Limp Bizkit's Disastrous Guitar Center Contest To Replace Wes Borland
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- Опубліковано 8 гру 2022
- Limp Bizkit's disastrous attempt to replace guitarist Wes Borland in the early 2000's through the help of guitar center.
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#limpbizkit #guitarcenter #wesborland
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
Limp Bizkit…Great band or greatest band?
Greatest. Bring it on!
Pretty good band I'd say. They definitely had some good songs but (IMO) the way Fred carried himself I think was a turnoff for a lot of people.
Neither.
I prefer Delung Deloo.
Great band
I like to think some people met in line and formed their own bands.
Check out Psyopus their guitarist actually auditioned here. He is even more experimental and technical than Wes who is also an extremely talented musician
That actually probably happened
I would like, but it's at 69.
Erect Croissant is doing pretty well last time I checked
❓🤔 Normally, I'd say it's a good thing that people met and formed new bands while standing in line waiting to be unknowingly scammed by Limp Bizkit during their 100% bogus attempt to "find a new guitarist".
📛But in this case I'm not so sure that's a good thing, and here's why: The *LAST* two things the world needs are:
👉1). Another band that sounds ANYTHING like Limp Bizkit.
👉2). More nu-metal
Wes: Limp Bizkit felt like a business
Limp Bizkit: gets corporate sponsor for guitarist search
Borland's unique riffs and guitar tunings along with his stage and music video attire, including his iconic contact lenses is what really solidified the band's sound and image...for me personally anyway. More so than Durst's backwards red cap and distinct vocal delivery. Borland really was just irreplaceable.
One of my favorite posters growing up was the Guitar World centerfold of Wes and Fred. You could see the camera light reflecting in Wes's huge dilated pupil contacts
The instrumentation for "My Way" the way the drums guitar and bass go together is great.
Borland is the only thing that makes Limpbizkit listenable
He was playing two chord chug riffs and effects pedal sounds nothing challenging! No solos nothing technical.
It's true, when I think of the most iconic guitarists of all times, I always ask myself: What contact lenses did they have? That's what makes a real guitarist. It's the _tone._ Of their _eyeballs._
I went to the open audition for this at the Guitar Center in Queens, NY. I took the subway from my dorm at 6am in the morning and I arrived there at around 7am and 100 some odd people were waiting in line. It was towards the end of January and bitterly cold, yet no one seemed to mi. Two HUGE tour busses waited outside the store, as we watched pizza and water get delivered to them. They shuttled us into the guitar center in droves, they had everyone sign the exact waivers mentioned in this video, and as you were waiting to audition, you could hear people playing for five seconds and getting the cut sign. Right when I was about to go into audition, a model was rushed to the front of the line to take pictures and pose with a guitar for an article about auditioning for Limp Bizkit for Seventeen magazine. Finally, I auditioned and was able to play a full song which lasted about four minutes. When I asked about the next step, they just said come back here at 9pm for the announcement. I came back and all the local news outlets were there interviewing contestants, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, they announced that after 500 auditioned, they chose one guy to jam with LB, I had met this person earlier, and he said he was filming a documentary about the band. Fred and the rest of the band then walked through their security and entered the store. All in all, it was a once in a lifetime experience, I am glad I did it, but in hindsight it was a huge publicity stunt.
Too Long Durst Read
@@darcytucker416 I stuck with it to the end and regret it.
I went to this in Denver and my experience was just about the same as yours. The whole thing was so poorly organized, and the waivers along with the filming and recording was subject, IMO. Got in to play and when they started telling me what they wanted hear ("Play us a verse...Play what you think is a chorus part....Play us an intro"), I knew they were Riff-farming.
@@darcytucker416 only thing that's too long is your unintelligent lifespan.
So have you heard your song show up on any of their albums yet haha
This dude just blew past the whole 'I sh** my pants on the ride over' thing, huh.
Yeah, I wanted to know more about that
That made me laugh so hard! 🤣🤣🤣
Yes, this guy sounds like a delusional mess. I’ve never crapped my pants once in my entire life and this guy does it so often that he can just nonchalantly say it in passing in an interview with zero hangups about it like it’s the most normal thing in the world.
IKR?? I feel like that bit required further explanation.. Did he have extra pants? Did he do a quick raccoon bath at a gas station? Did he just let it chill and rock his poo pants?? You can't just gloss over that kind of information and go on with the story like pooping your pants on the freeway en route to guitar center to audition for limp bizkit is a totally unimportant part of the story. Once the information has been presented it is the storytellers obligation to present further details. It's only right, SMH.
I'm pretty sure having skidded pants is one of the demands when looking to join limp bizkit
I was working at the Guitar Center in Queens, NY when they pulled this stunt. After a year and a half there, I can say that the single worst day was when I had to deal with this crap.
