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William Frederick Durst (born August 20, 1970 in Jacksonville, Florida) is the lead singer for the band Limp Bizkit.
Many, including media outlets and music fans, consider him a controversial figure when it comes to both his career and his personal life.
There is some confusion over his birthdate. A fan biography claims his birth year was 1971, and the All Music Guide biography lists two birthdates: August 20, 1971 and December 4, 1971. (Durst confirmed his birthday is August 20 on his Xanga blog.) The reason for the confusion is unknown.
Career
Together with Sam Rivers and John Otto, Durst formed the band Limp Bizkit in 1994. Wes Borland joined soon after, and DJ Lethal, formerly of the hip hop group House of Pain, joined the band in 1996.
With Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst became one of the biggest rock stars of the late 1990s. Limp Bizkit's first big hit, a cover of George Michael's late '80s hit "Faith," gained great traction thanks to heavy airplay on MTV, especially during the first year of Total Request Live. The band's other major hits include "Nookie", "Break Stuff", "Take A Look Around", "Rollin'" and "My Generation." He has directed most of his band's music videos, as well as videos for Korn's "Falling Away From Me" and Staind's "It's Been Awhile" and "Just Go."
Musical influences
Fred Durst's influences include Tool, KISS, Wu Tang Clan, Blondie, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, The Offspring, Cocteau Twins, The Smiths, Ministry, Foo Fighters, Pantera, Nine Inch Nails, and Suicidal Tendencies. He has cited Maynard James Keenan, Mike Patton, and Ice Cube as main vocal inspirations.
Other professional interests
Durst has dabbled in acting with a minor role in the 2005 TV miniseries Revelations, playing the role of Odgen. He also starred in the movie Population 436 with Jeremy Sisto, as police officer Bobby Caine.
Durst also chairs his own record label, Flawless Records, a division of Geffen Records. It has signed such bands as Puddle of Mudd, The Revolution Smile, Ringside and She Wants Revenge.
In recent years, Durst has also shown a great interest in directing films. He was hired to direct the film Lords of Dogtown, but for some reason turned it down. During an interview he even went as far as saying that he had aspirations to become a director before his musical career. He directed the film The Education of Charlie Banks, which was concluded July 25, 2006.
Controversy
Durst's career has been fraught with multiple controversies, some of which have caused harm to others.
Live performances
Durst's live stage presence has created controversy on multiple occasions. In 1999, the media portrayed his performance of "Break Stuff" during Woodstock 1999 as contributing to many of the festival's problems with violence (including several rapes) and vandalism.
Despite being asked to help diffuse an already volatile situation by concert promoters, Durst told the crowd, "I don't think you should mellow out. This is 1999, motherfuckers - stick those Birkenstocks up your ass!"
In response to the song, which would later become a hit, concert-goers committed acts of vandalism, tearing planks from the stage and throwing garbage at an MTV crew.
Durst was also involved in the death of Australian teenager Jessica Michalik, who was crushed to death during Limp Bizkit's set at the 2001 Big Day Out concert in Sydney. Durst claims that he made his concerns about security known days before the incident, but they fell on deaf ears. Durst was to his credit video taped telling the crowd "Safety first, if someone falls down pick them up".
Slipknot
Durst was embroiled in controversy with the band Slipknot after lead singer Corey Taylor heard from a friend that Durst referred to their fans as "the fat ugly kids" in a Spin Magazine interview.
Clown, the band's percussionist, threatened violence against him if he criticized their fans again, and Taylor later said in an interview with MuchMusic that he saw Durst as a great businessman, but not as an artist.
In a 2001 post on LimpBizkit.com, Durst disputed the perceived ill will against the metal band. He was quoted as writing, "We really like Slipknot and are very happy that they hate us, because it makes their music heavier, angrier and real!!"
Britney Spears
In 2003, paparazzi photos were released showing Durst with multiplatinum pop star Britney Spears, and rumours began to spread that the two were dating. This struck a nerve with some fans on the Limp Bizkit website, as Durst had not mentioned anything about it, and it seemed out of character for a 'rock star' to be dating a pop singer like Spears.
