The Offspring plotting next album

In a new interview with Billboard, The Offspring guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman commented on plans for their next full length, which will follow last year's Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace.

The band have already planned to record with Bob Rock again, and note: "[Vocalist Dexter Holland and Bob] kinda went over a couple of things that were left off the last record," he reports, "and songs that were even left off 'Splinter' or maybe even 'Conspiracy of One' and kind of looked at some things with free eyes and see if there was anything there that can be worked on.

Wasserman says the group would "like to have a new record out next year for sure" but isn't likely to hit the studio until January, after it finishes the touring cycle for "Rise and Fall..." And he doesn't expect the group to come up with new material on the road. "It's really hard to do that," Noodles notes. "It almost never happens." He, Holland and bassist Greg "K." Kriesel, however, are anxious to see what new drummer Pete Parada, the Face to Face and Saves the Day veteran who joined the Offspring in 2007, brings to the party. "He's great," Noodles says.

"We haven't actually done any real recording with him yet, but we're looking forward to that. He's a great drummer. He's got great ideas, just really on top of things. Nothing fazes him; we'll throw something at him, 'Hey, do this,' and, 'OK...' He's a really nice guy and just a real powerhouse drummer, so we're looking forward to working with him." Right now, The Offspring are touring North America into mid-July, then head to Europe for the balance of the summer. Noodles says the group is currently plotting out some dates for Australia, "and beyond that I don't know where else we'll go. I wouldn't mind doing a few more U.S. cities that we're missing on this run, but we'll see what happens."