NOFX Artistfacts

NOFX song list

NOFX Artistfacts

1983-2024
Fat Mike (Mike Burkett)Lead vocals, bass, keyboards
Eric MelvinGuitar
Smelly (Erik Sandin)Drums
Dave CasillasGuitar1987–1989
Steve KidwilerGuitar1989–1991
El Hefe (Aaron Abeyta)Guitar, horns1991-
NOFX was one of the longest-lasting and most respected bands in the California punk rock scene. They held true to their values (anti-capitalism, loud, fast songs), which kept them from getting too close to the mainstream but endeared them to fans. They had the musicality and credibility to break into the world of pop music in the early '90s when punk acts were crossing over (Green Day, Rancid), but they made a conscious decision not to by keeping their songs mostly chorus-free and refusing to do interviews during this time. They were courted by major labels but turned down the offers so they could keep their independence along with a far greater share of their royalties.
Their career was filled with drunken antics, many of which are outlined in the book NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories. Here's one:

After a show in Berkeley, California, they stole a van and went for a joyride, not realizing there was a guy sleeping in the back seat. When the dude woke up, they wouldn't let him get out and took him on a harrowing journey. They later learned that their kidnapping victim was Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
Fat Mike isn't really that fat. NOFX crossed paths with a band called Subculture when Mike was really skinny, but then he went to college at San Francisco State University, where he filled out. The next time NOFX met up with Subculture, one of their members started calling him "Fat Mike" because of his weight gain, and the name stuck.
In 2006, Fat Mike told The Aquarian, "I am going to go out on a limb here and say that we get more drunk and wasted on stage than any other band."

The entire band indulged, but Smelly was addicted to heroin and went through rehab in 1992. He had to stay sober, which became a problem when Mike ramped up his drug use, at one point snorting a line of cocaine on stage. They ended up establishing separate spaces where Mike could indulge and Smelly could enjoy a substance-free environment.
Fat Mike set up his own label, Fat Wreck Chords, to release the group's 1987 single "The P.M.R.C. Can Suck On This." NOFX signed with Epitaph Records to release their second album, S&M Airlines, in 1989, but Mike turned Fat Wreck Chords into a real label in the early '90s and used it to release some of their own material and sign other bands. Fat Wreck Chords kept the record deals short-term and very band-friendly, which worked out well for all involved. They became a launching pad for acts like Rise Against and The Ataris. NOFX left Epitaph and moved to Fat Wreck Chords after releasing their 2000 album Pump Up The Valuum.
The band name was scavenged from a Boston band that had broken up called Negative FX. Fat Mike hates it, but was outvoted. He wanted to call themselves Banned.
Fat Mike did everything in his power to keep George W. Bush from getting re-elected in 2004. Using the resources from his Fat Wreck Chords label, he set up the anti-Bush website punkvoter.com and released a compilation album called Rock Against Bush, with tracks by The Offspring, Sum 41, Social Distortion, and many other punk rock luminaries. He did lots of press to support the project, appearing on The Howard Stern Show, The Dennis Miller Show, and many other outlets to make his case against Bush, who ended up defeating John Kerry in the election.
Fat Mike pays a lot of attention to his lyrics, revising them over and over until he gets them just right. The subject matter can run deep. "A lot of my lyrics are based on existentialists like Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus," he said in a Songfacts interview. "The more you read, the more you understand the world and philosophy, and you can write lyrics. Not, 'I took her home and I made her dessert.'"
El Hefe took gigs as an extra on movies and TV shows. He says that because he's Mexican, he was often cast as a criminal. Look for him in the Lifetime miniseries Love, Lies and Murder, playing (you guessed it) a prison inmate.
Fat Mike started a punk rock cover band called Me First And The Gimme Gimmes in 1995. Their most popular song is "Country Roads," a frantic rendition of John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads." They've also disemboweled "Jolene," "Rocket Man," and many other classics.

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