B i o g r a p h y
Individual Biographys-
{ FRED }
{ WES }
{ SAM }
{ JOHN }
{ LETHAL }
The story will forever go on, I myself have to keep adding onto the story of the band we all love... Limp Bizkit, with their sophomore album out, Significant Other, song's from the album have been popping up on the chart's everywhere. The first big song from the album, Nookie made it on MTV's TRL, and took the whole countdown several days as number 1 beating such boy bands as N'sync , Backstreet Boy's and Britney Spears, now day's it is hard to get past those annoying boy bands.
The video of Nookie was direct by Mr. Fred Durst himself, lead singer of Limp Bizkit, and with such success of the video Durst went on to Direct the next chart topping song, Re-arranged, a video about the "Riots" started at woodstock and how they blamed Limp Bizkit (even though the fires started a day after and when they were'nt even there). But this is'nt the end or is this the start, below is how everything came to happen about the Bizkit....
Here's a great band for you! The lead singer is an ex-tattoo artist who believes firmly in God and thinks he may have "fucked to much" when he was younger. He shoplifted the rest of the band from other groups to put together the unlikely and volatile concoction of a jazz drummer, a kick-ass guitar player with a penchant for the Miami Vice soundtrack, a metal-bred bassist , and a turntable mix-master straight out of Irish rap. The result outfit called itself Limp Bizkit, and rose from the ashes of Florida's tight-jeaned, big-haired heavy metal scene to take on the world with a George Michael song and a dream.
Sound far-fetched? Well, in the words of frontman Fred Durst, "Wake up and smell the concrete," because the Bizkit is the business, and "pimp rock" is, most definitely, da bomb. A boiled-over witch's cauldron of hardcore hip hop, the wild and wonderful sound of Limp Bizkit's roaring,contorted, thrashed-within-an-inch-of-its-life version of "Faith" can be hear loud and clear across the land, and MTVites on couches everywhere have taken heed.
But beware! As any self respecting Limp Bizkit fan will tell you, these guys are not of the one-hit-wonder, here today gone tomorrow camp, and that suitably twisted cover is just a hint of what they've got up their collective sleeve. They are a hard working band who've been touring their asses off for years now, building up a fan base as loyal as they come. And if you've only just discovered their debut Three Dollar Bill Y'all$, you've got another thing coming, because Fred Durst, Wes Borland, D.J. Lethal, Sam Rivers, and John Otto have a new album in the works- and it's a threat and a promis that it'll kick the shit out of anything we've heard from Limp Bizkit yet.
Fred Durst was raised in North Carolina, the land of the free and the home of the brave and everyone's favorite televangelist, Jim Bakker. "I grew up as a rebellious kid who was always locked up in his room," he told Circus magazine in 1997. "When i got out, i was'nt bad,I just did'nt know what was right or wrong." His trouble getting along with his mom and stepfather is the source for some of the angst documented on Three Dollar Bill Y'all$ Young fred's disagreements with his mother were the impetus behind the childish lyrics of Limp Bizkit tune "Nobody Loves Me" (Nobody loves me, nobody cares / Nobody owes me a thing / Maybe I'll go eat worms). All seems to have been forgiven now, however, as "Mom and Dad" are second only to "God, Our Lord Jesus Christ" on Fred's Three Dollar Bill thank-you list. Anyways, Fred is the first to admit that he, too, has his shortcomings. As he told SPIN in it's July 1998 issue, "I'm a Lutheran. I cuss alot. Snap sometimes. I've had premarital sex. I'm not as good as I should be."
Introduced to rap, hip-hop and the arts of breakdancing during his formative years as token white dude gave Durst an edge that he would use to his advantage in years to come, and enable him to break through the stagnant swampland of heavy metal with resounding band. But before joinging the new creative movement in music and blasting the last remnants of metal as we knew it out of the way, Fred went the more conventional route ā la holy matrimony. The union did not , alas, last; the twenty year old groom reportedly ended up in jail in San Francisco for a short time due to a dispute between himself, his wife, and her lover.
After his marriage disintegrated, the future lead singer legged it back to North Carolina, where he worked as a professional sponsored skateboarder. He then moved on to Florida for a fresh start, luckily ending up in Jacksonville where he set up shop as a tatoo artist. Vowing to keep his professional life strictly creative (no nine to five jobs allowed), Mr. Durst kept his eyes and ears open for interesting musical talent, as he had a cunning plan in mind.
Near the end of 1994, our man Fred pulled in his old bud, bassist Sam Rivers. Rivers had a cousin who could do more than kiss and hence John Otto joined the tream, drum kit in tow, fresh from jazz band. Nashville native Wes Borland and his guitar, along with his brother Scott Borland on keyboards, rounded out the mix and Limp Bizkit was officially a band, although only a handful really knew it. Once they had final member DJ Lethal- snatched away from House of Pain- in charge of turntables and sampling, their sound gelled. After toying with quite a few differnt band name ideas (included it is rumored, "Funky Moses and the Red Sea Pedestrians") the band christened themselves after the burnt-out brain of one of their pot-smoking roadies who declared that his gray matter was so fried it felt like a soggy, limp-you guessed it- biscuit.He must've had a few cells intact to come up with such an imaginative analogy, but regardless the name stuck. The band was unknown, but it wouldn't be long before members of aggressive rock's leading band KoRn sniffed out the Bizkit.
But meanwhile the Limp Bizkit crew was making a name for itself in the local music scene. They established their own hang-out at Jacksonville's Milk Bar, playing to sold-out crowds with other more experimental bands like Texas's stell-drum-driven Evil Mothers. The native metal bands who initially mocked the inventive sound of Limp Bizkit started taking them a bit more seriously. Fred later described the climate to Circus magazine in its march 23, 1999, issue. "All these bands that were metal but did'nt like us started dogging on us, and they're totally stiff dorks with tight jeans, red-necking metal bands. As soon as we get popular, all of the bands start to look like us and dress like us," he said. "They're rappin' and doing all these things to be like us."
And what is this much copied look of Limp Bizkit? We're not talking Temptations-style coordination, here. This is a band most definitely made up of individuals. Let's start with Fred, whose arms are covered in tattoos most notably one of Mona Lisa. After having his fill of name, hear, and devil tattoos due to his former occupation, he went a little more creative on his own skin. His hair color rarely matches his goatee, but is more often than not covered by his lucky New York Yankees baseball cap. He's been know to sport an 'N Sync T-shirt, albeit with a bit of creative artwork in the form of Kiss make-up on the fresh faces of the boy wonders. D.J. Lethal actually comes off suspiciously normal, sporting the requisite Adidas and baggy trousers, but can look threateningly gangsteresque. Sam Rivers appears fairly straight forward and is probably the most conventionally good-looking guy out of the bunch, but a closer look may reveal the occasional speacial touch, like one red contact lens or a sudden hair-color change to, say, shocking pink. John Otto passes himself off as your average Adidas clad skater-type, but his meticulously groomed eyebrows would make Courtney Cox proud (aside from the piercing). It is Wes Borland who is a sight not soon forgotten. His outrageous sense of, shall we say, fashion, combined with his maniacal facial contortions and trademark deer-cought-in-headlights stare make for a memorable image. Hair short, dark or spiked, or blonde-streaked and long, he favors skeleton costumes and ripped, multicolored, graffiti-covered clothing. His lower lip,pierved to one side, gives him a permanent sneer.
Back to the story...It was Fred's talend that hooked him up with KoRn guitar man Head and bass player Fieldy after KoRn played a 1995 gig in Jacksonville, but it had nothing to do with music. Fred was an accomplished professional tattoo artist by this time, and teh two Korns came to him for some work. The guys hit it off, by all accounts , as the next time KoRn was in the area they all hooked up again. Limp Bizkit came up in conversation, and Head and Fieldy took a copy of the bands demo tape with them, with the promise that they would put i in the hands of their producer Ross Robinson. The demo featured three tracks: "Counterfeit," "Pollution," and "Stuck."
Bizkit buzz had begun. Word of mouth was spreading like butter as unsuspecting moshers were treated to a new sound. Limp Bizkit played the Vans-sponsored Warped Tour in 1996, and when they went on the road with Faith No More, House of Pain, The Deftones, and Primus, main act fans were raving about the opening bands powerful, kicking performance. It was'nt long before Durst and Co. had landed the ultimate opening spot touring with KoRn. And it was'nt just the music that was turning the crowds into Limp Bizkit fans; this band had what you might call a personal touch, making a point of handing out and walking around before and after the onstage show, rapping with the audience.
