Early Members

[Mega Man]

I know, this topic is brought up a lot, but never seems to go anywhere. What about the early members of the band from 1983-1985?

First thing's first Dexter and Greg were the core of the band, playing together since 1983. How I understand it, this wasn't really a band, just two buddies jamming together. It was in 1984 that the actual band was started when they got other members, and this period is easily the most unclear.

What we do know is Doug Thompson was the first singer, James Lilja was the first drummer (confirmed by Dexter), and Greg was [obviously] on bass. There's conflicting sources as to whether Dexter was on drums (before Lilja) or guitar during this first formation (it's unknown when he switched).

That brings us to the guitarist; Marcus Parrish. Sadly, his role has been mainly lost over time (not even being featured on the Wikipedia page). But he has remained active as a musician since his departure from the band, and a previous forum member has inquired about his role in the band (and whether he was featured on "Hopeless"), to which he replied:

No. I left before any recording was completed. There is a rough live jam of a song called "Private World" out there somewhere on cassette but who knows where that went. I do still keep in touch with Ron. He and Chris Higgins are the only current/former band memeber I know. Peace.

This is back in 2006, and the story is that him and Ron went to high school together. So I'd go as far as to assume that he was the first guitarist in '84, and his departure lead Dexter to pick up the role. That's just speculation, though.

Next, we have Jim Benton. I'm gonna be honest, I know absolutely nothing about him or his role in the band (except he was allegedly friends with Doug). The common word is that he was a drummer, but there's also those who claim he was a guitarist as well. It's believed that Lilja preceded Ron Welty, so Wikipiedia tried to fill the void by saying Benton played in between periods when Lilja wasn't in the band. Some even say he was the first drummer, which doesn't seem likely.

Not sure exactly when Noodles showed up in 1985, not like it matters, but it would be nice to know if he (or Dexter) played on "Hopeless." After his arrival in '85, the band became pretty solid as a four-piece band.

The only members accounted for today are Lilja, a successful gynecologist, and Parrish, still a guitarist. Thompson has sadly passed away around the time of Splinter.

[cool 2 hate 681]

Wow I never heard of this Marcus Parrish guy before good work also Dexter said in a interview with loveline Jim Benton was the first drummer in 1984

[Mega Man]

Thank you for that information!

I guess James may not have been their first drummer then. My source was Dexter's story behind "Beheaded," and how he mentions that "James was our first drummer, and this was before we even recorded our first record." I assumed this was also covering the Manic Subsidal days, but if he specifically mentioned 1984 when referring to Benton, then he was indeed their first drummer. I guess that would make sense, as it's been said that after Thompson was "forced out of the band," Benton followed suit. Guess it may not have been on the best terms.

[Oxygene]

I think the reason it's so confusing is because I don't really think it was a band, it was probably like "yeah let's start a band… ok go get the beer" you know just sitting around dicking about with instruments and stuff… who ever would sit at the drums would be the drummer you know, wether it was Dexter or someone else.

Also, it's not like they playing arena tours and opening up for the rolling stones, they were a bunch of nerds hanging around a garage. I don't think they thought it would ever become a thing, so they probably weren't even paying much attention.

[Mega Man]

Mr. Parrish does indeed have a Twitter, as he actually responded to me:
https://twitter.com/lovebombmusic/st...73858127024128

Maybe it's just me, but he doesn't seem to excited about the topic. I kept it short, and only asked what the lineup was at that point.

His music is also worth a listen to; I like the garage rock feel to it.

[Mega Man]

Marcus got back to me, and it seems as though he was a part of the first lineup, he says the lineup was:

Brian, Greg, Doug Thompson Jim Benton and me.

So The Offspring was always keen on having two guitars; I would love to hear that tape that they cut with Marcus.