Some people who listened to punk rock and skate punk in the 90s might not even have known they still existed. But they still existed – until now: scene legends NOFX have announced their separation. It should not come into force immediately, but after 2023. Among other things, the current tour for their “Punk in Drublic” festival should be played to the end.
Singer Michael “Fat Mike” Burkett indirectly dropped the bombshell on Instagram. When a fan asked why NOFX rarely tour Canada, he replied, “We love Canada. It’s just that next year will be our last.” Final shows are to be announced soon, it was an “amazing run”. A spokesman for the band, which currently consists of Fat Mike, Eric Melvin, Erik “Smelly” Sandin and Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta, confirmed the planned dissolution later told Rolling Stone.
NOFX were formed in 1983. A year later their first demo “Thalodomide Child” was released. Their debut LIBERAL ANIMATION came out in 1988. Over a dozen more albums followed, including the classics PUNK IN DRUBLIC (1994) and SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE SHOES (1997). In 2020 they released a split album with Frank Turner. Their current record SINGLE ALBUM will be released in 2021. NOFX are seen as role models and pioneers for bands like blink-182, Green Day, The Offspring and Co.
In 2018, NOFX made headlines after making a tacky joke. During their Las Vegas performance at the Punk Rock Bowling & Music Festival, NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin “joked,” “I guess you only get shot in Vegas if you’re in a country band.” Frontman Fat Mike replied, “That sucked, but: At least they were country fans and not punk rock fans.” He was referring to the victims of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting.
In the largest mass shooting by a lone gunman in US history, a Las Vegas gunman fired from inside the Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a country music festival held on the famous Sunset Strip. He killed at least 59 people and himself, and injured at least 527.
NOFX later apologized publicly and extensively for their behavior. In a statement they wrote: “There’s no place here to backpedal. What NOFX said in Vegas was shameful. We crossed the line of civility.” It went on to say, with a swipe at Roseanne Barr: “We won’t blame it on drugs or alcohol or Ambien. That’s too easy. NOFX said it, and we own it. We made a tasteless joke. But to be clear, NOFX does not condone violence against ANY group of people, period!”
Immediately after the incident, NOFX wrote: “What we said in Vegas was shitty and insensitive and we are all embarrassed by our remarks.”
Watch a live recording of their hit “Kill All The White Man” at Hurricane Festival 2018:
And here’s one from “Don’t Call Me White” at the 1995 Bizarre Festival: