Ambar Ramirez Carmen Macri
Limp Bizkit put Jacksonville and nu-metal on the map
Words by Ambar Ramirez & Carmen Macri
Have you ever had one of those days? Where you don’t want to wake up? Where everything is f*cked and everybody sucks? Before MTV and Hollywood, Fred Durst did.
Born in Jacksonville’s underground music scene and raised on a diet of distortion and defiance, Limp Bizkit clawed their way from Florida underground clubs like Milk Bar to international stages with a sound that was equal parts hip-hop swagger and heavy metal fury. Few bands have embodied chaos, charisma and controversy quite like Limp Bizkit — even their name is defiant in its own way. Durst claimed he wanted to name the band something that would repel most people, and those who stuck around long enough to hear the music were exactly the fans they wanted to reach.
“The name is there to turn people’s heads away. A lot of people pick up the disc and go, ‘Limp Bizkit. Oh, they must suck.’ Those are the people that we don’t even want listening to our music,” Durst said in the biography “Limp Bizkit” by Colin Devenish.
Durst’s rebellious attitude defined a generation, but before we get to that, we need to take it back to day one.
Fred Durst was a well-known tattoo artist in Jacksonville, spending his days blasting hip-hop and dreaming up a new genre that mixed rap with rock. During this time, he jammed with a few local bands — Split 26, Malachi Sage (where he met bassist, Sam Rivers) and 10 Foot Shindig. After leaving 10 Foot Shindig, Durst was ready to bring his ideas to life. He told Rivers to ditch the band and join him in creating something fresh: a mix of “rapping and rocking.” Rivers was on board, and that’s when he suggested John Otto — a student at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts who was studying jazz drumming and playing in local avant-garde bands. The three jammed together and wrote three songs while looking for their fourth member. After a couple of sessions with guitarists Rob Waters and Terry Balsamo, Wes Borland ultimately joined as their permanent guitarist.
The biggest signing since Lynyrd Skynyrd was about to occur.
DJ Lethal joined the band in 1996, adding that essential turntable magic to their sound. Coming from House of Pain, he brought the hip-hop edge that was the perfect complement to Limp Bizkit’s heavy riffs, helping to define their signature rap-rock approach.
The band quickly jumped into writing and recording songs while still holding down their day jobs. In 1997, when Korn was opening for Sick of It All in Jacksonville, Durst invited them over to his tattoo shop for some beer and quick ink. While they were there, Durst managed to convince Korn’s bassist, Reginald “Fieldy” Arvizu, to check out their demos—”Pollution,” “Counterfeit” and “Stalemate.” Clearly impressed by the demos, Korn took the unsigned Limp Bizkit on two of their tours introducing them to a whole new audience.
Limp Bizkit, still unsigned, played a party for Korn at the Dragonfly Club in L.A. — a performance that sparked serious attention from major record labels. Indie label Flip Records, based out of L.A., offered them a deal they couldn’t refuse. But before that, they were already in talks with Mojo Records, a Universal-distributed label. According to a 1999 “L.A. Times” article titled “Anything But Stale,” the band told Flip owner Jordan Schur, “The only way we’re not gonna sign with [Mojo] is if our van flips over on the way to L.A.” Somewhere outside El Paso, their van did exactly that — flipping five times. Flip Records then bought out their contract for six figures.
Two years after emerging from Jacksonville and scoring a record deal with Flip Records, Limp Bizkit released their debut album “Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$.” It didn’t explode out the gate, but things shifted in 1998 when Korn invited them to join the Family Values Tour — a high-energy lineup that included German industrial band Rammstein and rap icon Ice Cube. With major support from MTV — and Durst’s now-iconic red Yankees cap, Limp Bizkit quickly crossed over into the mainstream. By the end of the tour, their debut album had sold 1.5 million copies.
“It’s amazing what some success and TV can do for you,” Durst told the “L.A. Times” in an article titled “Anything But Stale.” “It’s all very overwhelming. Every mall I go to, someone notices me. If I took off my red baseball cap, no one would notice me, though. But I’m addicted to my hat!”
Hell-bent to show both fans and critics that they were more than just a Korn knockoff or a glorified cover band, Limp Bizkit hit the studio hard to craft their sophomore album, “Significant Other.” Released in 1999, the band did just that — surpassing “Three Dollar Bill, Y’all$” by a landslide now that they had acquired a cult-like following worldwide. It seemed like the only way was up for the band, with their third album, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water,” becoming their best-selling release to date — surpassing 8 million copies sold in 2000 and breaking Pearl Jam’s “Vs” record of the fastest-selling rock album.
As the band was swiftly, and we do mean swifty, climbing the ranks, they were faced with a “Sour” (pun intended) dilemma: Borland decided to step away in 2001 due to creative differences. And before you ask, no, he didn’t “leave with a fat lip” as he did rejoin the band in 2004, only to leave again, still with no fat lip.
Like most legendary bands, there comes a point when the spotlight starts to fade. Fans who once embraced Limp Bizkit’s defiant, anti-establishment attitude began to turn on them for those very same reasons. What was once the defining sound of nu-metal started to feel like a passing fad and expectations shifted with people hoping the band would jump on the next big trend. But Durst and the crew stuck to their guns, staying true to their sound. What was seen as their “downfall” eventually turned into just another chapter in their ongoing success story.
It seemed like dissing Limp Bizkit in the media became a bit of a trend, much like with Nickelback. But as time went on, people started to realize that the music still hits, the messages remain consistent and these bands aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Limp Bizkit has yet again found themselves on a steady rise, selling out arenas across the world, trending online and leaning into the Gen-Z meme culture of it all.
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