It was revealed that Durst was hired to help write and produce tracks for Spears' upcoming album In the Zone, released later that year.
The issue intensified when Spears appeared on TRL and denied the affair, saying she barely knew Durst, and that he wasn't her type.
Fred Durst later appeared on Howard Stern's nationally syndicated radio program to set the record straight, and claimed that while they were never dating, they did have a sexual relationship while working with her on the album. He also mentioned that after Britney appeared on TRL, he decided not to allow her to use his contributions on the album, though a spokeperson for Spears directly contradicted him, saying that it was her decision not to use the material, not Durst's.
While Durst claimed he only came forward with details about the relationship due to the paparazzi photos spotting the two together, he went into great detail on the radio show, including intimate details about Spears' body, in response to Stern's continued prodding.
Spears later claimed that she regretted ever getting involved with "someone like Durst."
Several songs from Limp Bizkit's Results May Vary were allegedly written about the affair and its aftermath, including the album's first single "Eat You Alive". Lyrics from the song include "Hey you, Ms. Too-good-to-look-my-way" and "I'm sorry, your beauty is so vain." Though Durst denies any of the songs being directly about Spears, he did leak a song titled "Just Drop Dead" onto the internet in retaliation to some of Spears comments, and its lyrics do pertain to events that happened during the affair.
Spears' spokesperson described the situation as "very junior high."
Sex tape
In February 2005, a three minute composite of video clips of Durst having sex was leaked to the Internet after the video clip was taken from his computer's hard disk . The video also revealed that he had a Prince Albert piercing, although he was not wearing the jewelry.
Backlash
Durst's outspokenness and negative public image have resulted in a backlash, with entire web sites devoted to criticism of the rock star.
Critics claim that he takes the spotlight away from his bandmates, especially in the band's videos. In the 2003 video for the band's cover of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" (the song itself also being a target of derision from fans of the original version), the rest of the band isn't seen at all. Additionally, Limp Bizkit's intense popularity, as well as numerous appearances in the media, including Fred Durst appearing in a wrestling video game, has caused many to label the band, and Durst, as sellouts.
One heavy metal web site, Encyclopaedia Metallum, refers to their banning process as being "Dursted", named after Durst, who is considered a blight upon heavy metal by the site.
Various musical artists have also cited their disdain for Fred Durst, such as Black Label Society guitarist-vocalist Zakk Wylde and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, rappers Eminem and Mos Def, and Nu Metal bands Taproot and Slipknot.
Personal life
Early life
Fred Durst was born in Jacksonville, Florida. His biological father left when he was several weeks old, and he was raised solely by his mother, Anita Durst, during his infancy. The two were very poor, his mother having no house, job, or money. They lived in the top of a church, and people brought him baby food, which they both lived on. Anita eventually met Bill, a policeman, who she married when Durst was 2. He was Durst's father figure.
Durst's mother contends that he was a very needy child, always vying for attention. He liked the music his parents did, and enjoyed dancing and showing off. It was when Durst was young that he and his brother Cory (son of Bill and Anita) became fans of KISS.
Eventually, the family of four decided to move to Gastonia, North Carolina. The family was looking for a change, and Anita had family who lived in nearby Dallas, North Carolina. In Gastonia, Durst attended Ashley Junior High School, where he was considered a very gifted artist. His brother Cory once said he thought Durst was going to become a famous artist because of his art skills.
He also became interested in break dancing, and hip hop music. He formed a break dancing group known as the “Reckless Crew.” His childhood friends attest to his great skill at break dancing, with their group winning many competitions. He also became interested in the culture that went along with break dancing, and when his mother got him his first mixer, it started his interest in rapping. He taught himself how to mix, and how to scratch using turntables, and then began practicing writing lyrics for rap songs.
