The Offspring on flying fighter jets, NHS support, and ‘smelling the gold records’
If The Offspring’s Dexter Holland were to make it into the Guinness World Records hall of fame, his accomplishment could be, he thinks, “the most stuff”.
“Goddamn overachiever right here – I’m just drinking beer and watching YouTube videos,” says his bandmate, lead guitarist Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman, as the pair contemplate over Zoom with Sky News the fact that Holland is not only the frontman of a multimillion-selling band but also a licensed pilot with a PhD in molecular biology.
“Well, I don’t sleep,” he jokes. “I think the band has always been first and foremost for me, this is what we love to do and it’s my main work focus. But I’ve always been interested in other things, flying is one of them, science research is another one. You just have to figure out how to carve out blocks of time to do those things.”
‘We thought they were owed a little bit back’: The Offspring will play a gig supporting the NHS in Hull. Pic: Tijs Van Leur
Holland and Noodles have been sharing their expertise on certain subjects in YouTube videos, How To… With The Offspring; the latest on how to fly a fighter jet. Noodles, as it turns out, is a keen birdwatcher, while Holland can also catch a wave.
But all this is second to The Offspring, the punk-rock band that rose to fame in the 1990s with their third album Smash and went on to sell 40 million records, best known for hits including Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) and Original Prankster.
Earlier this year, the band released their 10th album and first in a decade, Let The Bad Times Roll. The titular song had been written before 2020, during a period of deep political division in the US.
The bad times, says Holland, had well and truly “been rolling for sure” way before the pandemic hit. However, a world in lockdown really cemented it.
After making their live return earlier in 2021, they are getting ready to tour the UK once again and promising fans “a good time celebrating the bad times”.
“We’re tip-toeing back into it because things are definitely not normal yet,” says Holland. “It’s fits and starts and two steps forward and one step back, but it’s getting there.”
When they come to the UK later in November, the band’s shows will include a free gig in Hull in support of the NHS and frontline workers. While several British acts – from Liam Gallagher and The Charlatans to JLS and Rick Astley – have also done this, it is a significant gesture from a band from the US.
“We come to the UK pretty much every year, it feels like a second home to us in a lot of ways,” says Noodles. “The NHS and frontline workers are doing a phenomenal job, They’re really kind of putting themselves on the line to keep us all safe. We thought they were owed a little bit back. It’s our pleasure to do this.”
“We felt like it was so important to acknowledge,” says Holland. “This is such an unusual time and all of those people in those services have really stepped up to help humanity. So it was important to us.”
Earlier this year, the pair reworked the band’s 1994 hit Come Out And Play, changing the lyrics from “you gotta keep ’em separated” to “you’ve gotta go get vaccinated”. A few months later, drummer Pete Parada said it had been decided he was “unsafe to be around” as he was unable to have the COVID-19 vaccine due to underlying health issues, and that he would not be joining the band on tour. Headlines said he had been dropped from the band.
“He wasn’t really dropped from the band, even to this point,” says Holland. “He was either unable or unwilling to get vaccinated and we couldn’t take an unvaccinated person on tour with us. We looked into it, you know, we tried to work all of these different scenarios and we kept hitting roadblocks. And so we needed to have a completely vaccinated crew and band.”
Drummer Pete Parada (left) has not been touring with the band this year. Pic: Daveed Benito
In October, Noodles tested positive for COVID-19, and told fans on Twitter that being vaccinated “certainly made it easier” and “might’ve just saved my life”.
“We understand how vaccines work and we trust them,” he tells Sky News. “We believe they’re safe. There are some people that are legitimately unable to get vaccinated, we understand that. And so I think those that can should do that for those people as well.”
As well as supporting health workers and helping spread the message on vaccines, The Offspring also address other issues through their music. The Opioid Diaries, from Let The Bad Times Roll, looks at America’s drug addiction problems, with a powerful video spelling out the statistics in black and white.
“I think a lot of times [people] think of our more fun, light-hearted songs, but there’s always the serious side of us on albums too,” says Holland. “We thought this song was important to write because addiction in general is something that needs to be addressed [but] this was almost sort of an unwitting addiction… people were kind of innocently thinking they were getting pain medication that they legitimately needed and didn’t realise how addictive it was.”
