The Offspring is an American punk rock ensemble formed in Huntington Beach, California in 1984. Since its formation, the band’s line-up has included Dexter Holland (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Noodles (lead and rhythm guitars, backing vocals), and Greg K. (bass, backing vocals). In 1987, Ron Welty took the place James Lilja as the drummer for The Offspring, finishing the band’s most popular group that would last for 16 years. Their current drummer Pete Parada, formerly of Face to Face and Saves the Day, joined the lineup in 2007, after Atom Willard decided to leave to attention on Angels & Airwaves.

After releasing their first two albums, The Offspring (1989) and Ignition (1992), The Offspring experienced commercial success with Smash (1994), which has sold over a million copies and went platinum six times. As a result, the ensemble was widely credited, along with fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, Green Day, Rancid and Sublime, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States. The critical praise given to Smash garnered focus from major labels, including Columbia Records, with whom The Offspring would sign in 1996. Their first album for Columbia, Ixnay on the Hombre was released in 1997 and was well received by critics. The Offspring continued to achieve success with their three follow-up albums, Americana (1998), Conspiracy of One (2000) and Splinter (2003), climbing to multi-platinum, platinum and gold star power respectively. The band’s eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, was released in 2008. They are currently in the middle of completing their ninth studio album, which is due for release sometime in 2011.

The Offspring has sold over 35 million units worldwide, making them one of the best-selling punk rock rock acts of all time. Each album since the release of Smash has sold over a million units.