🤣
I made it into the audition. This guy is correct about the vibe. Immediately I could tell it was a uncoordinated and a haphazard promotion that was about publicity. As I watched folks going in and out of the room, I noticed it was not a long audition and they were complaining about the amp provided. At this point, I knew if I got in, actually trying to audition was pointless, so I decided to change what I was going to do in the audition. After 7 hours, I got in. I plugged in, took 5 seconds or so to "crack my knuckles," to look like I was getting prepared, took another second or two to take a deep breath, turned around, kicked the amp as hard as I could, knocking it over, then threw my guitar across the room into the wall, thanked them, then walked out. I was immediately tackled by some guys and physically thrown out. As I hit the pavement outside, I screamed "Should I call you? Or wait for you guys to call me?" At the time, I figured it would be the only way to stand out in this "audition" and figured if Durst was actually interested in some random dude, when he got word of my audition, it would impress him. Still waiting for that call...
Ta for the laugh mate, needed that.
After all these years...Wes is back, those auditions didn't lead to a guitarist at the end of their promo stunt.
But your story lives on and I laughed, so it wasn't all done in vain my friend.
Keep on kickin' those amps!
I can't believe you wasted that much time to make up a shit story was 🤣
God bless you for not buying into their scam. They would have stolen your riffs anyway.
That's one of the greatest thing I've heard in a long time!! I'm pretty sure I could have a beer with you 🤣
Guitarist Mike Smith (Ex-Snot) actually did an admirable job. That album ‘Results May Vary’ was LB’s last top 10 album, #3, was their last platinum album, and had some really good tracks.
I agree completely, he definitely fell victim to the whole 'Van Halen Singer' thin. It was a cursed role right from the get go, whoever replaced Wes would've gotten shat on. Eat You Alive is a great track and all in all I thought Results May Vary was a really solid album!
But didn’t Mike rarely wrote on that album
@@drmike5325 Mike rarely wrote or was he excluded, not present during the writing process, or had songs he contributed to get scrapped? 🤔
From LB’s “Results May Vary” Wikipedia page:
“Limp Bizkit scrapped many of Smith's sessions, recording another album that was also scrapped.”
“Durst wrote over 30 songs (for “RMV”) with Limp Bizkit drummer John Otto and the band's bassist, Sam Rivers.”
I thought he was such a great addition, man. I dug what they ended up doing on the record.
The Unquestionable Truth went platinum worldwide. New Old Songs Remix album nobody talks about went multi platinum in 2002
I auditioned in the DC area. I Got to play live through our local AM talk station DC101 and that got me a jump in the line. I was like #30 out of 300. So later that night after my In studio appearance and playing live on DC101 that am. I went to the guitar center in Rockville. Waited in line , I went in and jammed for about 60 seconds and that was it . I did get some pizza , and Fred Durst showed up. He signed a beer can and my Ibanez RG 7-string. I got drunk, chilled with my GF and met some cool people, as well as playing live on my local AM talk radio station. Walked away with a fun experience and a story to tell.
Smell my face!!!
As far as I know, Page Hamilton from Helmet was the only person Limp Bizkit tried to replace Wes Borland with. He turned them down but agreed to work with them on a couple of tracks for Results May Vary. Those tracks were never used or released.
Page Hamilton, Rivers Cuomo and Al Jourgensen all worked with the band on some tracks but those never made the cut.
@@Malum09 They would have had to split royalties if they put it on the record. Which means less money for Fred Durst.
I didn't know that; as a huge Helmet fan, thank you for sharing. That's very interesting. (I haven't - as of yet - watched the upload... I'm a "pre-game comments skimmer", lol...) Have a good one! ✌️
@@justagirlandherphone Love Helmet. Their 1st record (Strap It On) was the blueprint for Nu-Metal. I'm sure Page thought long and hard about joining. It would've been a nice cash grab for him. At that point he had a band called Ghandi you may heard about that he was trying to get labels interested in. Eventually, he was convinced by a major label head to reform Helmet. Cheers.
@@Malum09uncle Al worked with them? I’m a ministry fan and never knew that or did and forgot lol.
Can never replace wes, he was the whole reason I liked that band
Seriously from the makeup to the actual guitar sound that he contributed to limp Bizkit it's actually kind of crazy how much that guy contributed to the sound and energy of that band. I mean The haunting guitar on my way was the moment that I realized the band could actually come up with seriously emotional songs for Christ's sake and that was just one example because I actually I'm not a pretentious person I love limp Bizkit but yeah without their guitar sound I don't think that band would have been the same at all
There’s never been a reason for liking “Limp.”
Who?
Borland's unique riffs and guitar tunings along with his stage and music video attire, including his iconic contact lenses is what really solidified the band's sound and image...for me personally anyway. More so than Durst's backwards red cap and distinct vocal delivery. Borland really was just irreplaceable.
great drummer too
Hey man, this was a cool format. You should start doing interviews with people like this, who have crazy stories to tell about famous bands!
Agreed 💯 dude
He didn't do interviews. He's just reading statements from other people's interviews
Fun Fact:
C.C. Deville of POISON was in L.B. for about a month around this period.