A & R men began making calls back to their record labels and the band began getting serious offers. In the end, however, they wisely went with a small independent label called Flip Records, under the wing of Interscope. The indie label is currently home to a small family of bands including Staind, Fine, Cold, Big Hate, Dope (a South Florida Band that relentlessly campaigns for the legalization of all drugs), and actress/solo artist Jane Jensen. As Jordan Schur, Flip Records president, would years later recall to SPIN in it's April 1999 issue, "The first time I saw them, I was like, 'Whoa! Whoever gets this band is gonna hit with it- this is just un-fuck-up-able..." Praise indeed.
With none other than Ross Robinson at the helm as producer (now known not only for his work with Korn but also for his rather diverse selection of producing credits including Sepulture, Soulfly, come-back attemt Vanilla Ice, Cold, and the I Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack) and armed with Andy Wallace, master mixer perhaps most famous for his work with the Smashing Pumpkins and on Nirvana's Nevermind, Limp Bizkit began recording their debut album at Malibu's Indigo Ranch Stuidio.
The Album, entitled Three Dollar Bill Y'all$, hit the shelves in July 1997. Flips record company bio of the band claimed that limp Bizkit "redefines any and all musical genre barriers while creating an entirely new standard for aggressive music." but it would be a good year before the new standard, or Limp Bizkit, got the recognition it deserved.
A Hallelujah-filled spoken-word "Intro" brings the listener into the world of Limp Bizkit with a Jim Bakker inspired plea to "Kill the noise!" The album then pounds straight into "Pollition," a riff driven rant directed at narrow minded "noise pollution" critics; the rave comes to a breathless halt with the shouted word finale "Fred, shut the fuck up!" The spook show musical back drop of "Counterfeit" is the perfect foil to the songs almost Beastie Boyesque rapping. It rails against "phonies," "fakes," and clones" who change their identities to suit their own purposes. The song's video features Fred- sporting, oddly enough, a virin white Stetson cowboy hat- delivering an in your fave "FAKE!" Hands outspeard, eyes bulging, he spits the word our with such venom the poor little MTV-head might just feel a bit guilty as he recoils from his TV screen. "Stuck" is an ingenios mixture of the gutwrenching howl of "You wanna play that game bitch?" directed at the "make a dash for my cash" woman, the helpless rap of "All i wanted was a Pepsi/just one Pepsi," and the deliciously incongrous jazz weaving throughout the song's up and downs. Relationships gone bad are most definitely a theme on Three Dollar Bill Y'All$,and Fred's lyrics address his pissed off, love lorn heart most succinctly. The song title "Stalemate" cleverly says it all. "Sour"- another love song Durst-style- starts off like a twisted, funked up Beck track, and gets right to the point (I thought i knew ya took the time to prove my lovin' to ya/ screw ya, 'cause now ya got me sittin' in the sewer). The lovely lady who inspired this little ditty turns out to be the image behind the album's title (But baby you're still/ about as real as a three dollar bill). Fred's voice rollercoasters it's way through it's trademark comination whine of despair/howl of fury in "Stink Finger." The juxtaposition of musical genres knows no bounds on "Clunk" which features power chords,marching band style drum patterns, death metal vocal stylings, and old school scratching.
Oh, and whats up with the George Michael thing? Fred told MTV in an April 3, 1998 , interveiw what the band recorded their version of the ex-Whamster's song "Faith" because, "I liked it because I like George Michael. I always have. I always thought that was kind of a cheesy song, Everything he wrote was a hit and huge. I thought he was awesome, he was teh mack. It was just a fun song."
Of course, not everyone was completely blown away by Limp Bizkit. Stephen Tomas Erlewine's All Music Guide review of Three Dollar Bill Y'All$ noted that the band "might not have many original ideas- they are largely an outgrowth of KoRn, Faith No More, and the Chili Peppers- but they do the sound well. They have a powerful rhythm section and memoryable hooks,most of which make up for the uneven songwriting." He goes on to admit, "Then again, you're not looking for prefection on a debut- you're looking for a promising sound, and on that front, Limp Bizkit delivers." More scatching was mention on the band in the UK music paper the New Musical Express's August 15, 1998, review of KoRn's single, "Got the Life." "It's nice to know then, that we can lay the blame for Limp Bizkit and KoRn's doubtless stoutly proportioned door," the review states, adding, "I tell you kids, the genre known as metal is not what it once was." Ah, well, you just can't please some people.
