The Offspring

The Offspring

The Offspring are an American punk rock band formed in 1984 in Garden Grove, California, and associated with the punk scene of Huntington Beach. The group begins as Manic Subsidal before adopting its current name in 1986. Its long-running core includes Dexter Holland on lead vocals and guitar and Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman on lead guitar. The band also includes or has included Greg K. Kriesel on bass, James Lilja, Ron Welty, Atom Willard, Pete Parada, Jonah Nimoy, Todd Morse and Brandon Pertzborn.

The band starts out in Cypress, California, where Holland and Kriesel play music together from 1983 before forming Manic Subsidal with Lilja and Wasserman the following year. Early rehearsals take place in Kriesel’s parents’ home, and the group plays its first shows in California. After changing its name, it issues its first single, “I’ll Be Waiting”, on its own Black Label imprint; an earlier version of the song appears as “Fire and Ice” on the compilation cassette Subject to Blackout. A demo tape also draws attention in the punk press. Lilja leaves in 1987 and Welty joins on drums. After another demo in 1988, the band signs to Nemesis Records.

The Offspring’s self-titled debut album appears in 1989, produced by Thom Wilson and released on vinyl and cassette. National touring follows. In 1991, the band records the Baghdad EP and another demo, which lead to a deal with Epitaph Records. Ignition follows in 1992 with tours in North America and Europe. Smash, released in 1994 and also produced by Thom Wilson, becomes the band’s commercial breakthrough. It includes “Come Out and Play”, “Self Esteem” and “Gotta Get Away”, and “Come Out and Play” gives the group much wider exposure. Smash sells more than 11 million copies worldwide and is often treated as a key release in the mid-1990s rise of mainstream interest in punk rock.

After Smash, the band tours widely in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia. In 1995 it regains the rights to its debut album and sets up Nitro Records, through which it reissues The Offspring and releases records by other punk bands. In 1996 it leaves Epitaph and signs to Columbia Records. Ixnay on the Hombre follows in 1997, with songs such as “Gone Away” and “I Choose”. Americana appears in 1998 and becomes one of the band’s most successful albums, with “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)”, “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “The Kids Aren’t Alright” all becoming major international singles. The album reaches number two on the Billboard 200.

The group appears as itself in the film Idle Hands and performs at Woodstock ’99 in 1999. Conspiracy of One follows in 2000. During its promotion, the band supports online music distribution and initially plans to make the album available through its own website. Welty leaves in 2003, and Josh Freese records the drum parts for Splinter later that year before Adam Willard becomes the drummer. The album includes “Hit That”. Greatest Hits appears in 2005, collecting material from Smash through Splinter alongside previously unreleased recordings, and a DVD of videos and live performances is also issued.

Work on Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace begins in 2006. Pete Parada joins in 2007, although Freese again records the drum parts for the album because of contractual issues. Released in 2008, it includes “Hammerhead” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid”, the latter spending eleven weeks at number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. Days Go By follows in 2012 after a long recording period with producer Bob Rock, with “Days Go By” and “Cruising California (Bumpin’ in My Trunk)” among its singles.

In 2014 the band tours to mark the twentieth anniversary of Smash and regains the rights to its Columbia-era catalogue. Round Hill acquires the band’s publishing rights and Columbia catalogue in 2016. The Offspring also records “Sharknado” for Sharknado: The 4th Awakens. Holland completes a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Southern California in 2017. Kriesel leaves in 2018, leading to legal disputes over ownership and management matters that are settled out of court in 2023.

In 2020 the band releases covers of “Here Kitty Kitty”, linked to Tiger King, and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. The same year, Welty brings a lawsuit over royalty payments related to the sale of the band’s catalogue; the case is decided in Holland and Wasserman’s favour in 2023. Let the Bad Times Roll follows in 2021. Parada later stops touring with the band after declining COVID-19 vaccination on medical grounds, and alternative drummers are used for touring. Josh Freese performs on tour.

Jonah Nimoy becomes an official member in 2023 after previously touring with the group, and Brandon Pertzborn joins on drums. In the same year, original drummer James Lilja performs with the band for the first time since the 1980s. Supercharged, the band’s eleventh studio album, follows in 2024, led by “Make It All Right”. In 2026 the band says it is working on additional material with Bob Rock, and keyboardist Ronnie King indicates involvement in the sessions.

The Offspring are associated with alternative rock, comedy rock, grunge, melodic hardcore, pop punk and punk. Their recorded output includes eleven studio albums, and they sell more than 45 million records worldwide.