Thats got to be a lie they'd never get c .c Deville from posion
That Tripp Eisen dude who was with Static-X for an album that turned out to be a pedophile was a hair/glam metal straggler from the 80's so this actually wouldn't surprise me at all.
Dude really loved Ayn Rand too. Poor taste all around.
I remember this vividly! This is prior to Social Media, in an era when the record labels and the bands could treat ppl like sh*t! Today, this would’ve been an even bigger fiasco!
I said women in their inbox today treat men how celebrities used to treat their fans before internet
@@themadrapper101 i lol'd at this. thx!
Mike Smith and I worked together for a few years. I had just come off tour with a national band at the time so him and I hit it off really well. He is one of the nicest and coolest guys I’ve ever met, and a hell of a guitar player. He had a bunch of awesome stories haha. Love ya Mike!!
I saw the band From First to Last perform back in 2006 during their tour for the Heroine album in a small dingy VFW Hall in southern Illinois and Wes Borland was playing bass for them during that period. I had no clue he was even in the band until that night I saw them live and I couldnt tell for sure because his stage attire was so weird even by Wes Borland standards, he was literally playing in dirty tighty whitey underwear, tube socks and had like black and grey make up smeared all over his body.. I kept thinking their bassist looks like Wes Borland! This was still pre social media era where you couldnt find anything instantly about a band. The whole night I was thinking, no way he'd be playing in a smaller band like From First to Last... in a VFW hall where the stage was so small and I was so close right in front of the band. I kept shouting his name and he finally acknowledged me and I was holy crap. Then after the show I hung out w him and he was like were you calling my name during the show? It just blew my mind because Limp Bizkit was my favorite band during the late 90s playing huge shows like big day out fest and the first time I got to see one of my fav guitarist Wes in concert, he was playing bass in From First to Last lol.
I watched them get booed off stage in (i think) 2005 at House of Blues Orlando. They were on tour opening for Rise Against and Bad Religion, the punk kids did not like them.
Making Wes play bass is like giving a surgeon a butter knife
1:50 Fred saying that Wes told him that 'their entire genre of music was over' ended up being pretty accurate. Nu metal really started to peter out around 2002-2003. A couple years later pop punk and EMO exploded and took over.
Nu-Metal was a Total Request Live fad for people to call in and vote for in opposition to boy bands and newer major label female pop singers.
I remember watching one day to see "Do The Evolution" by Pearl Jam get "honorable mention" or whatever the equivalent was and lose out to what amounted to people calling in to vote for the lesser of two evils "Democrat versus Republican" style.
The other thing that I found funny was that the two best bands of that short-lived genre never even made it. Nu-Metal had popularity for the rap elements it would incorporate, and the better ones who didn't incorporate rap weren't popular. Eminem was the best thing that TRL ever aired, and once TRL started to die off so did Nu-Metal.
But nu-metal is still alive and well today. Just look at Korn. They’re still killin it
Metalcore was the shit aswell 😄
The 2000s were the last decade of good music. By the early 2010s everything became the same poop that is put out today. All sounds the same , and it gets more and more vapid every year
@@rocketman8476 they're still limping along, but I wouldn't describe that as, "killing it," unless the 'it' is a reference to their aging bodies.
I really think it was about outsized talent. Wes Borlan was the great talent behind that group. Alot of people didn't understand what Fred Durst brought - it wasn't his lyrics or ability to sing. It was promotion. He understood the game and knew how to keep everyone talking about them. That is something every band needs if they're going to be on top - a hype man so to speak
Yeah I totally agree with you, it may sound cold or bitter, but hey, business are like that, when you enter an industry like music, it's killed or be killed, he may be a bastard, a scammer and a lot other bad things, but in the end he is just another salesman, and a salesman has to do what he has to do to sell anything.
Yeah, that's what managers are for, to be in an office with delusions of grandeur and not on a stage. I'd rather have a frontman who gives two shits about the music instead of using it as a means to an end. Fred set a good example of how to be a manipulator and a horrible example of being a person that actually gives a shit about how music (or even something stupid like ethics) affects people.
@@NeurocideVIbeKILLa I'm not saying you have to like the guy or his morals. I'm just pointing out that every band needs the guy within it that is their marketing and business guy. Why do you think Metallica keeps Lars Ulrich, for example? He's an average drummer at best, outsized in talent by the rest of them. However, NO ONE does the deals, the handshakes and promotion the way Lars does it. He's the secret key to their huge success.
I’m not a fan in the least of Bizkit but the musicians in the band are all great players. My understanding is that outside of being a good promoter is that Fred feeling the vibe of what the musicians are writing is his contribution and I guess he’s a charismatic dude so it amps them up. Similar to Lars in Metallica where he’s a weaker member musically but he’s involved in the writing (he arranges songs with James which is a skill) so he makes up for it in other ways. Bands are weird. Outside of your role as the guitar or bass player you may write or arrange or produce songs. And sometimes an average musician who contributes in other ways is a way better fit than someone technically better.