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They have also been performing a reworked softer version of Gone Away, from their fourth album Ixnay On The Hombre. During the pandemic, it’s a song that has taken on new meaning.
“It’s been brutal, says Holland, of the past 18 months. “Everybody experiencing loss with that message and that hitting home of the loss has been especially poignant in the last couple of years.”
As well as the serious songs, fans going to the live shows will also get the hits. Still punk-rocking in their 50s, how do they feel looking back at the CV?
“We’re more of a forward-looking band, I think,” says Noodles.
“It’s been amazing that we’ve been able to go this long and this is what we love to do and definitely realise that we’re very fortunate to still be able to do it, for sure,” says Holland. “But as Noodles said, that’s not what we rest upon. We don’t just walk down the aisle and look at the gold records.”
“Well…” Noodles interrupts. “We do take some time to stop and smell the gold records.”
The Offspring’s Let The Bad Times Roll is out now. The UK and Ireland tour starts with the show in support of the NHS and key workers in Hull on 19 November
Sean “Diddy” Combs led a criminal enterprise for two decades, using “power, violence and fear” to carry out brutal crimes, believing his “fame, wealth and power” put him above the law, a prosecutor has told his trial.
Christy Slavik spoke for nearly five hours, as she presented the prosecution’s closing arguments after more than six weeks of testimony and 34 witnesses.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik pictured outside court earlier this week. Pic: AP
She began by describing the 55-year-old music mogul, telling the court: “He’s the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. And now you know about many crimes he committed with members of his enterprise.”
She said charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy were supported by proof that over two decades, Combs kidnapped one of his employees, committed arson by trying to blow up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car, engaged in forced labour, bribed a security officer and carried out the “brutal crimes at the heart of this case.”
Ms Slavik said Combs “again and again forced, threatened and manipulated” his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura and an ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane into drugged-up, elaborate sexual performances, dubbed “freak offs” or “hotel” or “king nights”.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” she said. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
Combs is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking, and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has strenuously denied all allegations of sexual abuse.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
What we learned from Cassie’s testimony
Ms Slavik said Combs used a “small army” of employees – his trusted inner circle of staff including bodyguards and assistants – to “serve his needs,” covering up his harm to women in the process.
Homing in on the racketeering charge against him, she said, while Combs was already “very powerful”, he became even more so with the support of his business.
US Attorney Christy Slavik. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
She said Combs and his inner circle “committed hundreds of racketeering acts,” including drug distribution, kidnapping, arson and witness tampering.
They listed drugs such as cocaine, meth, ketamine, Oxycodone and MDMA, that Combs’s assistants said they procured for him, or that federal agents said they found during raids of his multiple homes.
During parts of the evidence, Combs looked dejected, sitting with his head down, and with his chair pushed back from the defence table. At one point, when video footage of Combs appearing to beat Cassie at the InterContinental Hotel was shown to the court, he looked away.
Combs has been in a New York jail since his arrest in September last year. If convicted on all counts, he could face a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars.
The 12-member jury must be unanimous to convict Combs on any of the counts.
Defence lawyers have conceded that Combs was involved in domestic violence but say he committed no federal crimes.
They say the women took part in the “freak offs” willingly and that there was no racketeering conspiracy because none of his employees agreed to be part of any conspiracy. They say the drugs procured were for his own personal use.
But in her closing argument, Ms Slavik said employees repeatedly agreed to commit crimes for Combs, such as delivering him drugs, accompanying him to kidnap his personal assistant, Capricorn Clark, and locking his girlfriend in a hotel room after he stomped on her face.
In her conclusion, she said proof of Combs’s guilt had been demonstrated, adding: “Before today, he was able to get away with it due to his money, power and influence, but that stops now…
“It is time to hold him accountable, it is time for justice, and it’s time to find him guilty.”
On Friday, Combs’s lead attorney Marc Agnifilo will give his closing argument, followed by the government’s rebuttal.
