Legendary punk rock band The Offspring hired drummer Josh Freese to replace Pete Parada at a concert in the US.
The Offspring, a Californian band, performed on stage at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Sunday (August 8) as part of the Alt 97 radio festival. Their performance at the party came days after it was revealed that former Offspring drummer Parada had been fired from group because of his vaccination status. According to the musician, “It was decided that I should not be around the band, in the studio or on the road.” He added: “You won’t see me at the upcoming shows.”
The well-known session drummer Josh Freese, who had previously worked with The Offspring, was recruited to take the last-minute stand-in at the aforementioned concert in Los Angeles. Whether he will remain with the band as a permanent touring member has yet to be confirmed. Freese, also a member of the punk band The Vandals, flew to Los Angeles on a plane flown by The Offspring frontman Dexter Holland.
On his Instagram profile, Freese shared a photo of himself and his son with Holland mentioning how he was recruited by the team. “Hey Josh, can you play The Offspring in LA on Sunday? Yes, I’d love Dexter, but I’m playing Denver Saturday night with The Vandals. Might be cutting it close.” He wrote: “We’ll how about I fly you to your gig on Saturday and back the same night?’ ‘You’re on!“
As we mentioned, it’s unclear whether Pete Parada’s departure from The Offspring is permanent or only temporary. The band has a tour scheduled for the rest of 2021.
Pete Parada wrote explains his not getting vaccinated on Instagram in the following way:
“Given my personal medical history and the side-effect profile of these jabs, my doctor has advised me not to get a shot at this time. I caught the virus over a year ago, it was mild for me so I am confident I’d be able to handle it again, but I’m not so confident I’d survive another post-vaccination round of Guillain-Barré Syndrome, which dates back to my childhood and has evolved to be progressively worse over my lifetime. Unfortunately for me (and my family — who is hoping to keep me around a bit longer) the risks far outweigh the benefits.”