Being in a band is less about technical ability too and more about how well you click with your band members. Its really hard to find people you like being around 24/7 while touring, let alone have the same musical taste and play well together. That's why some bands have "average" musicians but sound great, and some virtuoso super groups don't.
Sounds like the plan was, "We just lost the guy who writes our riffs, so let's pull a fake stunt to get a bunch of our fans to unwittingly donate _their_ most Limp-Bizkit-like riffs to us, and then we can make another album." And then, of course, word got out about the shady contest, and the band panicked and ditched the plan, and then called Borland back to apologize.
That's total BS. You obviously don't know anything about the band or what happened with Wes.
@@Braazen that's absolutely the way it went down if you wanna believe it or not. Sounds like you got your little feelings hurt 😆😆. they hold a audition and make these ( unsigned ) musicians sign a paper stating limp biscuit can use the songs/riffs that are presented to the band and they don't have to give credit or pay royalty for using them if they decide to use it. In my book they are a bunch of scumbags for trying that. I always hated there music but I at least give em respect for being musicians that made it big. But now that respect Vanished like a fart in the wind.
@@MADMAX-vd8pr Sounds a little biased to me. Of course it was a publicity stunt but since they never used those riffs in any of their songs people clearly had to sign this agreement for the sake of the MTV documentary. 🤷♂️
@@Braazen Oh no, what if I'm wrong about this? I should have known better, thank you.
This was one of your best episodes yet. I really enjoyed it, thanks.
I remember when this happened. The online punk/hc zine Buddyhead got ahold of some documentation of the agreement that the guitarists had to sign, and buried in the fine print was a clause stating that Limp Bizkit legally owned any riffs they recorded during the audition. The prevailing theory was that Fred, who'd just started learning to play guitar, was trying to get free ideas for the next Wes-Borland-free Limp Bizkit album.
Probably. Fred has his talents but playing an instrument and writing songs are not among them. In a way I understand it but it still sucks. I wonder if any of the people who actually got in to play hear any of their stuff on the album that followed the next year?
@@joeanthony7759 Yeah, I wonder about that too. The album was super poorly received, so I doubt anyone was going to make a big deal out of proving that they had musical input into it.
By owned , it's most likely the physical copies and not rights to the riffs.
This interview is literal GOLD, definitely worth sticking around for till the end!
I loved the interview portion, hope to see more.
A member of my band was a part of this. This is all 100% legit. He got to the 2nd round, others got cut off after 5 seconds. They were just looking for riffs and publicity.
LB band photos always cracked me up… buncha regular looking dudes and one f@ckin’ space alien!
"Things Didn't Go Well" and Fred Durst in the same sentence are synonymous.
Wes Borland is such a slept on guitarist
What are you talking about? Everyone loves him.
Christopher Arp won the guitar center contest.
Arp is extremely slept on.
I loved Wes Borlan. Hated Limp Bizkit LOL 😂
Slept on BY DUDES!!! 🤣 Got em!
Not really a slept on guitarist when everyone who shits on LB subsequently sucks off Wes. If anything, the guy filling in for Wes, Mike Smith, is a slept on guitarist.
Just found this channel but I am really digging it, keep up the great work
Thanks! We’ve got years of content on our channel and plenty more
Coming out this year
Marcus Henderson plays guitar in my band and this interview is fucking cracking me up!!!!
I used to live in Virginia Beach when this situation was going on. The major rock station down there actually banned all limp Bizkit songs from being played on the radio due to all of the shenanigans that were going on
Does that happen to have Rumble in the morning? I actually wondered why they never played LB.
That was bloody awesome. Loved it. Can we have more of that please?
Favorite video so far. Thank you.
Borland was right when he said he felt their brand of music was over. By 2002 it definitely was on its way out and he had the semblance of mind to see the writing on the wall. It was about getting out while the getting was good.
Absolutely not. 2002 Nu Metal was still in (Do I need to list all of the albums?) and did not die over midnight after New Years January 1st 2002.. September 11th 2001 heavy music took a hit, but Nu Metal remained on top until 2004.. Nu Metal stayed second or third behind all other trends in Rock for the rest of the decade of the 2000's. I remember 2002 and did not think oh man Disturbed, Linkin Park, Slipknot and all that is so last year!
2003 Nu Metal was #1 so how could it be "dead" by 2002? Even in 2004 Linkin Park Meteora, Slipknot Vol. 3 carried the torch. It was around 2005 the next wave of rock music took over. Emo, Indy, whatever I wasn't listening to that tight pants shit. Disturbed 10 Thousand Fists is a Nu Metal album one of their most popular and second best album came out 2005 so the BS about it being done by 2002 is not true. Cracks in it's shield yes.
Yet Borland came back to fly completely under the radar with the album Golden Cobra.
