Ixnay on the Hombre

By the time The Offspring began writing new material for their fourth studio album in 1995–1996, they were the biggest act of Epitaph's roster and had originally declined to leave the label before signing a recording contract with Columbia Records. Following the widespread commercial success of the band's previous album, Smash, frontman Dexter Holland wanted The Offspring to release more albums on Epitaph, or remain on the label for a long time. However, tensions were encountered when Epitaph founder and Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz decided to sell Smash to a major label in "return for a royalty override on it," an action that the band did not like. Gurewitz had approached several major labels, such as Geffen, Capitol and Sony, in attempt to sign The Offspring. "Pay the Man" was one of the songs recorded during the Ixnay on the Hombre sessions but instead ended up being released on Americana. "Change the World" is a further development of the unnamed hidden track that appeared at the end of the previous album Smash (in which the guitar riff follows the same melody as the lead guitar in "Genocide"). "Change the World" itself contains a hidden track, a brief spoken piece by Larry "Bud" Melman of The David Letterman Show. ==Release and reception==

Ixnay on the Hombre was released on February 4, 1997, and is the first Offspring album distributed via Columbia Records. Their former label Epitaph Records released it in Europe because of disagreements between the band and the label's founder Brett Gurewitz. The band was able to release its album on Columbia for the US and other international releases but had to complete the album release in Europe through Epitaph. The Offspring would continue releasing albums on Columbia until it was announced in early 2013 that they had fulfilled their contract with the label. Ixnay on the Hombre peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The AllMusic review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine awards the album 2.5 stars and states: "Ixnay on the Hombre sounds like a competent hard rock band trying to hitch themselves to the post-grunge bandwagon." ==Touring and promotion==

The Offspring toured relentlessly for almost a year to promote Ixnay on the Hombre. Prior to its release, they headlined the Big Day Out tour in Australia in January–February 1997, along with Soundgarden and The Prodigy. The Ixnay on the Hombre tour kickstarted on February 11, 1997, at Foothill in Long Beach, California, with One Hit Wonder, who had just been signed to Holland's label Nitro Records. A week later, they played five shows in the East Coast of the United States with The Joykiller, which was followed by a ten-date tour with AFI and Strung Out and a European tour with The Vandals and Lunachicks. The Offspring continued to tour over seven-month period from May to December 1997, which included U.S. tours with AFI/L7, Voodoo Glow Skulls/The Joykiller and Hagfish/One Hit Wonder/Good Riddance, as well as a Canadian tour with Doughboys, three Brazilian shows with Charlie Brown Jr., and four shows in Australia with The Living End. The Ixnay on the Hombre tour ended on December 18, 1997, in Osaka, Japan, with AFI supporting them. ==Track listing==

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. ;The Offspring • Dexter Holland – vocals, guitar • Noodles – guitar, backing vocals • Greg K. – bass • Ron Welty – drums ;Additional musicians • Jello Biafra – spoken word on "Disclaimer" • John Mayer – spoken word on "Intermission" • Calvert DeForest – spoken word on "Cocktail" and "Kiss My Ass" • Jason "Blackball" McLean – additional vocals on "Mota" • Paulinho da Costa – additional percussion • Davey Havok (credited as Davey Havoc) – backing vocals ;Production • Dave Jerden – production and mixing • Bryan Carlstrom – engineering • Brian Jerden – assistant engineering • Annette Cisneros – assistant engineering • Eddy Schreyer – mastering • Bryan Hall – guitar tech • Sean Evans – art direction • Enrique Chagoya – cover illustration • Lisa Haun – photography • Michael Bolkin – runner ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Singles ==Certifications==