Fred told MTV News that "Counterfeit" is about "changing your whole identity. Being something you're not, when everyone knows you're not." He went on to state, "Every song on our record, that song and every song is about individuals." So who are the people who have inspired the songs of Three Dollar Bill Y'All? Althought it was earned misinterpreted Fred the label of "misogynist," the main subject matter is the lead singer's rather negative reaction to a past girlfriend. The main name-dropper on the revord is "Indigo Flow," a homage to the studio itself that gives a little respect to all of the main players in the band's success. House of Pain get's a mention (Everlast for that tour on Saint Paddy's) as do the Deftones (Chino, man, we had a blast with ya Deftones), Ross Robinson, Sugar Ray, DJ Lethal, Jacksonville and the Milkbar, and let's not forget "all my brothers in KoRn I love you."
Little did Limp Bizkit know that their debut would carve itself a permanent niche on the Billboard 200 charts, keeping company in 1999 with the likes of teeny-bop sensations 'N Sync and Britney Spears, the more sympathetic Sugar Ray and The Offspring, The Dixie Chicks, and Will Smith.
... and the feelin's right. There were now enough Bizkit disciples to warrant the band tackling the road under their own name, and Durst, Borland, Lethal, Otto and Rivers kicked off 1998 with their very own torou, The "Ladies Night in Cambodia" tour got it's name from the very clever marketing strategy (or was it just yet another way to pick up chicks?) behind its ticketing policy: the first 200 young ladies to line up at the door got in free. And who's to say this policy did'nt attract a few more male ticket-buyers? Whatever the reason the audience had for being there, they left the venues as true-blue fans. "I know our music appeals to guys," Durst told SPIN magazine in its July 1998 issue. "But we gotta get more girls coming out, too. I thought it would be cool if we let the girls in free." That explains the "Ladies Night," but what was the deal with Cambodia? It was all part of Fred's effort to educate the younger generation about the genius of one of his favorite films, Apocalypse Now. The tour, with acts Clutch and Sevendust as support, began on February 18th in Worcester, Massachusetts, and stopped off at the brilliantly named Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, as well as at New York City's rocking Hammerstein Ballroom.
And it was all going so well...in the spring of 1998 Limp Bizkit made a high-profile, if controversial, media appearance in both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. It seemed that unbeknownst to the band, Flip/Interscope had arranged-for a fee of $5,000- for Portland, Oregon, radio station KUFO-FM to play Limp Bizkit's single "counterfeit" fifty times over a five-week period. The idea was the radio station's, not the record labels.
The L.A. article's blazing headline was "Limp Bizkit Pays For 'Counterfeit' Play." The East Coast version, entitled "Pay-for-Play Back on the Air but The Rendition Is Legal" by Neil Strauss ran in the March 31,1998, edition of the New York Times. Strauss described Limp Bizkit as "a hip hop influenced heavy-metal band whose music the station had initially considered a little too hard for its audience." The article went on the explain that the new practice of "pay-for-play" was legal enough, unlike it's under the table predecessor "payola," as the radio station accepting the cold hard cash announces to it's listeners that the song they are about to hear has been paid for a or sponsored by suck and so, likening the concept to TV infomercials. Compared to the eighties payola case Strauss cited in which indie record promoters "plied programmers with cocaine, prostitutes or as much as $100,000 in chash to play records by acts like Prince, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper," the $5,000 payment vertainly came across as small potatoes. Jeff Kwatinez of Limp Bizkit's management company The Firm argued that the money was more wisely spent on radio play time than on print advertising or on flying the band to radio-station sponsored concerts in order to get in good with the station. He does concede that pay for play may have its drawbacks, and it quoted in the article as saying, "I have complete faith that any good idea in the entertainment business eventually get's abused. And it will be a bad thing when stations play bands people don't want to hear." However, in the case of our heroes, it turned out that "Counterfeit" was a song people did, want to hear, and lo and behold, KUFO-FM kept the song in rotation long after the requisite fifty spins had been granted. So how did Limp Bizkit feel about all of this? Fred Durst was quick to tell SPIN magazine in it's July 1998 issue, "If [the record company] had explained it ahead of time, it would have been fine with me, This is'nt payola-that's fraud and that's bullshit.This isn't like our dad paying the Little League coach to put us on first base."
So what is it about Limp Bizkit that has captured the hip-hop hearts of heavy music fans? Fred maintains that the band's music is "emotional" music. It is most certainly music that is part of a movement away from conventional coval and intrumental styles. John Otto declared to MTV News that the Korn/Deftones/Limp Bizkit/Tool style which was cast aside the classic guitar solo for what is known as the "build up" is one of the major steps in the new sound. "Build ups are just more musical," he stated. "I mean it's tension and release is all about music. That's what it is." As simple as that. Wes Borland describes the build up as "the vervous breakdown of the song" or the "temper tantrum."
