The band was formed by guitarist Dexter Holland and bassist Greg Kriesel, who met on their high school cross-country team, under the name "Manic Subsidal". The decision to form a band came outside of a Social Distortion concert when both were refused entry. Doug Thompson was added for vocals, and Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, the school janitor, was welcomed into the band, allegedly because he was old enough to purchase alcohol for Holland and Kriesel, both of whom were under the legal drinking age. The band used Thompson's friend, Jim Benton, as their drummer. Thompson was eventually forced out of the band, while Benton left. This led to Holland taking over on vocals, and James Lilja joining as the drummer. The band changed their name to "The Offspring" in 1985. In 1986, the band released their first single; the 7" "I'll Be Waiting/Blackball". They released the single on their self-made Black Label record company, named after the brand of beer. Lilja quit shortly after the release to pursue a medical career in gynecology, and was replaced by Ron Welty, who was only 16 years old at the time. Despite earlier reports that work on the next Offspring album would begin in early 2010, drummer Pete Parada said in a January 2010 interview that the band was "not ready to talk about it yet". On February 15, 2010, it was announced on the Offspring's official website that they would headline two dates in Western Canada in June. The announcement also noted that a North American summer tour was in the cards. On February 18, 2010, The Offspring posted a link to the "Offspring Studio Cam" showcasing the writing and recording of their ninth album. While The Offspring is primarily considered a pop punk/punk rock group, their music contains strong elements of 1990s grunge, and the occasional ska. A signature style of The Offspring is their chorused "whoas", "heys", or "yeahs". NOFX has poked fun at them for this in their song "Whoa on the Whoas". Their lyrics cover a wide range of topics, like personal relationships, such as in their songs "She's Got Issues", "Self-Esteem" and "Spare Me the Details". And the degradation of the United States and society in general, with songs like "It'll Be a Long Time", "Americana" and, more recently "Stuff Is Messed Up". The lyrics generally reflect a sarcastic viewpoint, which can at times be offensive to some. This is acknowledged in the first track of their album Ixnay on the Hombre, "Disclaimer". Like "Disclaimer", the first track of most of The Offspring's albums are an introduction of some sort, Smash's "Time to Relax", or Americana's "Welcome" are also examples of this. The band cites their musical influences as, The Adolescents, Bad Religion, Channel 3, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, The Dickies, Ramones, Sex Pistols, Social Distortion, TSOL, and The Vandals.