Rock icons The Offspring will shake the stage at the Eastern Idaho State Fair
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BLACKFOOT — Brace yourselves, Blackfoot residents. It’s about to get loud.
California rockers The Offspring are preparing to blitz east Idaho, dropping by the Eastern Idaho State Fair on Thursday, Sept. 5 to play a gig.
Part of the California punk rock tsunami that washed over the rock music landscape in the 1990s, The Offspring have been playing high-energy, pop-tinged punk since their formation in 1984. Along the way, the band has scored major hits with songs like “Come Out and Play,” “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid.”
The band is one of a group of artists, including the likes of Green Day, Bad Religion and Rancid, credited with helping to revive mainstream interest in punk rock. Their third album, “Smash,” sold over 11 million copies worldwide, setting a record for most albums sold on an independent record.
Now, after 35 years of making noise, The Offspring are still going strong.
“We’ve got a full record done,” Offspring guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman told EastIdahoNews.com “We’re working on a distribution deal. Hopefully, we can sign the papers on that and then we’ve been working on artwork, track-listing and title and all that.”
Noodles said The Offspring haven’t been kicking back while waiting for the distribution business to get worked out. They’ve been traveling and playing shows to audiences across the globe.
“We just got back from Europe,” Noodles said. “We did a whole month over there of festivals and just had a blast. We’ve got shows coming up through the end of December, doing some Canadian dates, some U.S. dates, some South American and Mexican dates. And, yeah, we’ve been busy. We’ve had a good year.”
Blackfoot might be on the small side compared to other cities where The Offspring have performed, but Noodles said that small-town shows are not without their advantages.
“A lot of times in small towns, they don’t get as many bands coming through, so you have a lot of people who are really starved for some good rock n’ roll,” said Noodles. “So we have a blast. Any time you can get an audience that’s appreciative, that’s what you hope for. And a lot of times in small towns, you get audiences that are really glad you showed up.”
Regardless of where they’re playing, Noodles said there are certain songs in their repertoire that are sure to get the audience moving.
“‘You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid’ is always a lot of fun,” Noodles said. “But then going back to ‘Self Esteem’ is always really fun. ‘Bad Habit’ is super fun. That’s one of the faster, in-your-face ones.”
“I love playing all the stuff,” he added. “I really do. They’re all a little different and fun in their own way.”
The Offspring have been around long enough that they have plenty of hit songs and deep album tracks from which to choose. Noodles said switching up songs on their setlist helps keep things interesting, not only for fans but also for the band themselves.
The band switched things up this year by doing a number of acoustic shows.
“We had a blast with those,” Noodles said. “It was some of the funnest shows we’ve ever done.”
Beyond the current slate of touring, Noodles is excited for fans to hear the new record.
“I can’t wait for the new songs to get into the hands of the fans,” he said. “We really want the fans to hear the new stuff and see what works there and what the fans really want us to put into the setlist.”
Meanwhile, Noodles said east Idaho fans who turn out to the show can expect to hear a lot of familiar favorites and have a really good time.
“One of the things I hear from casuals fans that come to the show is like ‘I forgot how many songs you guys have that I just know and know all the lyrics to,” Noodles said. “We’ve got all different kinds of fans. You’ve got young kids who weren’t alive when some of these songs were written and recorded to people who are old enough to be their parents. And I think we’re playing the best shows we’ve ever played. We’re having so much fun jumping around and singing along up onstage.”
The Offspring take to the Eastern Idaho State Fair stage Thursday, Sept. 5 at 7:30 pm. Click here for tickets and more information.
The Eastern Idaho State Fair runs Aug. 30 – Sept. 7. Visit funatthefair.com for events scheduling and more.
