NOFX is bringing an end to their forty year career of pure punk rock with a massive world tour!
Despite being engrossed in their preparations to hit Australia with one of biggest and craziest shows ever, performing forty songs a night, we were thrilled to be able to catch up with NOFX‘s legendary frontman Fat Mike.
NOFX‘s Fat Mike is one of the most truly unique characters in the music scene. This iconic punk singer is always willing to talk about anything, anywhere on his own terms, so it was hardly a surprise that during the course of this interview we were given sexual advice, as well as some outrageous tangents about dominatrixes, drug use and life & death situations. Don’t miss the madness!
SR. You are heading Down Under to play what would be probably some of the longest shows of your career. How are you preparing yourself mentally and physically for that?
FM. I have been doing a lot of drugs!…are you high now on acid or mushrooms?
SR. No, just on allergy pills for my spring allergies (laughs)
FM. I can tell for your accent you live in Australia, but you are from Mexico?
SR. Actually I’m originally from Chile. Hence the accent.
FM. Does your accent works for you with the ladies?
SR. It used to, but my wife was not happy about it (laughs). So Where are you now…in the US?
FM. In Vegas, just opened the Punk Rock Museum here in Vegas.
SR. Wanted to ask you about that!
FM. It’s a lot of fun, brings a lot of joy to different kind of people…and I’m trying to get the f** Foo Fighters to come in. But you know…they are The Foo Fighters.
“…Punk rock doesn’t really change, you just need to know where to find it…”
SR. You have always been very outspoken about Punk rock, and how much it means to you. When we talk Punk, we think of NOFX, Dead Kennedy’s, Rancid and Exploited just to name some. However, if you think in current times, it’s quite hard to find a band who truly carries the flag for Punk Rock in the mainstream media. What do you think is going on with the scene now?
FM. I think the Punk scene is the same, there are still young bands around, playing in garages, that can play very well, having fun, drinking beers, getting laid, getting into some fights.
Punk rock doesn’t really change, you just need to know where to find it. Where I’m right now in East LA, there are some good bands.
SR. Do you think too many bands are getting to desperate to make it and are abusing of auto-tune and TikTok to get their name out?
FM. With NOFX we tuned our vocals sins 1996, but not autotune…maybe really close. But you do trick in the studio to make your band sound better, you edit, you play a lead 30 times in a row, that you might not be able to play live.
I don’t think is bad, but the issue is when you play live, you won’t be as good.
SR. That’s a fair point, because we saw you at Good things in Sydney, and you guys still sound and get the crowd crazy like in the good old times back in the 90’s. What do you think is the secret of the NOFX’s longevity?
FM. Simply because we are honest, we are not different from who we are on stage versus who we are in real life. We always try to do different shows, we don’t have a routine ever.
We are punk rockers, we are not rockstars. I think the key is to have more fun than your audience. It’s funny you mention Good Things, because in the last show, I believe it was in Brisbane, I got Covid and feel like fu** shit, and I still did the show with f** fever and all. I still had a good time and play the show, because people wanted to have fun and they dont care if you feel like shit.
SR. That’s the difference between bands like you guys, and pop singers like Bieber, who gets stomachache and cancel entire tours for that.
FM. I think we have only cancelled 2 shows in 40 years.
SR. 40 years is a lifetime. What do you think is the legacy NOFX will leave after stopping touring?
NOFX At Good Things Festival Sydney. Picture by Sergio Martin.
FM. I haven’t really look back. At certain points of my life I think I was at the top of the happiest 100 people in the world, because I get to do what I love for leaving, I do all my sexual fantasies, I have a very group of friends, and I have respect for my peers. See what a lot of people, say stuff, like you can have all the money in the world but you dont do what you love and instead do what you want, and that gets boring.
I get to travel the world with my best friends and have true loves in my life, every day I wake up and me and my partner say to each other “It’s gonna be another great day” and pretty much, you go through hard times, depression and sickness, but at the end every day is a great day.
SR. That’s a very strong message, especially thinking in ow many of us have struggled in recent years with the pandemic. How do you manage to keep the sanity during that period?
FM. Covid was the first time I’ve depression, I was divorce and thinks were weird…sanity? I just wrote songs. But you know what was the worse thing about Covid! was the fact you were not able to get some f** good Cocaine, because all the borders were closed.
So you know, I have a garden in my house, so I work on that, wrote songs, fucked a lot and thought of things, like the Punk Rock museum, and doing different projects. It’s all perspective bro, how you look at things.
Me and my lady were traveling and moving around, and I remember being stuck in this huge traffic jam, and we were just listening to comedy, while I was getting a hand-job..it’s all about what you make out of it.
