Come Out And Play

The stern gaze of Calgary religious groups and civic politicians against bands like Marilyn Manson doesn't worry The Offspring.

Tonight, the California punk band becomes the first musical act to play the Max Bell Centre since the venue banned Florida-based shock-rock group Marilyn Manson last week. The Offspring, it should be noted, will never be confused with The Osmonds.

Noodles, the group's 34-year-old guitarist, says his band is also used to parents trying to censor their music. "We get a lot of hate mail from parents of young fans who just object to four-letter words on a record," says Noodles, whose real name is Kevin Wasserman. "They don't get the content. They don't get the real substance of what the song's about. They just hear (singing out multiple expletives from Bad Habit) and they're horrified that their child may be listening to this." Bad Habit, a song about drive-by shootings, is part of a body of material that showcases The Offspring's love of sarcasm and irony, venting outrage at a world the band sees as pretty messed up, says Noodles. Parents angered by Bad Habit "don't really bother to find out what their kids are listening to and what their kids feel about it," says Noodles.

"That is just wrong - but there are just a lot of parents that are too freakin' busy to figure out where their kids are at." Noodles understands the worry parents can have for their children. He misses his seven-year-old daughter. "Yeah, man - being on the road is tough and I do worry about her all the time. Sometimes, I'll just get this feeling and I've just got to get to a phone because I just can't let it go until I get a hold of her and hear her voice."

The Offspring's responsibility to its fans is to bring across its songs the best way it can, accepting that some people will misunderstand the message to suit their own preconceptions. "Usually, it's parents," says Noodles.

But not always. "We did a song called Burn It Up which was a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek song about arson -- much in the way Bad Habit was about drive-by shootings," says Noodles. "We were playing out in this cornfield somewhere in Kansas and these kids come up and they were talking about how great it is to burn things down. "We were like: `No! No! No! You're not getting it! The song was a joke!'

"And there were people that thought the lyric, `Gotta keep 'em separated' (from Come out and Play) was about race separation; which is absolutely not what it's all about." The song - from the band's multi-platinum 1994 album Smash - is about the gang situation in the group's home of Orange County, Calif. "That song was just pointing out how ridiculous it is," says Noodles.

The band is now touring to support its latest disc Ixnay on the Hombre.

By Blair S. Watson, from Calgary Sun - July 29, 1997