The band is quick to point out that these tempter tantrums are an expression of very real, very specific emotions brought out by real-life events, rather than an indication that they are angry, out of control people. After all, there are alot of happy, fun, carefree aspects of Limp Bizkit's music as well, Being tooeasily labeled as heavy, heavy, heavy is a complaint the band can't help but make. "cause my music's loud-becuase i scream and explode- people think I'm gonna be walkin' around beating up people ,drinking,doing coke, fucking all these chicks," Fred reasoned to Rolling Stone in it's March 4,1999, issue, "But I don't drink, i don't smoke, I'm celibate." Wes told MTV during it's April 3, 1998, interview with the band, "We're not serious people. We're human and we have more depth in our personality than just, 'All these things are going bad for me' or 'You know you better respect me and I'm serious about what I'm talking about'" But as any true blue Bizkit fan knows, Fred and the band never take themselves too seriously. "I play up the pimp thing on purpose," Fred revealed in Rolling Stone's March 4,1999 issue. "Like when I'm on MTV ,these chicks are fanning and massaging me. It's not like I attract them off the street. We fuckin' hired 'em."(laughs) Not for Limp Bizkit rock-stay snobbery or pretension. And this is surely part of the appeal.
As for the musical influences that brought about this much-lauded new sound, they are as numerous as they are diverse. Bassist Rivers described his adolesent musical leanings to MTV News, saying, "I was totally into the Seattle scene. I grew up in like metal. I was totally into Megadeth, rocking it hard. Thank God I grew out of it." D.J. Lethal was hand-raised on hip-hop, Stevie Wonder, and classic rock (his father is also a musician, although he sticks to the more conventional guitar). Wes Borland has cited a variety of musical influences as wide as the Grand Canyon, uncluding but definely not limited to industrial pioneers Ministry, trip-hop founding fathers Portishead, Megadeath, fellow Family Values tourmate Ice Cube, and, of all things, the Miami Vice soundtrack. Fred's earliest memorable musical influence was, reportedly , the pop song "Afternoon Delight." He admits to having gone thought a rather extensive Kiss phase, and like any self-respecting teenager growing up in the advent of MTV in the eighties, was a Pat Benatar, Michael Jackson, and Blondie fan. What about rap? Heavy metal? Oh yes, he then moved on to the likes of the Sugar Hill Gang and Suicidal Tendencies. His tastes today include Aphex Twin and the Smashing Pumpkins, but let's not forget Fred's favorite band of all time: TOOL.
Limp Bizkit officially joined the pimp rock family when they hit the road with Korn and Kompany on the much-anticipated "Family Values" tour.. This was not your average sun-drenched summer festival. Jonathan Davis, Head, Munky, David give their fans an assault on the senses show, and tossed aside the tired notion of mid-afternoon Woodstock wannabe's. As Fieldy put it in Metal Edge magazine, "When you see a rock 'n roll band you want to see them in the dark, with lights and everything. I don't think there's any vibe at all at an outdoor show. It looks like four dudes standing there with guitars." Sparing no expense they devised a stage set that would allow each band on the bill to put on one hell of a show. So it was that the line-up of "death-pop" outfit Orgy (the first new act on Korn's own Elementree Records label), German industrial metal group Rammstein, veteran rapper Ice Cube, Limp Bizkit, and , of course, Korn began their stadium-only night-time extravaganza. Family Values set out to be differnt, a goal it reached with earth-shattering success.
Durst is quick to praise the merits of the Family Values tour, recognizing both hand-picked selction of bands and the no-holds barred set up. "It's a big party. This has been the most anticipated tour for everyone who likes this kind of music." he told Circus magazine in it's January 20th, 1999, issue. "Everyone wants to see what that phat vibe is like. Plus it gives younger fans who haven't seen a full production like this to experiance the real deal." And the real deal it definitely was. "Everyone has full use of the stage," Fred told MTV News. "There's nothing up on the stage but your production. And it's gigantic. Everyone has a huge production. It's like pretty unheard of. The first time in our generation for this to be happening to us. It's like a Macy's Day Parade, and every float is phatter."
