NOFX
is an American punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1983 in Los Angeles. [1]
The band was formed by vocalist and bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined them shortly afterward. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up. The band rose to popularity in 1994 with their album Punk in Drublic
which was certified gold. [2]
NOFX has released 12 studio full lengths, 15 EPs, [3] and many 7" singles. The group has independently sold over 6 million records worldwide, [4] making them one of the most successful independent acts of all time. The band also aired their own show on Fuse TV entitled NOFX: Backstage Passport
. [5]
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NOFX TICKETS
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History
Early years (1983–1990)
In 1983, guitarist
Eric Melvin met bassist/vocalist Mike Burkett (
Fat Mike) and started the band under the name NOFX, after a
Boston hardcore punk band called
Negative FX.
[6] At this time, they were joined by drummer
Erik Sandin. NOFX's first recording was a demo from 1983, produced by
Germs drummer
Don Bolles, which did not sell any copies. They released their self-titled debut EP
NOFX
on
Mystic Records in 1985, which was later re-released in 1992 as part of the
Maximum Rocknroll
CD. The band's lineup had undergone numerous changes; however, the original three members had reunited. For a year,
Erik Sandin left the band and was replaced by Scott Sellers, and later by Scott Aldahl. Dave Allen was in the band for about four months, until he died in a car accident. In 1986, the band released
So What If We're on Mystic!
Dave Casillas joined the band on second guitar in 1987 and was featured on the EP
The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This
, attacking the
PMRC's campaign for music censorship. The original cover was an edited
S&M photo; the cover for the re-released version was changed to a photo of
Eric Melvin.
They recorded
Liberal Animation
in 1988 with
Brett Gurewitz of
Bad Religion. Although the title and some of the album's lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian after writing the
Liberal Animation
album.
[7] The album was re-released in 1991 on Gurewitz's label
Epitaph Records. Dave left the band and was replaced by
Steve Kidwiller (
a.k.a.
'Steve the Caucasian') after the recording of
Liberal Animation
. NOFX released their second album
S&M Airlines
on Epitaph Records in 1989.
Epitaph years (1991-2002)
1991 saw the release of
Ribbed
. By that year, Steve Kidwiller left the band, and Aaron Abeyta (
a.k.a.
El Hefe) joined to round out the group. With Abeyta, the band recorded the album
White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
followed by
The Longest Line
, released in 1992.
In 1994, punk rock entered the mainstream with the success of
The Offspring's
Smash
and
Green Day's
Dookie
, and NOFX had a commercial breakthrough with the release of their album
Punk in Drublic
, NOFX's best-selling album to date. The album went
Gold without any radio airplay or aired music videos, although a video has been made for the song "Leave It Alone". Due to the success of Punk in Drublic, NOFX received many offers to sign with major labels, but they turned the offers down. The following year, the band released their first live album ''I Heard They Suck Live
|''
Punk in Drublic
was followed by 1996's slower
Heavy Petting Zoo
. The album did not approach the success of their predecessor, although it was the first NOFX record to achieve a position on the US Billboard charts, peaking at number 63. The band stated, "Weird record. I thought it was the coolest record when we finished it, but a few months later I wasn't so sure. Some of those songs are kinda weird. I like the cover a lot though. I think it sold well in Belgium."
[8]
In 1997 the band released
So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
, a return to faster punk, as exemplified by the frenetic opening track, "It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite."
In 1999, the band released
The Decline
, an 18-minute single-track EP which served as a fiery and cynical social commentary. The Decline, at 18 minutes, 23 seconds, is the second-longest punk song ever recorded (after
Crass's 22-minutes
Yes Sir, I Will
).
[9]
NOFX released the full-length album
Pump Up the Valuum
in 2000. It would be their final album on Epitaph, as the band decided to move on to Fat Mike's own label
Fat Wreck Chords.
2002 saw the band record
BYO Split Series, Vol. 3
, a
split album with
Rancid in which Rancid covered NOFX songs and NOFX covered Rancid songs.
Recent history (2003-present)
In 2003, NOFX released
The War on Errorism
, an album of political songs. It became the start of their anti-
George W. Bush campaign, and a rallying point for
leftist punks. Fat Mike organized the website
punkvoter.com
, compiled two chart-topping
Rock Against Bush
CDs, and kicked off a
Rock Against Bush U.S. tour. The song "Separation of the Church and Skate" from that album was featured in the game
Tony Hawk's Underground.
In February 2005, the band launched the NOFX
7" of the Month Club, a subscription-based service which saw the release of one new EP almost monthly, from February 2005 to March 2006 (a total of 12 releases). The cover art for these EPs was chosen from fan-submitted entries. The first 3000 subscribers to the club received all of their records on colored vinyl.
Fat Wreck Chords later released full sets of the EPs.
On March 14, 2006, the EP
Never Trust a Hippy
was released. This EP was followed on April 18 by the full-length album
Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
. On September 12, 2006, the video game
EA Sports NHL 07 was released, featuring
Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
on its soundtrack, produced by Bill Stevenson and Fat Mike. Also in 2006, NOFX's song "Kill All The White Man" was played briefly in the action movie Crank, and was credited as such in the film's soundtrack.
