Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, guitarist for The Offspring, announced Wednesday, Oct. 21, that he is stepping away from live performances for a while to deal with a sudden health issue. He did not share details about his condition or a timeline for his return, and said the rest of the band will continue performing without him.
“It is with deep sadness that I have to announce that I need to step away from live performances for a while to deal with a sudden and fairly serious health issue,” he wrote in a statement shared on the band’s social media. “The rest of the band has my back, is super supportive, and will keep rocking you all in my absence. I hope to be back on stage sooner rather than later. Until then, I will miss all of you with all of my heart.” He closed: “Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. I really appreciate it.”
The Offspring are scheduled to play The Wiltern in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 24, and SEMA Fest in Las Vegas on Nov. 6. On Nov. 21 they co-headline a day of Mexico City’s Corona Capital festival at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez alongside Twenty One Pilots, and on Jan. 16, 2027, they play iHeartRadio ALTer Ego at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. No changes to those dates have been announced, and the band has not said who will fill in for Noodles.
Born in Los Angeles on Feb. 4, 1963, Noodles joined The Offspring in 1985 after being recruited by Dexter Holland, and the two are the only members to have played on every one of the band’s albums. In the group’s early days he worked as a janitor at Earl Warren Elementary School in Garden Grove, in Orange County, and he nearly quit music shortly before ‘Smash’ (1994) until the success of ‘Come Out and Play’ changed his mind. His nickname comes from his habit of noodling on guitar, and he has several signature models in Ibanez’s Talman line.
The Offspring formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984 as Manic Subsidal and took their current name in 1986. ‘Smash’, released on the independent label Epitaph, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and sold more than 11 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling independent-label albums ever; the band’s total sales top 45 million records. The current lineup is completed by bassist Todd Morse, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jonah Nimoy and drummer Brandon Pertzborn. Morse joined in 2019 following the 2018 exit of bassist Greg K., while Nimoy, who had toured with the band since 2019, and Pertzborn became official members in 2023.
The guitarist has stayed busy outside the band as well, contributing backing vocals to Mötley Crüe‘s 2024 EP ‘Cancelled’. That same year, The Offspring released ‘Supercharged’ on Oct. 11, their 11th studio album, via Concord Records, and took it on the road in 2026 with the ‘Supercharged Worldwide in ’26’ tour. In April 2026, the band announced it is working on new music with producer Bob Rock, and in June Dexter Holland guested on Electric Callboy‘s single ‘Let the Good Times Roll’.