@themadrapper101 I also said it was on its way out, and stand behind that. We were just on the cusp of bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Put Boy, The Killers, the list goes on, but it was a seismic shift away from Nu-Metal.
@@themadrapper101 I take it I touched a nerve.
Even after all these years it still feels good to talk about Limp Bizkit in past tense.
Oddly enough Fred durst and his success basically being an a****** who waited his turn in life to be an a****** and then uses it and enjoys it so much is actually kind of inspiring LOL when you think about it you know?
WORD 🎉
Indeed!
They’re still headlining major festivals globally. Sorry- no past tense.
Yeah dude , they’re amazing live . Watching Borland play is the best part of it all
Interesting video and very thorough interview. Next time tho, please, throw on an image for background during the interview, anything.
I love your content and pretty much watch everything. But this one was really great!
My guitar teacher at the time tried out for this at the New Orleans location and the story he told is almost exactly what is discussed by others in this video and comments section. Absurd contracts, "you have 60 seconds, starting now," general feeling of apathy and exploitation.
Really makes you think of the opposite like Randy Rhoads who would sit down with you and listen to you play and make you better. This contest sounded like a cattle call. Wouldn't you want the person to play your songs to see if they had what it takes. Just seems like a sham.
I went to the Colorado audition at Guitar Center. The line was wrapped around the building but I remember being excited and having a good time. Just before the line moved me inside GC, this tall guy wearing camo cargo pants and a black ski mask on his face walked past everyone in line right and stopped at the front entrance to yell and incite the crowd a bit before he walked inside and disappeared.. everyone decided it was Wes because of how his voice sounded which was kinda confusing, but I just figured he was still supporting the band and sitting in to help them find the new member. When I got in to audition, they are right about the amp. You would’ve thought Guitar Center would’ve had a Mesa dual rectifier half stack or something but it was this little $50 practice amp. I brought my Metal Zone pedal with me though so I was set lol. I ripped the coolest song I wrote for the rap-metal band I was in at the time.. which had a solo section that was the the highlight of the song. I played the entire song for these executives, and the guy in charge told me I sounded really good but wasn’t right for Limp Bizkit, but he gave me his Business card and told me to contact him when I put a band together. I left happy with that. I remember tacking that business card to the wall in my room and would look at it and fantasize about starting a better band and hitting him up.. don’t remember when but I lost the card at some point, now it’s just a careless whisper..
In an alternate universe you are in a huge band headlining festivals and dating supermodels
pft, one of your friends stole that shit off the wall....lmao
A friend of mine from when we were in music school in L.A. went to the audition. He had to wait through that long line, but when he read that point in the contract about LB having copyright of your stuff he walked right out. Also, there were rumors in the line about LB having already decided who they would use as their guitar player, and it wasn't going to be anyone from the audition.
Cool video, like a change in format now and then. Crazy story that like the guy said would have been ROASTED online nowadays
I worked at Guitar Center during this fiasco... Not good people, they only got off their bus for 15 minutes.
I auditioned for this also at Guitar Center in Rockville Maryland and got a call back and got to play with the band it was pretty clear from the beginning that it was all just publicity as even then it was already being openly discussed in the auditions that Mikey from snot was going to be the replacement
I think they did something nice and gave 1000s of guitar players a look inside the industry. Who would ever replace replace a guitar player of that level for someone who hasn’t played or been in a real band. Too much of a violent learning curve
man i wish i could listen to ur nu metal riff
I just was your video and happened to see myself in it. The footage of the Guitar Center was from the Queens store in NYC. I happened to work for GC back then and I was the one letting the players into the Pro Audio room that they took over for the tryout. It was the busiest I had ever seen GC, But the band did end up jamming with a few people that day when the store closed. I still have my badge from when I worked it.
I auditioned in Virginia Beach. At the time, I had already been in a popular band in Denver, been endorsed by Fender, had worked with many major label record producers in Denver and Los Angeles, and had just started working as a music professor. I did it more for fun as I had no delusions of "making it." - I had already done the rock band thing and was transitioning to academia.
This video is 100% spot on: I knew just to write riffs on the spot, and I know I write good ones; but I had no more than 60 seconds in front of someone on their crew, you couldn't touch the amp, and sounded horrific. Durst deserves his terrible reputation. He is a class a tool and the band's fall from grace truly makes me happy.
Yeah Fred seems like a loser, I've never seen anything about him that made me respect him as a musician, singer, or person in general.