Limp Bizkit's Family Values stage show was, literally, out of this world, opening with a set of an alien planet's landscape. A massive spaceship was center stage, and out of the hatch emerged the crash-landed Durst, Borland, Lethal, Rivers, and Otto. A threesome of old-school breakdancers proved to be an extremely effective addition to the mix. Old-school in style, that is: they were moderned-up a bit courtesy of gas masks and nuclear-proof space suits and leapt onstage from the depths of the mothership. Fred, seemingly unawaye of the backlash against crowd-surfing these days, gleefully threw himself to the mercy of the outstretched hands of the audience at nearly every show, stage diving to his herat's content.
It may have been Korn's show, but Fred was up to his old tricks again on the Family Values tour, offering, over the radio, free VIP passes to female fans who removed their tops at the show. "It's all about getting girls out here to show their tits and ass," he explainded to Circus Magazine in it's january 20, 1999 issue. "It makes people that hate your band like your band."
Despite Fred's optimistic take on the familial, nurturing atmosphere of the tour , some did'nt catch on to the kindred spirit. Chuck Eddy reported in SPIN magazine's December 1998 issue that the crowd consisted of "plenty of dudes in baggy shorts looking for reasons to kick teeth in, fueled by years of oppression by their high-school shop teachers" and "young-aggressors-with-penises." Other writers seemed uncertain what to make of the show. Ann Powers reviewed the East Rutherford, New Jersey, concert in the September 28, 1998, edition of the New York Times in an article entitled "Rock Review: Using Pain and Mayhem as a New Lost Generation's Cries for Help." "What beauty this hard music offered came from it's clarity of purpose: to stimulate drastic physical abandon. The fans at the arena started screaming when limp Bizkit entered and did'nt stop for hours," she wrote, adding that , "Limp Bizkit did have some fun with hip-hop style boasts and break dancing. Mostly, though, the band stuck to outbursts."
Fred claims that, although he is a true pop-music lover, Bizkit style music does not depend on radio play in the way that pop does for success. He feels that the live show experience is the main connection between Limp Bizkit and it's ever expanding fan base. However, when Family Values touched down in Philadelphia on September 26, 1998, Fred professed his frustration with the lack of radio support behind what is the strongest new wave of music when, as reported in SPIN, he roared onstage, "These radio stations want to stop our fucking world from evolving! FUCK YOU! Open your fucking mind!" Well, we all get pissed off from time to time, but for the most part Durst has had faith in his fans. As he told Billboard magazine in it's March 6, 1999 , issue, "It's a twisted business. If the right people think the song is hot, you make it. If they don't, you are doomed to suck. But for the band, the right people are the fans, which is why we toured our asses off and played shit clubs even when people weren't buying the record en masse."
The tour did not go with out a few hitches. The Family Values Phoenix, Arizona, stop off had to be rescheduled as both Jonathan Davis and Fred Durst were too ill with the flu to perform. Ice Cube had to bail out of the fun and games early to attend to his acting career, but never fear,Incubus is here, and the band took the rapper's slot so that he could get to work with George Clooney, and the show went on.
All good things must come to an end, and Family Value's came to a s creeching, howling halt on Halloween night. The Climactic grand finale of the groundbreaking, head bangingm no holds barred festival trick or treated its way through the Fairfax, Virginia, gig.Rammstein appartently confused the tradition of dressing up in costume for the holiday, and arrived onstage almost completely naked, which resulted in their set lasting a mere ten minutes before they were escorted off-stage by suitably attired security. MTV obtained a quite from "a spokesperson for the group" who explained that the German rockers were "unaware that they were supposed to put on more cloths, instead of shedding them on Halloween. It is a cultural differnce." A consequential influx of tourists in Düsseldorf next October has yet to be confirmed. More in tune with the concept of the All Hallow's Eve celebrations were Korn and Limp Bizkit. Jonathan Davis and the gang dressed up as the metal "hair bands" of the eighties they have so strived to leave behind,and spandexed the night away. Fred, Wes, Johnm D.J., and Sam reached further back into popular music's history vault , and disguised themselves as none other than Elvis Presley (including the young Elvis the Pelvis and the sweating, bloated, Coke-swigging older version).
