30.[5] They also signed up for several live tours, despite their lack of a guitarist. The guitarists for the Wrestlemania tour were later revealed when Durst wrote in a post on the official website: "We are playing Wrestlemania this weekend. On the guitars will be Head from Korn and Mike Smith from Snot". This live lineup performed the song Crack Addict, which was rumored to be on their upcoming album, although it was not.

During this time, Durst spoke of many collaborations with guitarists on songs for the album. Among them were Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Page Hamilton of Helmet, Al Jourgensen of Ministry, and Brian "Head" Welch of Korn. None of the songs with those guitarists would make it onto the album, except "Build a Bridge", which was written with Brian "Head" Welch.

For whatever reason, the finalists from the "Put Your Guitar Where Your Mouth Is" contest were rejected in favor of former Snot guitarist Mike Smith. The band also changed its logo to limpbizkit to promote their change of style.

The band had already recorded an album's worth of material for an upcoming release. But with Mike Smith now in the band, it was decided that they would go back in the studio and record another album's worth of songs. The best of these tracks would make it onto the final release. Fred refers to the tracks recorded during this period that didn't make it to the album as the 'Off The Record' tracks, as if it were an album in itself.

On September 23, 2003, Results May Vary, their fourth album and last top ten recording, was released, with about half the songs featuring Mike Smith on guitar and about half having Limp Bizkit's Sam Rivers on guitar. "Build a Bridge" has Brian "Head" Welch on guitar. The album was considered a commercial flop, breaking the group's number-1 spree on the Billboard 200. It received platinum certification (1 million copies sold) in the United States after fourteen weeks on the charts. In comparison, their previous work Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water sold one million albums in its first week. Results May Vary appealed more to fans of Fred-written ballads with less of a hard rock emphasis than on previous releases. On the other hand, the album received generally poor reviews by critics. [8]. Although Rolling Stone's review was generally positive, Playlouder called it 'fucking crap' [9], Yahoo! Launch labeled it 'a frightening insight into the vacuous state of 21st century culture,' [10], and another review stated that it 'suffered from an utter lack of form and direction.' [11]. Nevertheless, an acoustic cover of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" was a moderate hit on mainstream radio,and its video featured actress Halle Berry. "Eat You Alive" was released as the first single off the album, cracking the top 20 of both American rock charts with an accompanying video that features actress Thora Birch being berated. The album's ballad "Build a Bridge" was the official theme song of WWE's Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November 2003, although it was never released as an official single due to Mike Smith's departure [12]. Another song from the album, Almost Over, cracked the Rock Top 40. However it was never released as a single or video.

'Results May Vary' is considered by some to be the last mainstream album that will ever be released by the band. Their latest album 'The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1)' received limited advertisement, and is seen as both a relative commercial and critical failure in comparison to their previous albums.[citation needed]

Also in 2003, Limp Bizkit toured on the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003 with Metallica, Linkin Park, Deftones and Mudvayne to promote Metallica's 2003 release, St. Anger.

[edit] The Unquestionable Truth

Current Limp Bizkit Logo
Current Limp Bizkit Logo

Throughout July 2004, various rumors began circulating claiming that Wes Borland had been playing with the band again. By July 8, a fan site released an official report that Wes Borland was recording with the band in London. Photos appeared on the band's official website of him playing with the band, and a live video of them playing a new song The Truth in studio was also posted on the website.

Durst said of Borland's re-entry, "We are very content with Mike being gone. We are the type of people that stay true to our family and our instincts and at any moment will act on intuition as a whole. Mike wasn't the guy. We had fun playing with him, but always knew, in the back of our minds, that he wasn't where we needed him to be mentally."[6] At this stage, they reverted back to the use of their original logo.

Two months prior to the release of their fifth album The Unquestionable Truth, a homemade pornographic film starring Fred Durst was leaked onto the internet. The T Mobile Terrorist group claimed responsibility, although later Durst mentioned to MTV that it had been spotted by "a man who came to repair his computer" who then stole it and spread it about the net.[7] Durst was later approached by a company asking him if he wanted to sell the film on the market. Durst declined and filed a lawsuit against the hacker.

The band returned to the studio with producer Ross Robinson, who had worked with them on Three Dollar Bill Y'All$, to create a seven track EP titled The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Drummer John Otto was only able to contribute to one track on the album due to personal matters, with Sammy Siegler providing percussion on the remaining tracks. Durst promised fans before its release that it would be a return to the 'rawer, more abrasive style' of their first album.[citation needed]

The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) was released as a 7-track EP internationally on May 3, 2005 with little fanfare or advertising, debuting at number 24 on the Billboard 200 and selling only 37,000 copies in its first week. The mini-album has finally sold over 1,000,000 copies worldwide, but just slightly over 100,000 in the US.[8] It also received mediocre reviews, with some critics thinking that Durst was trying too hard to imitate Rage Against the Machine's former lead singer Zack de la Rocha [13].