You are the living embodiment of, "those who can't, teach." lol
man pls i wanna listen to ur nu metal riff,u sound like great guitarist
I auditioned during this promotional stunt in Jacksonville. I had no interest in actually joining the band, the only member I liked in LB was Wes. But I thought it'd make for a cool experience and a good story later in life. It was the dead of winter, freezing outside, and I wasn't prepared for the cold. Was several hours before I made it in, and by then I was tired, sore from shivering (my little windbreaker was no match for the cold wind gusts that day, it was much warmer in Orlando when I left that morning) and my hands were in no shape to really do anything. So, I walked in and set my guitar case on the floor and faced what I assumed were the judges, none of whom were in the band or recognizable as anyone of note. Not a verbatim quote (would have been nice to have a smartphone to record it way back then), but I basically said "Thanks for allowing me to audition, but I've just spent several hours in the freezing cold, my hands are in no condition to play anything that would be remotely impressive enough to get a callback, so I'm not going to waste your time with what would be a very embarrassing attempt." I stuck around because I thought there would be members of the band there during the audition, but apparently they couldn't be bothered. I still probably lasted a lot longer than the few players I saw enter the room before me. But I did get a good story out of the entire process. I also still have the guitar pick they gave me when I walked in, so yay?
What guitar did they give you?
@@WolverineTheApex They didn't give me a guitar. They gave me a guitar pick.
if someone told me i had 60 seconds to play guitar I'd smack him with it and call it a drum solo.
🤣
One of your best pieces. Great work.
I like one song of theirs, Phenomenon!
But this was a entertaining report and the interview was great.. had me busting a gut!
Dennis
62 years
Austin, TX
Fred - our guitarist always felt like an outsider and had his own dressing room
Wes Borland - Literally an alien like from the men in black movies
Wait is he the one that gets chased in the beginning? I always thought that looks like Wes Borland.
Wow, straight ripped people off to thier face. Wes got it right.
Minute 8:06 is the mention of this guy that spoke spanish. Living in Latin America i was a young teen and MTV would promote de contest alot. Apparently in L.A. they "had chosen" this guy with "Porno" as his nickname last name Kempes. So Mtv Latinamerica would constantly play this small segment were this Kempes guy would talk about him getting chosen for like the next stage of the contest. I mean they drove that so much its been 20 years and I still remember Porno Kempes and his crazy goggles and how he supposedly had a chance at Limp Bizkit. There was a sense in pride like "oh a Latino could end up being a part of Limp Bizkit."
Aw man I wish you would have mentioned Chris ARP who auditioned. He is the mastermind behind the band PSYOPUS and is THE MOST original and amazing metal guitarist of the past 20 years. If you’re not familiar look him up he’s a one of a kind and incredible
I was hoping it would lead up to that... What a bummer, Chris arp is fuckin insane on the guitar!
Yessir couldn't agree more. Arp is like Jaco.. a real artist
@@JaMeshuggah nobody is like Jaco, but yeah Arp is great
You sir should not give recommendations on things, next you’ll say eat out of the trash cause it has a large variety
Haha holy fuck
My friend who had a license and a car at the time was actually willing to drive me to the closest city where they had those auditions. I never did go. Turns out it wouldn’t have mattered either way!
Sounds like the plot to an awesome early 2000's buddy comedy
@@markl5998
It really could have been! 😂 I was the guitar player and he was the gamer. He had an old 60’s mustang his parent’s fixed up for him.
There is no "replacing" Wes Borland.
Awesome show
I gotta admit I was all in on the first 2 albums. Their style was so unique but it got old really quickly. But they were also major beneficiaries of that early TRL era. Along with people like the backstreet boys, NSYNC, Britney spears, Christina Aguilera and even Eminem
My wife's cousin auditioned. He was pissed.
My wife's boyfriend was pissed too
This is what made me worry about employees stealing riffs at any guitar store.
I tried out for Limp Bizkit at Guitar Center in MA when I was 17. My parents brought me and it was truly an all day affair. The try out process was pretty much what was described in the video and I do remember having to wait for the results all day in a parking lot. I do remember that no one was chosen and I never saw anyone from the band. The guys that were in the tryout booth were clearly record label tools that seemed to just be there to check a box. At the age of 17 even I figured out it was all a bunch of crap. I convinced my parents to let me spend the money I saved to buy my first car on a bitchin Ibanez 7 string. I think they felt bad for me lol
This is wild. I remember this so vividly from back in the day and it captured my 12 year old imagination really hard. Interesting to hear the scam laid out 20 years later. Cheers.
I was there, I went just for fun because it was near me in Texas at the time. It was kind of a sham. They gave everyone maybe a minute tops. There was a theory that they just used it to get a bunch of riffs they could catalog and mine for ideas later, which wouldn't surprise me lol.
I met a few cool people and we are still friends to this day. That's the only good thing to come out of it.
I’m cracking up about all the comments saying nu-metal is dead or has died back in the mid 00’s. Did you all forget about a little band called Korn? They haven’t stopped. Even RATM is making a come back. Mushroomhead and Slipknot are still going strong…plenty of nu metal bands doing well and keeping the genre alive. It’s not dead, just not as mainstream as others have risen to take its place over the decades
I would go so far to say the "modern" variation of nu metal is today quite popular again than ever since it's downfall. Exactly because people who grew up with it, take it as heavy influence for their music ideas today.