“…It’s all about pleasing your partner, so you have to be excited thinking, how I’m gonna please my partner tonight…”
SR. Lucky you! (laugh)
FM. What you dont get woken up with a blow job in the morning? You ever wake up your chick with a massage!? Did you gain weight and that’s why she is not in the mood?…don’t let yourself go…listen to me…all you have to do is to go down in your woman, that’s it, one minute later they are f* wet and horny.
This is my advice to everyone, this is a good thing to do: Once a month is your night and no complains, your lady has to do wherever you want for a couple of hours and once a month you do the same for her, but when you are doing that for her, you cannot put your dick anywhere. It’s all about her, not about you.
It’s all about pleasing your partner, so you have to be excited thinking, how I’m gonna please my partner tonight, its very refreshing, and few weeks after you will be like “wohoo it’s my night”…That’s the problem, people always think about performing, so it’s nice to go al in without having to “perform”.
SR. And that’s the life advice we always wanted to hear! Speaking about life experiences. What’s the craziest thing that ever happened to you while on tour?
FM. In 1986 we were out in a van and was freezing in Texas. We were lying at the back of the van, my head is towards the back, and we hear noise, and we got hit by a truck. The hit got crunch in, right where my head was. That was probably the closes time I have ever been about to die.
Then we went to a gas station, and still slept in the Van and it was so cold that our breath made ice at the top of the Van, so waking up we felt as if it was raining on us inside. The van was pretty much done of course, but I feel very lucky the truck missed my head by a few inches.
SR. You just released a new solo album “Fat Mike Gets Strung Out” and it’s a ripper. I love the song “F*ck Day Six”, I think that’s the song that represents you the most!
FM. (Laughs) Good choice, you know that song has 24 cords with no pattern, and I think that makes interesting string music, because it has no repeats. I like that song, I’m glad you listened to it.
The album just came out, not much notice for it, I don’t really know how to sell records, I think and I hope people like you will spread the word with friends. It’s a very good record to have gay sex too…seriously…I just watch it all the time.
SR.(Laughs) I assume this is a sign there will be more Fat Mike music after NOFX correct?
FM. Of course, I cannot stop…I have probably around 60 songs I haven’t recorded yet. I cannot stop writing, but you know my band, are like…”ohh you wrote another song…again” , they are not really interested on it, so I just do it myself.
SR. That means you guys wont do a “Motley Crue” and start touring after “the final tour”?
FM. No, we won’t. I see Tommy at the golf course and that’s it. Look they haven’t done a good record since 1985 or 84. Well, they are not punk rockers, but I like Tommy he is a cool dude….so the answer is not, we are not doing a comeback tour, I had enough of NOFX.
SR. What’s the craziest request you have received by a fan?
FM. Well, you know people gets tattoos and shit with my face or my signature. I actually have tattooed people myself…but I think I’ll stop here because I don’t wanna incriminate myself.
SR. Just to finish. Any message for your Aussie fans ahead of the tour?
FM. Thank you so much, Australia always been a home away from home, I’m sincere. Between Frenzal Rhomb, Bodyjar and Mistress Tokyo…Ohhh…Mistress Tokyo, I spent some time at her dungeon, and it was brutal, she is awesome and she is a f** professional, one of the best dominatrix I have ever seen. She is a very intelligent, caring woman…me and my partner will definitely make an appointment, if you wanna tag along…anyway I adore Australia and cannot wait to come back!
NOFX Final Tour
SAT 20 JAN – SYDNEY, HORDERN PAVILION
WOLVES’ IN WOLVES CLOTHING / PUNK IN DRUBLIC / THE WAR ON ERRORISM
SUN 21 JAN – SYDNEY, HORDERN PAVILION
WHITE TRASH, TWO HEEBS AND A BEAN / SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE SHOES / THE DECLINE
TUE 23 JAN – BRISBANE, FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL
WOLVES’ IN WOLVES CLOTHING / PUNK IN DRUBLIC / THE WAR ON ERRORISM
WED 24 JAN – BRISBANE, FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL
WHITE TRASH, TWO HEEBS AND A BEAN / SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE SHOES / THE DECLINE
FRI 26 JAN – MELBOURNE, FESTIVAL HALL
WOLVES’ IN WOLVES CLOTHING / PUNK IN DRUBLIC / THE WAR ON ERRORISM
SAT 27 JAN- MELBOURNE, FESTIVAL HALL
WHITE TRASH, TWO HEEBS AND A BEAN / SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE SHOES / THE DECLINE
“Exclusive VIP packages will be available – more info at livenation.com.au / sbmpresents.com
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