But the tour was destined to live on, not only in the minds of the lucky moshers who'd been there, but in the form of a Family Value's video and live album. The album include's three Bizkit tracks: "Faith," the House of Pain classic "Jump Around," and a crowd favorite the band wrote on the road entitled "Cambodia." Family Values had also given the new movement in heavy music a stamp of authenticity. Jonathan Davis was quoted in Billboard magazine's March 6, 1999, issue as saying. "The success of the [Family
Values] tour proved that concert goers were also interested in loud, aggressive live music. We've created a new age of heavy music, and now fans will call up and want it played on the radio. The rock bands that come after this generation will have a much easier time getting booked or airplay."
Limp Bizkit paid homage to the kicking time that the band and audiences alike experienced during the Family Value's tour in the form of the video for their cover of "Faith." THe video successfully captured the vibe of the festival, and features all the major players, along with a few surprised guest stars, including of course the cast and krew of Korn, Ice Cube, the Deftone's Chino, Les Claypool from Primus, and good old Tommy Lee. It is a whirling dervish cocktail of onstage, off stage and backstage video shoots. "It's like bringing back those old vides, like Mötley Crüe's 'Home Sweet Home' video and the journey video and the live tour videos , the videos that when you watched, when you got done you wanted to be a rock star," Fred told MTV. Well, it worked for him... maybe this clip will inspire some young couch potato somewhere to future stardom. Or maybe not?! Either way, the "Faith" video rocketed up the MTV popularity chart well into 1999, and fueled Three Dollar Bill Y'all$'s belated climp up the Billboard charts.
(old news)
Not wasting a minute recovering from years of virtually nonstop touring, the Bizkit Five kept the momentum going and barreled their way right into the studio as soon as Family Values said sayonara.Without stopping to unpack their bags or get a new tattoo, the band got to work on a brand-new album with producer Terry Date. Determined to augment the new material they'd written while on the road with even more stupdio-inspired tunes, they set out to top the hell out of Three Dollar Bill Y'all$.
The badn feel they owe it to their hardcore fans who have been playing Limp Bizkit's debut album to death to give them something more to listen to, even though the rip roaring success of "Faith" has brought the band an all new rush of fans for whom Three Dollar Bill is as fresh as it gets. Fred described the new album to Circus, saying, "it's everything you like about Limp Bizkit, only to another level. It will be more hip hop, more heavy, more alternative, and more melody. Just more of what we are." And what more could you ask for?
"I don't wanna be like Pearl Jam and have our first record be our best. And personally i feel Ten was their best. Soundgarden got better every record. We respect that. We want to make every record better than our last one." John Otto told Circus in it's January 20, 1999, issue. "I watched our fans during all our live shows over the last two years," Durst told SPINS's April 1999 issue. "Whatever they reacted to most, that's what I took and put it into these new songs. It's gonna be insane."
Under all of the tattoos lies the mind of an Armani-suited businessman, and Durst is well aware of the necessity to truly kick some ass with the band's sophomore album. "It's gonna make or break us," he matter of factly told Circus magazine in it's January 20, 1999, issue. "People have heard the first record- a muddy record, a rushed record. They want to know what we're gonna sound like after all the hype, all the tours and everything else. Now we've gotta back it up. If we back it up right, it's on, we've got a career, If we don't, we're a fucking joke." If past history is any indication, the bets are on Limp Bizkit to thrive under pressure and bring out a real showcase of their capabilities.
A further example of the Bizkit frontman's realistic outlook is that he always sees room for improvement. In December 1998 it was reported that Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland- who had been in the news more often as of late due to his troubles with drugs, and, consequently, the law, than for his musical successes- would be acting as a vocal coach for Mr. Durst. Never one to mince words, Fred told MTV, "The best singers in the world, whether you like them or not, have had vocal coaches and I'd rather have one that's someone that I really loved and bought his records myself instead of some fat little gay guy." It was rumored that Weiland would have more of an involvement in the new Limp Bizkit album than the role of private tutor, and would more likely than not lend his own inimitable voice to the proceedings. It's also been alleged that a threesome (vocal, not sexual) between Durst , Weiland, and Jonathan Davis has been laid down for the album. Other rumored contributors include Method Man and Detriot rap-man Eminem. (this article is old , but note that they had to rush the album and Eminem never got on the album but should make it on a single or next album.)
Limp Bizkit took a break from the studio to party in honor of the end of a damn good year for the band. MTV's New Year's Eve celebration welcomed in 1999 with a kicking Bizkit set including a brilliant cover of-what else?- the Prince classic "1999." Fred wanted George Michael to join the band for a joint rendition of "Faith," which surely would've been a Polariod moment,but Mr. Michael declined, although it has been reported that he quite likes the new version of his hit.