Judge Arun Subramanian says he will instruct the jury on the law later that day, allowing them to begin deliberating as early as late afternoon.
The trial continues.
Entertainment
Jeff Bezos’s Venice wedding celebrations begin with star-studded party after fresh protests
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s star-studded wedding celebrations in Venice have begun, with VIP guests including the Kardashians descending on the Italian city.
The billionaire Amazon founder and his journalist fiancee waved to onlookers as they left a luxury hotel to travel to their pre-wedding reception by water taxi on Thursday evening.
Hollywood star Orlando Bloom was seen flashing a peace sign to fans as he left Venice’s Gritti Palace Hotel and he was soon followed by TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, who smiled and waved.
Orlando Bloom donning all white. Pic: Reuters
Oprah Winfrey is one of the 200-250 guests. Pic: Reuters
Kim and Khloe Kardashian travelled to the reception with their mother Kris Jenner – who snapped a picture of the pair on a water taxi – and other notable figures in town for the nuptials include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Some 200-250 A-list guests from showbusiness, politics and finance are expected to attend the events, with the wedding and its parts estimated to cost €40m-€48m (£34m-£41m).
Bezos, his soon-to-be wife and their famous guests have taken over numerous locations in the city, with the couple staying in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms go for at least €4,000 per night.
Kris Jenner snaps a photo of Khloe and Kim Kardashian. Pic: Reuters
The bride and groom leaving their hotel. Pic: AP
The first of the weekend’s many wedding parties is taking place in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.
While the couple and their A-list guests were all smiles, some in Venice are not happy about the wedding – with protesters seeing it as an example of the city being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders.
Read more: Why are activists protesting the wedding?
An activist from Extinction Rebellion unfolds a banner in front of St Mark’s Basilica. Pic: AP
An activist climbed one of the poles in the main St Mark’s Square on Thursday, unfurling a banner which said: “The 1% ruins the world.”
Elsewhere, a life-size mannequin of Bezos clutching an Amazon box was dropped into one of the city’s famous canals.
In a bid to keep demonstrators away from Thursday’s party, the city council banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area surrounding the venue, from 4.30pm local time to midnight.
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Bezos wedding protests explained
The couple will exchange their vows on Friday, on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square.
Another party will follow on Saturday – the venue for which was changed at the last-minute earlier this week.
Entertainment
Denis Villeneuve: Director of next James Bond film announced – and says he’s a ‘diehard 007 fan’
The director of the next James Bond film has been announced.
Denis Villeneuve – a four-time Academy Award nominee who earned critical acclaim for the Dune Franchise and Blade Runner 2049 – said the role is a “massive responsibility”.
The Canadian filmmaker described himself as a “diehard” fan since childhood, adding that it is a “huge honour” to come on board.
“Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007. I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since Dr No with Sean Connery,” Villeneuve said.
Sean Connery as James Bond. Pic: The Legacy Collection/THA/Shutterstock 1963
Reassuring fans, the director continued: “To me, he’s sacred territory. I intend to honour the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come.”
His appointment comes as the British spy franchise experiences a major overhaul, with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson handing over creative control to Amazon MGM Studios.
Daniel Craig as James Bond in Spectre. Pic: Columbia/Eon/Shutterstock
The Broccoli family have long been the force behind the Bond films, and now co-own the intellectual property.
Two recently appointed producers – Spider-Man’s Amy Pascal and Harry Potter’s David Heyman – said securing a director and developing a screenplay were top priorities before deciding who would succeed Daniel Craig in the role.
Read more entertainment news:
After Amazon takeover, what happens to James Bond?
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Denis Villeneuve. Pic: Reuters
The head of Amazon MGM Studios, Mike Hopkins, described Villeneuve as a “cinematic master whose filmography speaks for itself”.
He added: “Denis has delivered compelling worlds, dynamic visuals, complex characters, and – most importantly – the immersive storytelling that global audiences yearn to experience in theatres.
“James Bond is in the hands of one of today’s greatest filmmakers and we cannot wait to get started on 007’s next adventure.”
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