[edit] Greatest Hitz

Limp Bizkit's first greatest hits compilation, titled Greatest Hitz, was released on November the 8th in 2005. It contained material from the band's first four albums (nothing was included from The Unquestionable Truth because no singles were released from it). An additional DVD, which featured music videos for most of their major hits, was released in conjunction with the CD. The album and DVD were heavily promoted by the band's label, even to the point where Durst claimed he was being forced to do interviews about a compilation he wasn't very excited about.[14] The promotion did not pay off, with the album debuting at number 47. The compilation album featured 3 previously unreleased songs, "Why" and "Lean On Me", which were acoustic-based leftovers from Results May Vary, dropped for heavier songs[15], and a medley of The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" and Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home", which was released to radio but did not receive much airplay. Wes Borland stated that the CD was a "piece of crap and a waste of money".

[edit] The future

Limp Bizkit's future remains uncertain. There was mention of future Limp Bizkit albums when The Unquestionable Truth was released, including a follow-up, (The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)). The band has remained extremely quiet as a whole, making no public appearances. Many of the members are pursuing personal goals. Several of the band's members worked with solo hard rock artist Rob Zombie on his latest release Educated Horses.

Wes Borland has spoken a number of times regarding the status of Limp Bizkit, including an interview with MTV in March 2006, where he said that the band were on 'extended hiatus' [16]. In other interviews, he has declared that Limp Bizkit has split and that The Unquestionable Truth, Part 2 will not be released, although he does not rule out the possibility of Limp Bizkit re-uniting.

Surprisingly, Durst contradicted Borland's assertions, leading to myspace wars by both members on the future of the band. Durst has assured press that The Unquestionable Truth Part 2 will be coming out and that the band will tour to support it, but with some songs that do not feature Borland on guitar. He has also claimed it will be a full length release rather than an EP and will be even more experimental and aggressive than the first. Durst also has plans to direct his first motion picture film. Additionally, he claimed to be touring in the northeastern United States, recording sessions (dubbed by Durst as the 'Off The Record' tracks) that didn't make it onto the album.

While Fred was deep in production of filming The Education Of Charlie Banks, he had stated numerous times that in his spare time he continued to work on lyrics for the next album. Apparently once the film was finished on July 25, 2006, the band planned to go directly into the studio to record the next album.

On July 23, Durst stated that he would begin editing and recording vocals for The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2) in Los Angeles on August 7.

On March 17, 2007, Durst stated that he would like to tour with the original line-up, including Wes Borland. DJ Lethal also shared the same sentiments, and told fans to ask Borland to come back to Limp Bizkit.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Current

[edit] Former

[edit] Sessions

[edit] Discography

Main article: Limp Bizkit discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Guest appearances in Limp Bizkit videos

[edit] Guest appearances in other videos

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ "Limp Bizkit Pays For 'Counterfeit' Play". MTV News, July 1, 1998; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  3. ^ "Organizers Blamed In Limp Bizkit Mosh-Pit Death". MTV News November 8, 2002; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  4. ^ "Limp Bizkit Scouring 22 Cities For New Guitarist". MTV News, December 21, 2001; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  5. ^ "WrestleMania® XIX this Sunday". World Wrestling Entertainment press release, March 28, 2003; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  6. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Fred Durst Interview". thearmpit.net August 15, 2004; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  7. ^ "Fred Durst Says Sex Video Was Stolen From His Computer". MTV News, February 25, 2005; retrieved May 31, 2006.
  8. ^ Moss, Corey. "Limp Bizkit: What Happened?". MTV News; retrieved May 31, 2006.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Limp Bizkit
Fred Durst - Sam Rivers - John Otto - DJ Lethal
Former Members: Wes Borland - Mike Smith - Rob Waters - Scott Borland - Terry Balsamo
Discography
Albums and demos: Mental Aquaducts - Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ - Significant Other - Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water - New Old Songs - Results May Vary - The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) - Greatest Hitz - The Unquestionable Truth (Part 2)
Singles: Counterfeit - Faith - Nookie - Re-Arranged - N 2 Gether Now - Break Stuff - My Generation - Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle) - Take a Look Around - Boiler - My Way - Eat You Alive - Behind Blue Eyes - Home Sweet Home-Bittersweet Symphony
Related articles
Black Light Burns
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