The Offspring resurrect their Orange County punk sound on their first album in nearly a decade, 'Let the Bad Times Roll.'
Daveed Benito*
As the band returns with ‘Let the Bad Times Roll,’ Holland — who holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology — says there are brighter days ahead in the pandemic
“Oh, baby, let the bad times roll,” the Offspringsing on the title track to their new album, resigning themselves to a world in peril. It’s the stalwart California punk band’s first studio LP in nearly a decade, and their first for Concord after a lengthy run on Capitol, but the label change and the departure of their longtime bassist haven’t blunted the Offspring’s edge. Working with producer Bob Rock (Metallica), they set doom-and-gloom lyrics (as heard on the shrug-emoji title track and the prescient “This Is Not Utopia”) to euphoric melodies for a head-spinning listen that’s on par with their Nineties gemsSmashandIxnay on the Hombre.
While singer Dexter Holland jokingly chalks up the delay between 2012’s Days Go By and Let the Bad Times Roll to laziness, the reality is that Holland has been a busy dude. In 2017, he earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from USC and has been tracking the Covid-19 pandemic from distinct two viewpoints: as a touring musician eager to get back on the road and as a virus expert.
“I’m really interested in virology and it’s been interesting to watch this unfold. It’s just crazy, with all the effort and all the work and the expertise, how unpredictable the whole thing has been,” says Holland, a licensed pilot who volunteers for medical transport flights and received the Covid vaccine for his service.
We asked Holland about the political allusions on the Offspring’s new album, when he thinks the pandemic may get under control, and, as the creator of his own line of hot sauces, how he’d fare eating wings on Hot Ones.
There are some overt political allusions in the lyrics to “Let the Bad Times Roll,” like “lock her up” and “build a wall.” How does the song resonate when we have a new leader at the helm?
Yeah, well, I know that you’re taking this in a political context, but I honestly don’t think that we’re a political band. I feel like we’re kind of like observers. And although we don’t try to get into politics too much, how could you write about the last few years and not mention what’s been going on? In that song you mention some specific references, but the idea is not that it’s aimed at any particular administration, but at this kind of weird, overarching idea that we have these leaders that, when there’s a problem, they’re not trying to sort it out. They’re trying to exacerbate it and they’re trying to stoke the fire. They’re going to double down. That’s the newest thing: “Double down.” Like, “You don’t like this? Well, this is going to be even worse.” That message was pretty heavy, so we tried to make the chorus almost fun. It’s the idea of, “Whaddya gonna do?” Let the bad times roll. Laugh or you’ll cry.
In “This Is Not Utopia,” you sing, “The rules don’t matter anymore.” Does even a punk band acknowledge that some rules are necessary for society to function after all?
I think Americans would agree, or anyone in the world would agree, that there has to be some order. But I was kind of talking more about the rules of justice and equality — not so much following the law, but the idea that we’re not supposed to fuck each other over. There’s a lot of that going on. I finished that song last April and all the social unrest and rioting hadn’t even happened yet. But I just kind of felt like something was bubbling. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but things weren’t feeling good.
The Offspring always sounded like California to me. What’s the secret to that?
It’s interesting you say that, because I’ve had conversations with Bob about that. He said, “The guy who sang ‘Pretty Fly for a White Guy’ sounded very California to me.” Maybe that’s a result of how we grew up, how we sound, and how we talk. The bands that I grew up listening to and admiring were all local bands. I loved the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and all that, but there was something about bands from Orange County that I particularly resonated with. Like the Adolescents and Social Distortion. What made them different is that they were more melodic than the other punk bands. So I always wanted to keep that in mind. One of the earliest rejection letters we got, the guy said something like, “I’m sorry, but you guys are just too melodic for me.” And I thought, “Well, I can live with that rejection.”
Your breakout hit, “Come Out and Play,” was released in 1994 and addressed gun violence. How does it resonate today?
The song was definitely written more geared towards gang violence in particular. But gun violence is absolutely right. That’s what we’re talking about. And unfortunately, it’s still going on. It’s worse than ever and having some real trouble spots. Chicago’s horrible for homicide rates. School shootings have become a terrible recurring tragedy. And I don’t know what the answer is. Just, you know, you’ve got to open the dialogue.
Bands are beginning to announce tours. When do you anticipate the Offspring might return to the road?
I’m hearing inklings of the fall and people seem to think that’s going to stick. Of course, we want to get out there as soon as possible, but we want to do it when it’s decided that it’s safe, as well. I call people all the time, and unfortunately, nobody knows because it’s kind of this arms race for the vaccine versus the variant.