Wes wearing a Mr Bungle t-shirt in one of those pics demonstrates his taste in music.
I was working at capitol at the time doing composing work for bands. They did hold rehearsals behind closed doors but only a hand full of people. This was just promo for the band. They were talking about having them for a few songs on tv or a show but that’s it.
I remember this. I was one of them. And for some dumb reason, being a teenager, I thought I'd actually meet them. Nah. Not at all. The whole thing was a sham.
Glad I didn't bother trying out. Remember hearing about it. Sounds like a nightmare having to wait and treated like crap. Then they can rip off your riffs.
The story was legendary back in the day about the contest. It was crazy times at the time.
Yeah I was at the one off lovers lane in dallas.was a cool experience i got autographs from the band and alot of cool stuff from 97.1 was really cool to meet robert miguel and Cindy skull
Wes Borland was the only good thing about that trainwreck.
I went to one of these and this review is spot on. They gave most people less than 60 seconds, there were hundreds of people in line, the amp sounded like garbage. I wasn't made, just figured they had something specific they were looking for and some method for finding it. Was a huge fan at the time. Actually stopped listening to them when I found they were releasing censored albums with the vulgarity removed. I was like, are you a metal band or some corporate outfit?
Corporate outfit lol. This is why genuine metalheads loathe limp bisquick
I remember when this happened because living in Buffalo at the time it was such a hyped up event that Likp Bizkit was going to be a the local guitar center. Never heard anything about it after it happened
I had a friend that was a pretty, damn good guitar player, I was in two different bands with him, he went to one of these things, and he actually drove out of state to go. He said he ended up standing in line forever, and he mentioned there was probably close to 1000 people if not more in line and he never even got to get close to the door of the building before they just called the whole thing off. It definitely sounds like a scam, but I don’t know what the purpose of the scam was because it doesn’t sound like people were shopping in guitar center while they were waiting in line because they would’ve lost their spot in line. Everyone that I’ve talk to that has worked at a guitar center said that all it really did was just completely ruined business for the day because they couldn’t even run their stores the way they normally run the store that day the guitar players in line for the auditions weren’t shopping and anyone else that would’ve normally went in there that day stayed away because of the chaos that was going on. So it sounds like all that really happened was that Limp Bizkit just pissed off thousands of guitar players across America for no reason at all.
The guitar player story tho’ 😂😂😂 how do you s**t your pants the day of, show up with nothing prepared, and expect to get a gig?! C’mon!
I started at GC in St. Louis a few months after they held the auditions at my location. Limp B and their crew stole a $2600 PRS guitar from us. Someone in their crew kept picking it up and playing it all day/evening and remarking how nice it was. The next day, there was a shitty Squier Strat (that wasn't ours and not even in our inventory) hangin right where that PRS was. MF'ers stole it.
Wow that’s so f’d up sorry
They should've checked security cameras and pressed charges. Would have been righteous karma.
@@zacksguitarhacks6390 sadly no security cameras then and even now!
@@its_ya_boi_thurston (driving to GC St Louis)
@@JA-re8gi As a wise admiral once said: *IT'S A TRAP!*
My brother tries out when they came to DC. I stood in line with him for 10 hours in the rain. It was actually a fun and very memorable day.
On the other hand, if limp bizkit came out with a song that sounded like one of those contestants riffs, they could be sued. I dont think the contracts were to steal from them but for protection.
Limp, creed and korn being on top of the music business was a dark time for the music business and one I'd like to forget.
ofc those are dark times the ppl who listen to those music bully u right? those guys probably still fckd ur wife (thats if u have one lol)
@@GregKhar-NU-Metalhead2000 🤣🤣🤣🤣
What was wrong with Korn?
wonder if Marcus ever released the Little Tuna song that was at the end of Guitar Hero's songs making off
i like Bizkit, But when Wes Borland left, and did his own projects, a coup0le were awesome. My Fav was Black Light Burns. Awesome band. The song "these four walls" was killer.
Was just coincidentally blasting Results May Vary yesterday.. Trim a couple filler songs off and add a couple of the songs that didn't make the cut on and it's a great album for me. Underneath the Gun, Build a Bridge, Let Me Down, Almost Over, Gimme a Mic, All Radio is Dead are my favorite tracks. It's a long album, go check the over a dozen tracks that were made for the album but didn't make it and should of been released as a B-Sides disk. Including Crack Addict which was promoted as the lead single by being the theme song for Wrestlemania 19...
For anybody who's saying Nu Metal was dead by New Years 2002 don't know what they're talking about. After 9/11/2001 was the beginning of the end of Nu Metal being the top sound in popular rock but it still remained on top of the charts by Nu Metal bands up to 2004-2005. For the rest of the decade it faded out. It wasn't a quick death like with hair metal when it got to 1991
Looking back Limp Bizkit did ok without Borland but it's like not having Slash in GNR.
