NOFX

NOFX is a punk band from California, sometimes referred to in the underground music press as "the funniest band in rock and roll." They were formed in 1983 by high school-aged "Fat Mike" (real name Mike Burkett), Erik Sandin and Eric Melvin in Los Angeles. While the band insists there is no meaning behind their name, it is commonly attributed to either being based on the Boston punk band Negative FX, or standing for "No Fucking Straight Edge".

Background

They released their debut EP NOFX on Mystic Records in 1984, which then surfaced in 1992 on the Maximum Rock and Roll C.D. (1992)

Related Topics:
NOFX - Mystic Records - 1984 - 1992 - Maximum Rock and Roll

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They recorded Liberal Animation in 1988 with Brett from Bad Religion. The album was re-released in 1991 on Brett's label Epitaph Records. NOFX had signed to Epitaph by 1989, bringing out the album S&M Airlines.

Related Topics:
Liberal Animation - 1988 - Brett - Bad Religion - 1991 - Epitaph Records - 1989 - S&M Airlines

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By 1991 there had been a lot of changes to the band however the original three members had reunited and Aaron Abeyta (aka El Hefe) joined to round out the present line-up.

Related Topics:
1991 - El Hefe

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It was not until the 1994 release of Punk in Drublic that the band had a popular breakthrough. The album went gold in the same year pop-punk entered the mainstream with The Offspring's Smash and Green Day's Dookie. NOFX never matched the popularity of other punk bands, and are among those who achieved popular acclaim in the mid-1990s and still kept their hardcore punk fanbase who reviled other bands that they perceive as sell-outs.

Related Topics:
1994 - Punk in Drublic - Pop-punk - The Offspring - Smash - Green Day - Dookie

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Since 1994 they have consented to very few interviews and have made only few music videos. However, Fat Mike once did an interview for Guitar World in 2003 giving his opinion on the pop punk bands rising at that time. Fat Mike was also interviewed by Australian radio station Triple J in 2004. Their official website features a Q&A section, where they answer questions sent in by fans. Updates have not occurred to the Q&A section, but the archives can still be browsed. NOFX has continued to release independent records throughout their career. An extensive, nearly 20 page interview was done for a 2003 issue of AMP magazine.

Related Topics:
1994 - AMP magazine.

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The band released The Decline in 1999. Having a duration of 18 minutes and 23 seconds it may well be the longest punk song by any artist to date.

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In 2003, NOFX released a CD entitled War on Errorism, an album of snarky political songs, which became the start of their anti-Bush campaign, and a rallying point for liberal punks. Since the CD's release, Fat Mike organized the website Punkvoter.com, compiled two chart topping "Rock Against Bush" CDs on the Fat Wreck label, and kicked off a Rock Against Bush nationwide tour. Their emergence on the political scene has not faded after the election.

Related Topics:
2003 - War on Errorism - Anti-Bush - Rock Against Bush - Fat Wreck

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The band has also released many EPs (Fuck the Kids, The Longest Line) on Fat Mike's own label Fat Wreck Chords. In February of 2005 they launched the NOFX 7" of the Month Club, a subscription based service which will see the release of one new EP every month from February 2005 to January 2006 (a total of 12 releases.) The cover art for these 7-inches were chosen from fan-submitted entries, from which the band selected one submission for each month's record. Billed as "A year long documentation of their songwriting process," the first 3000 subscribers to the club will receive all of their records on coloured vinyl.

Related Topics:
Fuck the Kids - The Longest Line - Fat Wreck Chords

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A new album is widely expected to be released sometime in 2006.

Related Topics:
Album - 2006

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