Offspring and Descendents Lead Singers On Why They Got Science PhDs

[Jonathan Whatley]

[The Offspring lead singer Dexter] Holland earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology in 2017 from the University of Southern California.… Holland is one of several punk singers who came up in the 1980s SoCal hardcore scene who have a Ph.D.… Greg Graffin of Bad Religion has a Ph.D. in zoology from Cornell, Milo Aukerman of Descendents has a Ph.D. in biology from UC San Diego, and Gregg Turner of the Angry Samoans has a Ph.D. in mathematics from Claremont….

“It’s not just punks in academics, it’s L.A. punks in academics,” Aukerman said. “L.A. punk wasn’t as nihilistic as punk that was, say, coming from New York and England. As part of not being that way, it may have attracted people who were more interested in being creative, and not so interested in anarchy and fucking shit up. If punk was going to be taking a lot of drugs and fucking shit up, I don’t think that would’ve attracted people like me.”…

I asked [Holland] if anyone in particular inspired him to be a lifelong learner. He cited Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, who also founded Epitaph Records. “People like Brett inspired me because he started his own label, and it inspired me to start my own label [Nitro Records],” he said. “There’s so much fun stuff out there and I want to experience it all. So it’s not exactly like, ‘I love to learn.’ It’s more like, ’Oh, that’s rad. I want to go do that.’”

How the Offspring’s Lead Singer Went from Punk to Ph.D.: Before delivering a med school commencement address, Dr. Dexter Holland explained his HIV research and the scientific origin of “Come Out and Play.” (Alex Scordelis, Vice, May 24, 2022)

[jsd]

The Descendents' first album was called "Milo Goes To College," and the cover was a "nerd" caricature of Milo Auckerman. The caricature would become the mascot for the band.

[Tedium]

Unrelated, but Dexter Holland of The Offspring loves hot sauce and has his own brand. Good tunes and hot food. Match made in Heaven.

http://www.gringobandito.com/

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Greg Gaffin of Bad Relgion also has a PhD in Zoology from Cornell. There’s something about punk singer and academia.

[jsd]

I have a lot of ties to the punk scene from when I was younger, so this is a fun topic for me.

[Alpha]

From a different generation, Brian May has his PhD in Astrophysics from Imperial
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May

[Jonathan Whatley]

Indie song but punk artist (former member of Propagandhi, maybe most famous for leading the Weakerthans): John K. Samson, "When I Write My Master's Thesis" via YouTube. It was an alternative rock chart hit in Canada.

“No more marking first-year papers
No more citing sources
So I left home, cried the bumpy ride to Highway 23
Started west
They'll be there to say that I don't need to take their stupid test
Greet me with banners and balloons and my hard drive smashed to pieces
Nothing left for me to save when I write my master's thesis
It's all gonna change when I write my master's thesis”

[jsd]

Love the Weakerthans, and it's amusing that it spawned from Propagandhi, which is a bit... different stylistically from The Weakerthans

[Jonathan Whatley]

Related: Trevor Hurst, lead singer and sole constant member of Canadian industrial/post-grunge group Econoline Crush since 1992, went back to school circa 2015 aged 45 to become a registered psychiatric nurse. The decision was connected to his recovery from alcohol.

Since his graduation in 2016 he's worked as a nurse on the Canupawakpa Dakota Nation, a First Nation of about 300 residents in rural Manitoba which had previously struggled to hire a nurse. He continues to perform with Econoline Crush.

Last summer, [former Canupawakpa Chief Lola] Thunderchild wanted to reciprocate Hurst's support to the community. So she brought eight vans filled with his clients to a music festival in southern Manitoba where Econoline Crush was performing.

Many were surprised to learn their beloved nurse was the lead singer of a Juno-nominated rock band.

"They were totally blown away seeing him rock like that onstage. They just loved that," Thunderchild said.

Lead singer of Econoline Crush trades mic for stethoscope to work as nurse on Manitoba First Nation (Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press via CBC News, February 10, 2024)
Econoline Crush lead singer performs at Calgary Recovery day, opens up about becoming nurse to help addicts (Carolyn Kury de Castillo, Global News, September 10, 2017)
An interview with Trevor Hurst of Econoline Crush (A Journal of Musical Things, November 11, 2022)

[ReyMysterioso]

I was the frontman of two punk bands and one punk-adjacent band and currently hold an MLA. A fellow alumni from my undergrad keeps INSISTING I need to get a ph.d, but I dunno... Not sure it's for me.

[bjcheung77]

Did they say why you should get the PhD? And did they say PhD specifically, so does that mean a DBA for example won't work? Hmm, a level 8 diploma and then Walden PhD in Management Completion comes to mind if you're looking at a PhD. Then there are the ABD options for DBA after the level 8 diploma...