From Deseret News archives:

Offspring now sing to new drum beat

Published: Friday, Dec. 5, 2003 12:00 a.m. MST

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The Offspring went through a change this year. Longtime drummer Ron Welty left to form another band called Steady Ground.

So the remaining Offspring band members — guitarist Noodles, vocalist Dexter Holland and bassist Greg K. — recruited Atom Willard to join them on tour. Willard hails from Rocket from the Crypt, Moth and the Alkaline Trio.

"Atom is working out great," Noodles said during a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. "In fact, he's too good for us. He's a great drummer. He's got that geeky humor, therefore he gets along with us.

"But he's also better-looking than the rest of us. We might have to fire him on those grounds."

Noodles is joking, of course. In fact, the guitarist is in a great mood. The tour is going well, and he's psyched up for his stop in Salt Lake City. "We have good fans there. In fact, when we went on our first cross-country tour, we played a show in Salt Lake and ended up staying another three days."

This time around, the band is touring in support of a new album, "Splinter." The title refers to changes the group has been going through. "There are a couple of guys in the band that have splintered off in new directions," said Noodles, who cited the Ramones, Dead Kennedys and TSOL as his early musical influences. "And the album itself has turned out to be great. I haven't been this excited for an album in a long time."

Earlier this year, the band decided to name the album "Chinese Democracy," taking the title from the long-awaited Guns N' Roses album that has been in the works since 1999.

Through various Web-site posts, the Offspring explained that the recording sessions had come to a halt due to the album title. Once the group settled on a title, recording resumed without any problems. "We were just being funny," Noodles said with a laugh. "We did seriously kick around naming the album 'Chinese Democracy,' though."

Noodles said the band decided to make "Splinter" more simple than the last album. "We decided to make the new album more straightforward. We made it more simple. And it worked out great."

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