North Florida Music Hall of Fame

Significant Other cover

Underdogs on the Jacksonville scene until frontman Fred Durst met bassist Fieldy from rap-metal band Korn after a show at Jacksonville’s Milk Bar in 1994. Durst, a tattoo artist, offered to do some free work for the band members, and they went over to his house. Durst gave a demo tape to the Korn members, who passed it on to their producer, Ross Robinson. Robinson shopped it around, which led to a tentative offer from Los Angeles-based Mojo Records, an MCA affiliate. The Bizkit boys traveled to L.A. to meet with Mojo’s owners, but the two parties didn’t get along, so the band went back to Jacksonville. At another Milk Bar show, Bizkit opened for a band signed to Flip Records, owned by New York real-estate scion Jordan Schur. Schur dug Limp Bizkit and agreed to fund the band’s recordings, which, after a year and a $1 million investment by Schur, were picked up by Interscope, another MCA affiliate. Constant touring and MTV exposure eventually earned the band a double-platinum album. Bizkit’s follow-up album sold more than 6 million; its third did more than 8 million. Bandleader Durst used the group’s success as a launching pad for his own career as a record exec, overseeing platinum albums by Staind and Puddle of Mudd. Durst is concentrating on acting and directing movies as well as developing new acts. He operates his own label, Flawless Records, which is distributed by Geffen/Interscope. Group has reunited for a 2009 tour after an eight-year hiatus. Also see Durst, Fred; also see Cold.