THE OFFSPRING's DEXTER HOLLAND: 'I Don't Consider Us A Political Band'

THE OFFSPRING singer Bryan "Dexter" Holland and guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman spoke to the Minneapolis, Minnesota radio station 93X about the band's upcoming tenth studio album, "Let The Bad Times Roll", which will arrive on April 16 via Concord Records. The follow-up to 2012's "Days Go By" was once again produced by Bob Rock, who also worked on the band's last two LPs.

Asked if they think the "Let The Bad Times Roll" title track is the "most outwardly political song" in THE OFFSPRING's discography, Dexter said: "I don't consider us a political band, I'll say that first. And when you're talking about 'Let The Bad Times Roll', there really is a personal side of this [coronavirus crisis] — there's a personal cost to people that can't work or have gotten sick or have lost relatives and all that stuff. So it affects different people in different ways."

Added Noodles: "We try to ask questions. It could be about society, about personal relationships, or it could be about what we see happening in the world. In this case, it's what we see happening in the world on both the political stage and on the personal stage. So it's more kind of an expression of ideas that pose a question. At least that's what we're hoping for — rather than try to tell people what to think."

Continued Dexter: "When you say the word 'political,' that sounds like you're gonna try to force your opinion about something on someone, and that's not what we're trying to do at all. We're making observations and leaving it up to you to make your own conclusions."

Holland, Wasserman, drummer Pete Parada and new bassist Todd Morse wrote and recorded "Let The Bad Times Roll" in the last few years at various locations, including the band's studio in Huntington Beach, California.

In December, THE OFFSPRING released the official music video for its Rock-produced cover version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", a rock song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album "A Christmas Gift For You" from Phil Spector.

Last April, THE OFFSPRING jumped on the "Tiger King" bandwagon by recording a cover version of THE CLINTON JOHNSON BAND's "Here Kitty Kitty", a song made popular by Joe Schreibvogel — better known as Joe Exotic, the "Tiger King" — through the Netflix docuseries.

Two years ago, bassist Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel, who hasn't performed with THE OFFSPRING since 2018, filed a federal lawsuit against Noodles and Dexter alleging trademark infringement and breach of partnership agreement over the rights to THE OFFSPRING name. In response, Holland and Wasserman filed a cross-complaint, denying basically everything Kriesel alleged and asking the court to appoint "three disinterested appraisers to appraise the fair value" of Kriesel's shares of THE OFFSPRING.

THE OFFSPRING has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide, won countless awards, and has toured consistently, playing more than 500 shows in the last decade alone. Their music has had a lasting impact across film, television, and video games.

Photo credit:: Daveed Benito