American drummer Pete Parada has explained his controversial departure from the band The Offspring in 2021. The 51-year-old joined The Offspring in 2007 and was replaced by Brandon Pertzborn upon departure.
The Offspring is an American rock band that was founded in 1984 under the name Manic Subsidal. Originally from Garden Grove, California, the band has recorded a total of eleven studio albums and sold over 40 million copies so far, making them one of the best-selling punk rock bands.
In a discussion on the Try That In A Small Town podcast, Pete Parada recalled his turbulent exchanges with the band's management over his COVID-19 vaccination. This eventually led to his exit.
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The 51-year-old claimed that he had a rare neurological condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome. Therefore, medical experts advised him against vaccination because of the alleged attached health concerns. However, the exemption resulted in the band's newly appointed manager dismissing him immediately.
“He was new with the band. He’d only been with them since COVID hit. So I didn’t have a lot of history with this guy. He chose to come at me like a flamethrower. I’ve gotten crappy phone calls before, this was the most abusive and threatening call I’ve ever had in my entire career,” Pete Parada said.
He added:
“He made it clear that I was either to get vaccinated or I’d be replaced. The phone call was so shocking.”
At present, the members of The Offspring are Dexter Holland, Noodles, Todd Morse, Jonah Nimoy, and Brandon Pertzborn.
Pete Parada revealed that he was met with indifference when he tried to contact his bandmates upon dismissal
During the discussion at the Try That In A Small Town podcast, Pete Parada said he was trying to reach out to his bandmates to voice his concern for the new manager following his dismissal. However, he concluded that they were nonchalant about his complaints.
“I tried to talk to them about him and I said, ‘You might fire me over this but you should know, this guy is not representing you well and if he’s treating me like this, he’s treating your crew even worse.' I was told, ‘That’s not the concern right now, he’s not the concern, your refusal to do this is the concern.’,” said Pete Parada.
Parada concluded by recalling that he realized he had been fired when his flight to a rehearsal was suddenly canceled. During that time, the band rehearsed to promote their tenth studio album, Let The Bad Times Roll.
"That’s how I found out,” he said.
The other band members have yet to comment on the recent claims made by Pete Parada.
“I feel like this is the best we have ever sounded"- The Offspring's Dexter Holland on their latest album
The Offspring's eleventh studio album, Supercharged, was released in October 2024, and the members are currently gearing up to perform at the Supercharged Worldwide in '25 Tour to support their latest release.
Speaking about Supercharged, Dexter Holland mentioned that the album was recorded with legendary producer Bob Rock in Maui, Vancouver, and at the band's home studio in Huntington Beach.
“I feel like this is the best we have ever sounded! We’ve been rocking out and headbanging to it for months! And we can’t wait for you guys to hear it!” he said. (via Billboard)
Upon release, the album was quick to take its place atop the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart. Its lead single Make It All Right peaked at #1 on both Alternative Airplay and Active Rock charts.
