Offspring guitarist Noodles Wasserman steps away for “a sudden and fairly serious health issue”: “Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts”

Kevin 'Noodles' Wasserman of The Offspring performs at Aftershock Festival in Discovery Park on September 14, 2014 in Sacramento, California.
Kevin “Noodles” Wasserman indicated the band will continue to perform in his absence. (Image credit: Miikka Skaffari/FilmMagic)

The Offspring’s Noodles Wasserman has revealed in a new statement he has to step away from live performances due to a "fairly serious health issue."

The guitarist put the news out on the band’s Instagram account.

“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.

“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.

“Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts. I really appreciate it.

—Noodles

No details about the health issue were shared. The Offspring have not said who will fill in for the guitarist on the band’s shows. Their next performance is scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles. Two more shows are scheduled for November, and a third in January 2027.

Noodles, born Kevin Wasserman, joined the Offspring in 1985, one year after it was formed by vocalist/guitarist Bryan “Dexter” Holland and bass guitarist Greg Kriesel, a.k.a. Greg K. The group’s fortunes rose on the success of their 1994 hit “Come Out and Play” from their third studio album, Smash.

“That was the first song to take off, and we were still working that single when the album went Platinum,” Noodles told Guitar Player in 2024. “And then we were able to follow it up with ‘Self Esteem,’ which was just as big too.”

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GuitarPlayer.com editor-in-chief

Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of GuitarPlayer.com and the former editor of Guitar Player, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.