In 1980, Hetson abandoned his position as guitarist of the punk/alternative band Redd Kross to form The Circle Jerks with former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris.

Bad Religion recorded their first three highly acclaimed reunion albums, Suffer, No Control and Against the Grain, before drummer Pete Finestone quit the band in 1991.

The band's popularity grew in 1994 with their widely successful album Stranger Than Fiction, including their well-known hits "Infected" and "21st Century (Digital Boy)", which are often considered concert staples.

He returned to the band in 2001, the line-up consisting of Greg Graffin (vocals), Gurewitz, Hetson, Baker (all on guitar), Jay Bentley (bass) and Brooks Wackerman (drums).

[3][4] Hetson plays guitar in the all star band Punk Rock Karaoke with Eric Melvin of NOFX, and Steve Soto of The Adolescents, Stan Lee of The Dickies and original Goldfinger drummer Darrin Pfeiffer.

Other notable past and recurring members have included Bob Mothersbaugh of Devo, and Mike Watt of Minutemen, Iggy and the Stooges.

The band released DVD/CD set on MVD which has "sing along with" videos as well as a covers album featuring singers such as Matt Skiba, Dave King and Mike Herrera.

Hetson is currently working with Loomis Fall, on a side project which include guests Bobby Alt, Chris Vrenna, Christopher Chartrand and engineered by Josh Achziger, though no release date has been stated.