While we’re on the subject: You have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and wrote your thesis on HIV research. There have been reports that the mRNA technology that’s been used in Covid vaccines is showing promising results for a potential HIV vaccine. In layman’s terms, can you explain that for us?
Yeah, it’s looking good right now. We’ve known about messenger RNA for quite a while, and this is kind of a new application of messenger RNA. We used to send dead viruses or inactivated viruses — that’s what you injected so that they wouldn’t cause disease, but they would still stimulate the immune system hopefully in the same way. It’s probably not going to work quite as good as an actual live virus in terms of the immune response, but it’s close enough, which is great.
But what we’re doing with mRNA is we’re sending in the instructions to create that protein that causes the response. It’s a delivery system, right? And they think they can swap out whatever vaccine you want. The mRNA is a platform and you swap in these things like cassettes. “OK, this is a cassette for the coronavirus spike protein, but maybe we can try it with a different virus.” I’ve heard about cancer therapies potentially.
They got the [Covid] vaccine out so quickly because this technology had been largely worked out. They almost had it ready to go. It’s fascinating and it’s exciting, but we’re still at the point where there’s been little side effects here and there, some blood clotting, potentially. You’re going to have to get a lot of data. But for how many shots have been deployed, it seems to be safe and effective. I think it’s really exciting. This is like a whole new technology in vaccination; it’s been a while since anything new like this came about.
So what does your informed scientific opinion tell you: Do you see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the pandemic?
I think we’re just about around the corner. They’re saying we’re going to have to get to herd immunity to really eradicate this, which is 60 or 70 percent. But I just feel like we’re going to see a big drop-off before we get to that number. Of course, we want to get to 70, 80 percent so we can totally wipe it out. But what happens when you’re at 40 percent? It’s still a lot less people to infect at that point. And hopefully it’ll turn into, we’ll start seeing where these upsurges are just in little pockets. … I would think there’s going to be a pretty dramatic decrease by mid-summer.
You make and sell your own hot sauce. What’s essential for a good sauce?
It’s got to have the right amount of heat, but it’s got to taste good. That’s my mantra. When I made Gringo Bandito, I spent like two years working with people and getting a recipe together. Not too vinegary and it’s got to taste good. The flavors have to dominate, not the heat.
Do you watch Hot Ones, and how do you think you’d fare on that show?
I’d love to be onHot Ones. We’ve asked. I said, “I don’t have to be a guest. Just let me bring the hot sauce!” But no takers yet. Maybe for this record.“Oh, baby, let the bad times roll,” the Offspringsing on the title track to their new album, resigning themselves to a world in peril. It’s the stalwart California punk band’s first studio LP in nearly a decade, and their first for Concord after a lengthy run on Capitol, but the label change and the departure of their longtime bassist haven’t blunted the Offspring’s edge. Working with producer Bob Rock (Metallica), they set doom-and-gloom lyrics (as heard on the shrug-emoji title track and the prescient “This Is Not Utopia”) to euphoric melodies for a head-spinning listen that’s on par with their Nineties gemsSmashandIxnay on the Hombre.
While singer Dexter Holland jokingly chalks up the delay between 2012’s Days Go By and Let the Bad Times Roll to laziness, the reality is that Holland has been a busy dude. In 2017, he earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from USC and has been tracking the Covid-19 pandemic from distinct two viewpoints: as a touring musician eager to get back on the road and as a virus expert.
“I’m really interested in virology and it’s been interesting to watch this unfold. It’s just crazy, with all the effort and all the work and the expertise, how unpredictable the whole thing has been,” says Holland, a licensed pilot who volunteers for medical transport flights and received the Covid vaccine for his service.
We asked Holland about the political allusions on the Offspring’s new album, when he thinks the pandemic may get under control, and, as the creator of his own line of hot sauces, how he’d fare eating wings on Hot Ones.
There are some overt political allusions in the lyrics to “Let the Bad Times Roll,” like “lock her up” and “build a wall.” How does the song resonate when we have a new leader at the helm?
Yeah, well, I know that you’re taking this in a political context, but I honestly don’t think that we’re a political band. I feel like we’re kind of like observers. And although we don’t try to get into politics too much, how could you write about the last few years and not mention what’s been going on? In that song you mention some specific references, but the idea is not that it’s aimed at any particular administration, but at this kind of weird, overarching idea that we have these leaders that, when there’s a problem, they’re not trying to sort it out. They’re trying to exacerbate it and they’re trying to stoke the fire. They’re going to double down. That’s the newest thing: “Double down.” Like, “You don’t like this? Well, this is going to be even worse.” That message was pretty heavy, so we tried to make the chorus almost fun. It’s the idea of, “Whaddya gonna do?” Let the bad times roll. Laugh or you’ll cry.