Soon, he became obsessed with rapping, writing lyrics all the time, and practicing as much as possible. He began entering rap competitions, which, because he was usually the only white person doing so, caused a stir in his community. He became an outcast due to his friendships with black people and his love of activities that were predominantly performed by black people. Durst faced many insults and got into many fights as a result. He was absolutely disgusted by the sometimes blatant racism people seemed to be showing.
Later, as the break dancing scene was dying out, Durst and his friends became interested in skateboarding. With this new interest came a whole new culture with new clothing styles and new music. Durst started listening to heavier music such as Suicidal Tendencies and Black Flag. Reflecting his change in scene, he started writing more aggressive lyrics that acted as a release for pent-up emotions.
Durst graduated from Hunter Huss High School in 1988. After, he briefly attended Gaston College because of his parents. He began working several small-time jobs at fast food restaurants, DJing, and working at skateparks to earn money, but was unsuccessful at keeping a job.
When he ran out of money, he decided to learn more about his biological father. His mother told him where he lived (back in Jacksonville), and Durst went to visit, possibly hoping he’d give him some money. When he returned from the visit, he only said, “What an asshole.” As a result, he gained a newfound appreciation for his stepfather, Bill. He decided to join the United States Navy, hoping it would please him.
During his time in the Navy, he married his first wife, Rachel Tergesen, at the age of 20. They moved to California, and had one daughter, Adriana. After two years, Durst was discharged from the Navy due to a wrist injury. The couple divorced soon after Durst discovered that his wife had an affair. He was incarcerated for a month for assaulting his wife's partner.
After jail, Durst returned to Gastonia. It was then that he decided that he wanted to become famous. He returned to the hip-hop scene, and formed a rap duo: his friend was the DJ, and he styled himself as a rapper similar to Vanilla Ice. He gained contacts in the music industry through a friend, and they put together a video tape showcasing their talents. The response was pointedly negative.
While discouraged, he didn't give up. Due to Gastonia's lacking music scene, he moved to Jacksonville where be became a tattoo artist. He received positive feedback from his tattooing, and several people advised him to put his efforts towards making a career out of it, instead of continuing on with what seemed like a pointless dream of becoming a rock star. Durst ignored them, and continued on. Eventually, he met Sam and John, and formed Limp Bizkit.
Post-fame
With the success of Limp Bizkit, Durst became notorious for his love life. He has either dated or reported to have dated various Playboy playmates such as Jaime Bergman, Jennifer Rovero and Summer Altice. He has also been linked to celebrities such as Alyssa Milano, Geri Halliwell, Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Naomi Campbell, Pamela Anderson, Halle Berry, Paris Hilton, Carmen Electra and Thora Birch.
Durst also has a son, Dallas Durst, born August 30, 2001.
He's also been an active blogger in recent years, first on Xanga and later on MySpace. He recently announced via his MySpace blog that he is engaged to a woman named Krista that he met while filming The Education of Charlie Banks in Rhode Island.
Discography
Limp Bizkit
- Three Dollar Bill Y'All$ (1997)
- Significant Other (1999)
- Chocolate Starfish And The Hotdog Flavored Water (2000)
- New Old Songs (2001)
- Results May Vary (2003)
- The Unquestionable Truth (2005)
Filmography
- Staind - Just Go (1999; Director)
- Staind - Home (1999; Director)
- KoRn - Falling Away From Me (1999; Director/Cameo)
- Cold - No One (2000; Director)
- Puddle of Mudd - Control (2001; Director/Cameo)
- Zoolander (2001; Cameo)
- Staind - It's Been Awhile (2001; Director)
- Staind - Epiphany (2002; Director)
- Limp Bizkit - Eat You Alive (2003; Director)
- Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes (2003; Director)
- The Education Of Charlie Banks (2007; Director/Actor) (In production until July 25th)
- Population 436 (2006; Actor)
- Pauly Shore is Dead- Cameo
External links
- American Alien - Fred Durst's personal blog
- Fred Durst at NNDB
- Fred Durst at IMDb
- Template:Amg
- IHateFredDurst.com - Dedicated to controversy surrounding Durst
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