The band is also considering putting out an album consisting entirely of covers, Bizkit-style. The popularity of the "Faith" cover, and the crowd response during live shows to the Durst versions of songs by the likes of Jane's Addiction,Ministry, and House of Pain are sure indications that the proposed album is a pretty cool idea- hell, it beats a Christmas album. Whether it comes off or not is still to be seen, but the slbum rumored to have Paula Abdul's dance hit "Straight Up" slated as one of the tracks. Now that's something we'd all like to hera! Perhaps she could do the choreography for the video.
So what else is going on? Don't tell us that two new albums are enough to keep this lot occupied. Our man Fred seems ready, willing, and able to tackle anything. He doubles as an A&R man for Flip , having recently brought the label a new band named Staind. Aside from his high-profile cameo on Korn's Follow the Leader album, he and D.J. Lethal both make apperances on Souldly's debut, contributing to the track "Bleed." Toying with production is yet another of his extracurricular activities, and it is rumored that Durst and Lethal are both working on an album by Taproot, a Michigan band with rap and metal leanings. Fred also collaborated with Kid Rock on a track for none other than Tommy Lee's forthcoming album, Methods of Mayhem, called, subtiety enough "Get Naked," And another thing... Durst is also working on a new version of Madness's hit "Out House" with Eminem.
Our favorite lead singer's love of covers is everlasting. At the end of January Durst helped to produce an all-new version of Sly Fox's "Let's Go All the Way" by a weird but wonderful assortment of musicians: The Clut's own Ian Astbury; Orgy's Ryan Shuck; Martyn LeNoble, ex-Porno for Pyros bassist; F.I.N.E.'s Ashley Hamilton; and Scott Weiland.
Side Project's R Us Durst is'nt content with lending his creativity to solely musical projects, and is also reported have plans to write and direct a film with director Mark Racco. The star of the show? Scott Weiland, who seems to be making up for lost time spent getting busted and who has now apparently caught the acting bug. A movie written by the man who brought us the likes of "Nobody Loves Me" and "Stink Finger" captures the imagination, and, as you might suspect, Mr Durst has suitably intriguing synopsis for us. "It's probably an Easy Rider meets The Breakfast Club of 1999 with a really dark twist to it," Durst top MTV Neews on February 12,1999. Scott Weiland went on the describe his character as "a mysterious hitchhiker type of individual."
Of course, all this dilly dallying around runs in the family. Aside form this infamous stint as a member of House of Pain, D.J. Lethal has lent his production, mixing, and scratching talents to Run D.M.C.'s Judgement Night; Sepultura's Roots; Sugar Ray's Lemonade and Brownies; Biohazard's Mato Leao; Die Krupps' Bloodsuckers; and eponymous albums by Soulfly, Spew, Mega Man, and the Jerky Boys.
And speaking of dilly dallying, Fred Durst has had enought of that. Snsitive rock star that he is, Fred is on the look out for the future MRS. Durst. He told Rolling Stong in the magazine's jennifer Aniston-covered March 4, 1999, issue, "i'm lonely. I'm experiencing the best things in my life with no one there to share them." I'm like, practicing celibacy," he told SPIN in it's April 1999 issue, "But I want to get married, man. I want to share this with somebody...I've been single for a year and a half."
By all accounts, Limp Bizkit are doing the sucess thing the right way. They've wisely decided not to lay back, blow any cash they've mad thus far, and wait until everyone has completely forgotten about their first album and could'nt care less when take two is coming out; they are getting on with it. Sure they've upgraded a bit- after all, they've been slogging it out on the tour bus for years now. A few creature commforts, such as Fred's shiny black Mercedes, are fair enough. Especially seeing as Mr. Durst has left the land of Milkbars and honey behind and hoofed it to L.A., taking up residence in a three story 90210 pad fit for an up-coming rock star. But you can't begrudge such reasonable rewards for a job well done. And you can't skateboard the streets of Beverly Hills. Besides, as far as the green stuff goes, they may actually be saving money with this fame thing. As Fred told SPIN in it's April 1999 issue, I"ve finally got money in the bank, and I'm gettting more free stuff than I've ever gotten before in my life."
The point is, Limp Bizkit haven't been sidetracked by a bit of recognition. They see it as a kick in the ass rather than a pat on the back, and they intend to proove to their growing legion of fans that you ain't seen-or heard-nothin' yet!
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