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NOFX

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Some FX (talk | contribs) at 18:12, 20 June 2007 (If they were formed in California, adding "American" is redundant. Pioneering is an awkward word choice. Skate punk is an inaccurate and limiting description.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

NOFX

NOFX is a punk rock band from California, formed in 1983.

The original lineup included singer/bassist Fat Mike (Mike Burkett), drummer Erik Sandin, and guitarist Eric Melvin. Since 1991 (and after several line-up changes) El Hefe (real name Aaron Abeyta) has played second guitar and trumpet. The band's sound is diverse, utilizing elements of Punk Rock, skate punk, ska, and many other music genres. Their lyrics generally satirize issues such as politics, society, various subcultures, racism, the music industry, and religion.

NOFX has released 15 studio full lengths, 10 EPs, and many 7" singles. The group has sold over 6 million records worldwide, and are one of the most successful independent bands of all time [1].

Career

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. For a year, Erik Sandin left the band and was replaced by Scott Sellers, then 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 call for censorship of music. The original cover was an edited S&M photo, but the re-released version was changed to a photo of Eric Melvin.

File:HOFXyellowsplatter3.jpg
NOFX 1995 release HOFX pressed on splatter colored vinyl.

Dave then left the band and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller (AKA Steve the Caucasian). They recorded Liberal Animation in 1988 (before Dave was replaced by Steve) with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Although the title and some lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian, after he wrote the Liberal Animation album. The album was re-released in 1991 on Gurewitz's label Epitaph Records. NOFX had signed to Epitaph by 1989, releasing their second album S&M Airlines. 1990 saw the release of Ribbed. By 1991, there had been a lot of changes to the band lineup. However, the original three members had reunited and Aaron Abeyta (aka El Hefe) joined to round out the group. White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean was released in 1992, which originally had the title White Trash, Two Kikes, and a Spic. The original title was changed because Eric Melvin's grandmother was upset about the racial epithets[2].


It was not until the 1994 release of Punk in Drublic that the band had a commercial breakthrough, with the album going gold. In the same year, pop punk entered the mainstream with the success of The Offspring's Smash and Green Day's Dookie. Punk in Drublic was followed by 1996's slower Heavy Petting Zoo and 1997's 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, a fiery and cynical social commentary.

In 2003, NOFX released 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 United States tour. The band has released many EPs (i.e. Fuck the Kids, The Longest Line) on Fat Mike's own label Fat Wreck Chords. In February 2005, they 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 were 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, an EP entitled Never Trust a Hippy was released. The EP was followed on April 18 by the album Wolves in Wolves' Clothing. On September 12, 2006, the video game EA Sports NHL07 was released, featuring Wolves in Wolves' Clothing on its soundtrack produced by Bill Stevenson and Fat Mike.

In 2007, the band recorded two nights of recent shows in San Francisco, California for an upcoming live album.

Relationship with the media

Since 1994, they have consented to very few interviews, and have made only a few music videos. Fat Mike did an interview for Guitar World in 2003, giving his opinions on the pop punk bands rising at the time. Fat Mike was interviewed by Australian radio station Triple J in 2004, and in February 2007 by Triple J hosts, Jay and the Doctor, who have also performed shows with NOFX, with their band, Frenzal Rhomb. An extensive, nearly 20-page interview was done for a 2003 issue of AMP Magazine. Fat Mike did an interview with the punk magazine Big Cheese, discussing S&M, his wife, pop punk bands and NOFX's music. He was also interviewed in the November 2006 issue of Thrasher Skateboard Magazine. The band also has denied permission to allow their music videos to be played on MTV.

The credits on the album Heavy Petting Zoo calls on MTV, along with major labels, to quit harassing them and playing their music.

Fat Mike of NOFX has also been criticized for causing Underoath to leave the 2006 Warped Tour, although the members of Underoath have denied that he had anything to do with it. In an interview with Tim McTague, he explained Fat Mike and his involvement with them.

That wasn’t an issue. I mean, that was an issue on the tour in the sense of like there were some things that were said that probably shouldn’t have been said by him. But it never really got to the point where it affected us. That wasn’t the breaking point really for us at all. I think he definitely played a role in making a lot of our stuff public and exaggerating a lot of our beliefs and a lot of our conversations that we had to him. So he definitely loves to stir the pot, and I’ll give him that. But beyond that, we shouldn’t have been on Warped Tour to begin with. It definitely wasn’t a Fat Mike thing.

Discography

Studio albums

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1988, re-released in 1991 Liberal Animation Epitaph n/a
1989 S&M Airlines Epitaph n/a
1991 Ribbed Epitaph n/a
1992 White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean Epitaph n/a
1994 Punk in Drublic Epitaph 12 (Heatseekers) Gold
1996 Heavy Petting Zoo Epitaph 63 (Billboard 200)
1997 So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes Epitaph 79 (Billboard 200)
2000 Pump up the Valuum Epitaph 61 (Billboard 200)
2003 The War on Errorism Fat Wreck Chords 44 (Billboard 200)
2006 Wolves in Wolves' Clothing Fat Wreck Chords 46 (Billboard 200)

Live albums

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1995 I Heard They Suck Live!! Fat Wreck Chords 198 (Billboard 200)

EPs

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1985 NOFX (EP) Mystic Records n/a
1986 So What If We're on Mystic! Mystic Records n/a
1987, re-released in 1990 The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This! Colosal Wassail Re-released on Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1992 The Longest Line Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1995 Leave it Alone (EP) Epitaph n/a
1996 Fuck the Kids Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1999 The Decline Fat Wreck Chords #200
2001 Surfer Fat Wreck Chords n/a
2003 Regaining Unconsciousness Fat Wreck Chords 187 (Billboard 200)
2006 Never Trust a Hippy Fat Wreck Chords 186 (Billboard 200)

Singles

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1992 Liza and Louise Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1994 Don't Call Me White Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1995 HOFX Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1996 All of Me Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1999 Timmy the Turtle Fat Wreck Chords n/a
1999 Louise and Liza Fat Wreck Chords n/a
2000 Pods and Gods Fat Wreck Chords n/a
2000 Bottles to the Ground Epitaph n/a
2001 Fat Club 7 Fat Wreck Chords n/a
2003 13 Stitches Fat Wreck Chords n/a
2005-2006 7" of the Month Club Fat Wreck Chords n/a

Splits

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1988 Drowning Roses/NOFX Split X-Mist Records n/a
2002 BYO Split Series, Vol. 3 BYO Records n/a

Compilations

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1992 Maximum Rocknroll Mystic Records n/a
2002 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records Fat Wreck Chords 80 (Billboard 200)
2004 The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us!) Epitaph Records n/a

Videos

Date of Release Title Label US Billboard Peak US sales
1994 Ten Years of Fuckin' Up Fat Wreck Chords n/a

See Also

References

  1. ^ http://fatwreck.com/band/index/6
  2. ^ http://www.nofx.org/oldint/flipside97.html

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