In “This Is Not Utopia,” you sing, “The rules don’t matter anymore.” Does even a punk band acknowledge that some rules are necessary for society to function after all?
I think Americans would agree, or anyone in the world would agree, that there has to be some order. But I was kind of talking more about the rules of justice and equality — not so much following the law, but the idea that we’re not supposed to fuck each other over. There’s a lot of that going on. I finished that song last April and all the social unrest and rioting hadn’t even happened yet. But I just kind of felt like something was bubbling. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but things weren’t feeling good.
The Offspring always sounded like California to me. What’s the secret to that?
It’s interesting you say that, because I’ve had conversations with Bob about that. He said, “The guy who sang ‘Pretty Fly for a White Guy’ sounded very California to me.” Maybe that’s a result of how we grew up, how we sound, and how we talk. The bands that I grew up listening to and admiring were all local bands. I loved the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and all that, but there was something about bands from Orange County that I particularly resonated with. Like the Adolescents and Social Distortion. What made them different is that they were more melodic than the other punk bands. So I always wanted to keep that in mind. One of the earliest rejection letters we got, the guy said something like, “I’m sorry, but you guys are just too melodic for me.” And I thought, “Well, I can live with that rejection.”
Your breakout hit, “Come Out and Play,” was released in 1994 and addressed gun violence. How does it resonate today?
The song was definitely written more geared towards gang violence in particular. But gun violence is absolutely right. That’s what we’re talking about. And unfortunately, it’s still going on. It’s worse than ever and having some real trouble spots. Chicago’s horrible for homicide rates. School shootings have become a terrible recurring tragedy. And I don’t know what the answer is. Just, you know, you’ve got to open the dialogue.
Bands are beginning to announce tours. When do you anticipate the Offspring might return to the road?
I’m hearing inklings of the fall and people seem to think that’s going to stick. Of course, we want to get out there as soon as possible, but we want to do it when it’s decided that it’s safe, as well. I call people all the time, and unfortunately, nobody knows because it’s kind of this arms race for the vaccine versus the variant.
While we’re on the subject: You have a Ph.D. in molecular biology and wrote your thesis on HIV research. There have been reports that the mRNA technology that’s been used in Covid vaccines is showing promising results for a potential HIV vaccine. In layman’s terms, can you explain that for us?
Yeah, it’s looking good right now. We’ve known about messenger RNA for quite a while, and this is kind of a new application of messenger RNA. We used to send dead viruses or inactivated viruses — that’s what you injected so that they wouldn’t cause disease, but they would still stimulate the immune system hopefully in the same way. It’s probably not going to work quite as good as an actual live virus in terms of the immune response, but it’s close enough, which is great.
But what we’re doing with mRNA is we’re sending in the instructions to create that protein that causes the response. It’s a delivery system, right? And they think they can swap out whatever vaccine you want. The mRNA is a platform and you swap in these things like cassettes. “OK, this is a cassette for the coronavirus spike protein, but maybe we can try it with a different virus.” I’ve heard about cancer therapies potentially.
They got the [Covid] vaccine out so quickly because this technology had been largely worked out. They almost had it ready to go. It’s fascinating and it’s exciting, but we’re still at the point where there’s been little side effects here and there, some blood clotting, potentially. You’re going to have to get a lot of data. But for how many shots have been deployed, it seems to be safe and effective. I think it’s really exciting. This is like a whole new technology in vaccination; it’s been a while since anything new like this came about.
So what does your informed scientific opinion tell you: Do you see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the pandemic?
I think we’re just about around the corner. They’re saying we’re going to have to get to herd immunity to really eradicate this, which is 60 or 70 percent. But I just feel like we’re going to see a big drop-off before we get to that number. Of course, we want to get to 70, 80 percent so we can totally wipe it out. But what happens when you’re at 40 percent? It’s still a lot less people to infect at that point. And hopefully it’ll turn into, we’ll start seeing where these upsurges are just in little pockets. … I would think there’s going to be a pretty dramatic decrease by mid-summer.
You make and sell your own hot sauce. What’s essential for a good sauce?
It’s got to have the right amount of heat, but it’s got to taste good. That’s my mantra. When I made Gringo Bandito, I spent like two years working with people and getting a recipe together. Not too vinegary and it’s got to taste good. The flavors have to dominate, not the heat.
Do you watch Hot Ones, and how do you think you’d fare on that show?
