NOFX

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NOFX

Musical artist

NOFX is a pioneering American skate punk band formed during 1983 in Berkeley, California. The band is known as one of the most popular in the skate punk genre and has influenced much of the Warped Tour Californian pop punk scene of the 1990s and early 2000s.

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 (Aaron Abeyta) has played second guitar and trumpet. The band rose to popularity in 1994 with their album Punk in Drublic which was certified gold.

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

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, 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.

File:HOFXyellowsplatter3.jpg

NOFX 1995 release HOFX, pressed on splatter-colored vinyl.

Dave then left the band and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller (a.k.a. ‘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 of the album’s lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian after writing 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, the band’s lineup had undergone numerous changes; however, the original three members had reunited, and Aaron Abeyta (a.k.a. El Hefe) joined to round out the group. White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean was released in 1992. (The original intended title, White Trash, Two Kikes, and a Spic, was changed because Eric Melvin’s grandmother was upset about the racial epithets.)

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, an 18-minute single-track EP which served as a fiery and cynical social commentary. This was followed by the full-length album Pump Up the Valuum in 2000.

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 U. S. tour. The band has released many EPs (e.g., Fuck the Kids and The Longest Line) on Fat Mike’s own label Fat Wreck Chords. 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 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, 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 NHL07 was released, featuring Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing on its soundtrack, produced by Bill Stevenson and Fat Mike.

In January 2007, the band recorded two nights of shows in San Francisco, California, for an upcoming live album entitled They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live, set to be released in November 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 their performance of “Bottles to the Ground,” breaking the guitar’s neck and leaving a bloody gash on Eric Melvin’s forehead. (The band completed their scheduled set amidst the audience’s cheers to Eric Melvin’s good humor and perseverance.)

Music style and influences

The band’s sound is diverse, utilizing elements of melodic hardcore, skate punk, ska, and other music genres. Their lyrics generally satirize issues such as politics, society, various subcultures, racism, the music industry, and religion.

They cite their influences as Adrenalin O.D., Rich Kids on LSD, The Sex Pistols, and The Subhumans.

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. In recent years Fat Mike has consented to more interviews, including one in a 2003 issue of Guitar World, 2002 and 2007 interviews on Australian radio station Triple J, an extensive, nearly 20-page interview for a 2003 issue of AMP Magazine, a 2003 interview in the November 2006 issue of Thrasher Skateboard Magazine, and four different interviews with Nardwuar between 2002 and 2006. 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. The credits on the album Heavy Petting Zoo call on MTV, along with major labels, to quit harassing them and playing their music.

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)
2007	They've Actually Gotten Worse Live	Fat Wreck Chords	N/A

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

References

v t e NOFX
Fat Mike El Hefe Eric Melvin Erik Sandin Scott Sellers Scott Aldahl Dave Allen Dave Casillas Steve Kidwiller
Studio albums	Liberal Animation S&M Airlines Ribbed White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean Punk in Drublic Heavy Petting Zoo So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes Pump Up the Valuum The War on Errorism Wolves in Wolves' Clothing Coaster Self Entitled First Ditch Effort Single Album Double Album
Live albums	I Heard They Suck Live!! They've Actually Gotten Worse Live! Ribbed: Live in a Dive
Compilation albums	Maximum Rocknroll 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us) The Longest EP
EPs	NOFX (1985) So What If We're on Mystic! The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This The Longest Line HOFX Fuck the Kids Timmy the Turtle The Decline Surfer Regaining Unconsciousness 7" of the Month Club Never Trust a Hippy Cokie the Clown NOFX (2011) Stoke Extinguisher Hepatitis Bathtub
Split albums	BYO Split Series Volume III NOFX / The Spits West Coast vs. Wessex
Singles	"Don't Call Me White" "All of Me" "Bottles to the Ground" "Pods and Gods" "The Decline" "13 Stitches" "Stoke Extinguisher"
Related articles	Discography Ten Years of Fuckin' Up Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Fat Wreck Chords (Fat Club) Rock Against Bush
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