Wes Borland

Wesley Louden Borland (born February 7, 1975) is an American rock musician.

He is the guitarist and backing vocalist of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative and industrial rock band Black Light Burns, and the co-founder of the experimental metal band Big Dumb Face.

Borland gained popularity when Limp Bizkit achieved mainstream success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He formed Big Dumb Face with his brother Scott in 1998 and left Limp Bizkit in 2001 to start side projects including Eat the Day and The Damning Well.

In 1998, Borland formed a side project, Big Dumb Face with his brother, influenced by Ween and Mr. Bungle.

Significant Other saw Limp Bizkit reaching a new level of commercial success.

The album climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 643,874 copies in its first week of release.

In 2000, Durst announced that the band's third studio album would be titled Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.

The press thought that Durst was joking about this title.

The album title is intended to sound like a fictional band; the phrase "Chocolate Starfish" referred to Durst himself, as he had frequently been called an asshole.

Borland contributed the other half of the album's title when the band was standing around at a truck stop, looking at bottles of flavored water, and Borland joked that the truck stop didn't have hot dog or meat-flavored water.

It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 1.05 million copies in its first week, and was the 18th best-selling album of the 2000s in the US.

After rejoining Limp Bizkit in 2004, Borland founded Black Light Burns, with whom he has released three studio albums and a covers album.

Limp Bizkit went on hiatus following the release of their album The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1) (2005).

However, the band's original lineup reunited in 2009 and recorded their fifth studio album, Gold Cobra (2011).

In 2016, Borland released his solo album Crystal Machete.

Borland is known for his sonic experimentation and elaborate visual appearance, which has included face and body paint, masks and uniforms.

He has drawn album covers and created artwork for many of his music projects as well as oil paintings.

Borland was voted number 37 in Total Guitar's Top 100 Guitarists of All Time.

Borland formed the label Edison Sound, which releases his own music projects.

Borland's initial interest in music took the form of drumming, but this ended quickly due to his parents' disapproval of percussive instruments in the home.

Borland then switched to taking guitar lessons from a member of his parents' Presbyterian church.

However, Borland quickly found his own musical tastes and interests at odds with local music trends which, due to his proximity to Nashville, skewed heavily towards country music.

He later recalled, "I would bring in something, and my teacher would go, 'I've never heard of The Damned. Don't you want to play some Merle Haggard?'"

When Borland's brother Scott took an interest in bass guitar, the two brothers began to play together.

Borland found his interest in hip hop music piqued with the release of "Bring the Noise", a collaboration between heavy metal band Anthrax and hip hop group Public Enemy.

Borland then relocated to Jacksonville, Florida with his parents where, disillusioned with the local music scene, he began attending the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.

While there, he explored other artistic endeavors, such as sculpture and special effects.

However, Borland continued his pursuit of music through guitar lessons, working with a guitar teacher that specialized in jazz music.

According to Borland, "My first teacher had ingrained playing by ear so much that, when my jazz teacher gave me a sheet of music and an audio tape to go with it, I would learn via the tape instantly, but I couldn't make myself learn the sheet music."

As his guitar skills continued to improve, Borland began to craft his own guitar parts and style.

Eventually, finding himself forced into church attendance and feeling a lack of interest in religion, Borland's frustration and confinement pushed him to move out of his parents' house at the age of 18.

Borland joined Limp Bizkit, a band formed by Fred Durst, Sam Rivers and John Otto.

Limp Bizkit developed a cult following in the underground music scene, particularly at the Milk Bar, an underground punk club in downtown Jacksonville, Florida.

The band attracted crowds by word of mouth and covering George Michael's "Faith" and Paula Abdul's "Straight Up"; the band also gave energetic live performances in which Borland appeared in bizarre costumes.

Borland's theatrical rock style was the primary attraction for many concert attendees.

After DJ Lethal joined the band as a turntablist, Borland left Limp Bizkit after a disagreement with Durst.

However, Borland rejoined after the band signed with Mojo, a subsidiary of MCA Records.

After a dispute with Mojo, Limp Bizkit signed with Flip, a subsidiary of Interscope Records, and recorded their debut, Three Dollar Bill, Yall, which featured an abrasive, angry sound.

Although the album was met with minimal response, touring consistently increased Limp Bizkit's success, and the third single from Three Dollar Bill, Yall, "Faith", became a radio hit, leading to a slot on Ozzfest, a tour organized by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.