I’d love to be on Hot Ones. We’ve asked. I said, “I don’t have to be a guest. Just let me bring the hot sauce!” But no takers yet. Maybe for this record.
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NEWS
Stax Records Guitarist Steve Cropper Has Died at 84
Steve Cropper, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame guitarist who helped form the “Memphis soul” sound on Stax Records recordings by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Booker T & the MG.s, died on Wednesday. He was 84.
“The Cropper family announces with profound sadness the passing of Stephen Lee Cropper, who died peacefully in Nashville today at the age of 84,” his family said in a statement. A cause of death was not immediately available. “Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world.
“While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music,” they added. “Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations to come.”
“Steve Cropper’s offerings to American music are significant but his contribution to soul and R&B music are immeasurable,” Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation that operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, added in a statement. “His songwriting and guitar work shaped the very language of soul music. A gifted songwriter, producer, and musician, Cropper helped create timeless hits that continue to influence artists and people worldwide. His signature style helped define an era and cemented his legacy as one of the most important guitarists in modern music history.”
As the founding guitarist in Stax’s house band during the Memphis label’s hit-making prime, Cropper played on classics like Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” Booker T. & The MG’s “Green Onions,” Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour,” and Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” with Cropper also serving as co-writer on the latter three hits.
“His spare, soulful playing has appeared on records by dozens of rock and R&B artists, including a stint in the Blues Brothers’ band. Think of the introduction to Sam and Dave’s ‘Soul Man,’ the explosive bent notes in Booker T.’s ‘Green Onions,’ or the filigreed guitar fills in Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay’ — they all bear Cropper’s signature sound, the quintessence of soul guitar.”
“I don’t care about being center stage,” Cropper once said. “I’m a band member, always been a band member.”
For “Dock of the Bay,” ranked Number 26 on Rolling Stone‘s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Cropper contributed the track’s guitar chords and rhythm to Redding’s lyrics about his experience on a Sausalito houseboat.
“Me being a purist kind of guy I said, ‘Otis, did you ever think that if a ship rolls it’s going to take on water and sink,’” Cropper recalled to Rolling Stone in 2017, “and he said about the lyric, ‘Hell, Crop, that’s what I want,’ and Otis always got his way.”
However, the platinum-selling Number One song wasn’t released until January 1968, a month after Redding’s death in a small plane crash. Cropper finished work on the song in the immediate aftermath of Redding’s death. “I didn’t know we were the same age until I read an obituary,” Cropper told RS in 2024. “I always thought Otis was older. I looked up to him as an older brother. Why? He was so wise.”
“One of the hardest things I ever had to do was mix that song,” Cropper told Rolling Stone. “I stayed up 24 hours mixing the song. The next morning I went out to the airport, went out on the tarmac and a stewardess came down to the bottom of the steps and I handed her that master.”
The Missouri-born Cropper moved to Memphis as a child, with the Tennessee city exposing him to gospel music. As a teenaged guitarist, Cropper co-founded the band the Mar-Keys, with that group recording the classic instrumental “Last Night” for the local Stax label in 1961, one of the first tracks released by the label after it changed its name from Satellite Records to Stax.
The Mar-Keys soon became the in-house band for Stax; in addition to backing the artists that recorded at Stax’s studio, members of the Mar-Keys themselves were rebranded as Booker T. & The MG’s (fronted by Mar-Keys keyboardist Booker T. Jones) for their own releases.
Following his legendary, nearly decade-long stint at Stax, Cropper moved to Los Angeles and became a go-to session musician, playing on tracks by artists like John Lennon (1975’s Rock ’n’ Roll), Ringo Starr, Leon Russell, Rod Stewart and, notably, the Blues Brothers, with Cropper also appearing in the 1980 comedy about the Saturday Night Live sketch (and revisited his work on Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man”). “Duck [Dunn, MG’s bassist] and I got a lot of flack” for the Blues Brothers, Cropper told RS in 2024. “They said, ‘What are you guys doing, playing with a couple of crazy comedians?’ I said, ‘Get out of here. You gotta be nuts. Off the bat, you don’t know that John, before Second City, was fronting a band, playing drums and singing? And Dan is really is playing harmonica.”
Throughout the Seventies, Cropper also produced albums by the Jeff Beck Group, John Prine, Poco, and John Mellencamp (including his early hits “AIn’t Even Done with the Night” and “This Time”). Cropper and the MGs also backed Neil Young on his 2002 album Are You Passionate? and toured briefly with Young.
Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T. & the MG’s. A two-time Grammy Award winner, Cropper also received the Grammys’ lifetime achievement award in 2007.