I think they should’ve released RMV as a double disc. So many great b sides that didn’t make the album. Crack Addict, Press Your Luck, Poison Ivy, etc
While I didn't really care for that album overall, I agree that there's some decent stuff there, and Build a Bridge is one I can still enjoy to this day; Lonely World and Drown are alright as well.
I knew some Limp Bizkit fans in the late 90's/early 2000's but I had never heard about this contest until today. My first thought was that it was a cool idea in principle and I was about to defend Fred Durst with a "Say what you want about Fred Durst..." Statement until I heard the part about the 3 page contract. My God. And then of course Fred Durst had to be a jerk about it after it came to light that the contest was basically a scam and a shit show.
I remember when all of this happened and thinking about how many cities they were going to and how many people would probably show up to each audition and the numbers just sounded wrong. How could you judge any decent guitarist after playing for only 1 minute? Then they were supposed to choose a handful from those hundreds of guitarists to come play with the band later that night. There just didn't seem like there would be enough hours in a day for any of that to be feasible.
Hey man, that sway clip almost blew my speakers out...lol
Will Sasso does an AMAZING impression of Durst on Mad tV. Check it out. So funny
Fun fact: one of the people who entered the Limp Bizkit replacement guitarist contest was Christopher Arp of the ultra-technical Mathcore band Psyopus. Arp has a... pretty unique style of guitar playing that's based mostly around frantic high tapping and insane whammy bar tricks. Imagine a world in which you could hear Fred Durst rapping about how nobody understands him, man, over the sounds of a chopped-and-screwed malfunctioning spaceship. That we were denied such a world is both a great cruelty and a relief.
I've seen his audition lol. Psyopus is nuts and it was pretty great seeing that video haha
This dude Marcus Henderson is a GREAT storyteller lol I could've listened to his stories about for a while haha
Interview guy said "ostensibly" TWICE. Now that's talent. I woulda taken a step back to admire the second "ostensibly" as it hung in the air like a diamond. lol.
We laughed at this band back then and they are still a joke now.
ngl the cursing censoring is obnoxious
shame the dude didn’t record the call to expose it being just publicity stunt
but then why make people sign something that says their music can be used by the band lol
Yeah that cursing censoring thing during the interview was so janky and amateurish, my 9 year old niece could edit better than that! 😂
Any links to Mike smith’s music ?
This is one of your best videos and the would be contestant was a hoot.
I was in a band at the time and my guitar player went and auditioned for this. He did get to play for Fred in a room and he mentioned the little crappy amp too. I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Fred was a really DIY guy in the early days. I remember when 3 Dollar Bill was just releasing and they were playing in the parking lot of 7th Heaven to a little bitty crowd. Fred was really nice and hung out with everyone. He even let my buddy go on his bus and showed him a video of what would be the Counterfeit music video.
>he played for fred he was in the room, then he took my bandmate and showed him a private video on his bus!
lol your friend lied to your face, I guarantee you none of that happened.
Respect to Wes Boreland for having integrity.
he joined the band again when he ran out of money
I was at the Portland, Or. audition and did get to play in front of Fred for about 2 minutes with him sitting in the corner bobbin his head. All i played was my digital delay heavy warm ups. i too waited in line and wasnt going to play him anything i "wrote" after that waiver. i bought a 7 string Ibanez before leaving the store. I had lunch in the vegetarian joint that shared the lot, Sweet Tomatoes. Where Fred ended up gettin the table next to me. we chatted for a bit and i will say, his rep stands true. little dude with a huge ego chip on his shoulder hidden under that long fur coat. Funny enough, when he left that restaurant he was hit with a cream pie. he wasnt having a good day at that audition. ....i laughed my ass off seeing his 7ft tall bodyguard run off with the fur coat to the back to get it cleaned asap. ...true story.
...there's a ps to this story.
Oh I remember this one. 6:21 I remember a DJ from either 88.7 CIMX or 101.1 WRIF talking about this. I was never a big LB fan but this whole thing just showed me that they were a bunch of shady dirt balls.
I'd love to know exactly what went down between Mike Smith and the band, but my guess is we will never know.
It would’ve been amazing to go in with a fantastic riff from a highly unknown band. LB steals it, turns it into a hit song, so consequently LB gets sued 😂
Lol
Except they signed paperwork that Limp Bizkit owned any music played in the auditions
@@JasonJohnContos LB couldn’t legally hijack a pre-owned riff, that’s what I’m trying to say and why it would need to be something they wouldn’t recognize. That part of the paperwork is under the assumption the riffs are written by the person auditioning. It’s not like the dude could play master of puppets then LB would automatically own it. But they’d get kicked out of the audition with something recognizable.
Their popularity far exceeded their talent and Wes was the best musician in the band, so this devised scam shouldn’t surprise anyone.
I want more from the guy in SF. He was funny as hell and has some good stories.
I auditioned right here in Jacksonville Florida, i remember you had to sign away rights to whatever you played, I've always wondered how much original music was stolen from fans