Here's Why Pete Parada Is Leaving The Offspring

The Offspring's nasally tones have been blessing the music world since they first formed in what Karrang! says was 1984. Though they had a bit of a rocky start. Epitaph Records didn't want to sign the band at first, and Noodles, the band's lead guitarist, didn't think they'd ever make it big, but all of that changed when The Offspring released "Smash" in 1994. The album went multi-platinum, and according to Rolling Stone, changed the punk music scene forever.

The band has a pretty rockin' history. They've released 10 studio albums, are known by just about everyone who's ever listened to the radio, and even peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 100 artist chart in April 2021. And through all of their more recent success, drummer Pete Parada has been a crucial component to the four-man ensemble, having jumped on that train back in 2007, as Loudwire notes. There's only one problem: The Offspring is no longer a four-man ensemble. Apparently, Pete Parada has officially left the band.

As the world tries its best to navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, things have and will continue to change. There might be a day in which we go back to normal, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. And these changes are what's caused The Offspring drummer Pete Parada to leave the band.

In an Instagram post, the musician hesitantly shares a piece of his personal medical history. He says due to health conditions, he and his doctors have determined he's an unfit candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine. He's already gotten the virus once and had an easy time with it, so he's "confident [he'd] be able to handle it." But while recovering from the illness, he had an attack of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder that attacks the nerves, which Parada says he's had since childhood, and he really doesn't want to go through that again.

Being a performer in the music industry and getting the vaccine, along with most others, as Parada says, has been rapidly growing into an industry mandate since their efficacy has been proven over the months. Because of that, he won't be able to go on the band's upcoming tour to support the band's newest album, "Let the Bad Times Roll." The tour begins on August 8, according to Loudwire.

In his post, Pete Parada discusses his feelings on the vaccine, which basically amounts to supporting personal freedom of choice. He also believes no "government, corporations, organizations, employers" should get to decide "by coercion" if anyone is required to get the jab. Since freedom goes both ways, businesses and industries have just as much right to require their employees to be vaccinated as individuals have the right to choose whether or not to get the shot, and it's possible this line of thinking conflicted with The Offspring frontman Bryan "Dexter" Holland's views on the vaccine.

Holland, as Blabbermouth points out, holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology and wrote his thesis on mRNA. He also wholly supports the vaccine. A few months ago, in fact, he said unequivocally that he believes "the truth is that we're not gonna get back to normal until people get vaccinated." This came after he announced that he'd reworked one of the lyrics to "Come Out And Play" to say "you gotta go get vaccinated."

Seeing as Parada and Holland each have their own strong opinions about vaccination and seeing how those opinions conflict, there might be a conflict behind the scenes that led Parada to his decision to leave. Even if there wasn't, he'd be preaching something he doesn't believe in by staying in a band who vocally support a view opposite his own.

Even though some sources, such as Blabbermouth, are saying Pete Parada has been fired from the band, using his Instagram post as evidence, the post certainly doesn't say that. So, it's up in the air if he'll be rejoining the band at any time in the future. The post does, however, say that the drummer has a new project on the horizon.

While isolating from the rest of the mainstream music world, Parada is still making music. Music must run in the genes this drummer passed down to his daughter, since Parada says he'll be working on a musical project with her. Directly after saying this is probably the only thing close to evidence that he's intending to permanently stay away from the band — "I deeply appreciate your understanding and support as my family and I find a new way forward." Now, that "new way forward" could easily mean working on both projects as much as finding a completely new route in life that doesn't include The Offspring, but only time will tell. Regardless, Parada's "heartbroken" about missing the upcoming tour, but hopefully, his new project will pull him out of his slump.