In January 2007, the band recorded three nights of shows in
San Francisco,
California, for a live album entitled
They've Actually Gotten Worse Live!
, released
November 20, 2007. The live album is described on the press release as "their sloppiest, drunkest, funnest, best sounding recording ever … and they even made sure not to play any songs off their 1995 live album
I Heard They Suck Live
."
NOFX launched a world tour in September 2007, which included concerts in
Israel (
Jerusalem,
Tel Aviv, and
Haifa). During their final concert in Israel (7 September in Haifa), vocalist Fat Mike inadvertently struck guitarist Eric Melvin with his bass guitar during the performance of "Bottles to the Ground," breaking the guitar's neck, and leaving a bloody gash on Melvin's forehead. The broken bass guitar was replaced with one from
Useless ID for the rest of the show. The band completed their scheduled set amidst the audience's cheers for Melvin's good humor and perseverance. This tour was the basis of the band's recent TV show,
NOFX: Backstage Passport.
During the same world tour NOFX played four shows in
South Africa (one in
Cape Town, one in
Durban, two in
Johannesburg), the band's first concerts on the African continent. The tour of South Africa followed successful tours by bands
Lagwagon,
Frenzal Rhomb, and
Mad Caddies, all of which are signed to
Fat Wreck Chords.
In February 2009, NOFX reunited with previous fellow members Steve Kidwiller and Dave Casillas for their 25th anniversary special shows. NOFX released new album,
Coaster
,
[10] on April 28, 2009.
[11] [12] The band worked with the same co-producer,
Bill Stevenson, who produced the previous album
Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
.
[13] NOFX was also added to the lineup for the
Warped Tour 2009.
[14] [15] They will also be touring
Australia and
New Zealand in late 2009 with
Bad Religion.
Music style and influences
The band's sound is diverse, utilizing elements of
punk rock,
melodic hardcore,
skate punk,
ska, and other music genres. Their lyrics generally
satirize issues such as
politics,
society,
racism,
sexism,
homophobia, class inequalities, drug use, the
music industry, and
religion.
They cite their influences as
Adrenalin O.D.,
Rich Kids on LSD,
Descendents,
Sex Pistols,
Bad Religion, and
The Subhumans.
[16]
Relationship with the media
For years the band has consented to very few interviews and have only made a few music videos, citing the fact that they do not need any more exposure and that people were exploiting them.
[17] In recent years Fat Mike has consented to more interviews, including four different interviews with
Nardwuar between 2002 and 2006.
[18] The band has also refused permission for their music videos to be played on
MTV,
VH1, and similar music channels, although they made a live appearance on
NBC's
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
in 2004.
[19] The credits on the album
Heavy Petting Zoo
call on MTV, along with major labels, to "Leave us the fuck alone."
Fat Mike has also repeatedly conducted friendly interviews with the Australian Broadcasting Corporations' Youth radio station Triple J on its breakfast show with Jay (Jason Whalley) and the Doctor (Lindsay McDougall). Jay and the Doctor are both members of
Frenzal Rhomb, an Australian punk rock band that has played many tours and festivals with NOFX, and have their music distribution outside Australia handled by Mike's Fat Wreck Chords label
[20].
In 2008 NOFX aired a documentary series on
Fuse TV about their worldwide tour.
[21] The show was entitled
NOFX: Backstage Passport
.
Band members
Current members
- Fat Mike - lead vocals, bass, keyboards (1983–present)
- El Hefe - guitar, trumpet, vocals (1991–present)
- Eric Melvin - guitar, vocals (1983–present)
- Erik Sandin - drums, percussion (1983–1985, 1986–present)
Former members
- Steve Kidwiller - guitar (1989–1991)
- Ambrose Nzams - guitar (1989)
- Dave Cassilas - guitar (1986–1989)
- Scott Sellers - drums, percussion (1985–1986)
- Scott Aldahl - drums, percussion (1986)
- Dave Allen - lead vocals (1986)
Discography
Studio albums
- 1988: Liberal Animation
- 1989: S&M Airlines
- 1991: Ribbed
- 1992: White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
- 1994: Punk in Drublic
- 1996: Heavy Petting Zoo
- 1997: So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
- 2000: Pump Up the Valuum
- 2003: The War on Errorism
- 2006: Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
- 2009: Coaster
References
- History
- Epitaph Records: NOFX - Punk In Drublic
- Allmusic: NOFX EPs & Singles
- Bands: Fat Wreck Chords
- Fuse.tv - NOFX Backstage Passport
- History // NOFX
- Flipside 1997 July/August
- Epitaph Records: NOFX - Heavy Petting Zoo
- Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority
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- Bill Stevenson working on new NOFX record
- Warped Tour 2009 - May 2009 Interview
- Warped Tour 2009 - Video Interview
- Q & A | Read fuck Answers | NOFX
- All About Q&A // Q&A // NOFX
- Nardwuar vs Fat Mike
- Wilco, Modest Mouse on TV: Wilco : Rolling Stone
- Bands: Fat Wreck Chords
- Punknews.org | NOFX to air world tour documentary on Fuse