Honolulu Weekly

Since their inception in the early ’80s, NOFX has encapsulated the spirit of punk with its snotty, sarcastic style and self-effacing humor. In the last decade, however, the band emerged on the forefront of music with a message, frustrated with the state of American politics and voter apathy. Bassist and lead vocalist Fat Mike started [punkvoter.com] in an attempt to involve and inspire a disenfranchised youth populace, while still singing humorous songs about beer bongs, ugly footwear and lesbian relationships. Now, NOFX is on the road again, including January dates in Honolulu and Maui. Fat Mike spoke with Honolulu Weekly about the recent election, the fact that he’s always considered himself as political and how The Hideaway isn’t as scary as Dog the Bounty Hunter thinks it is.

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How are you feeling after this election?

You know, there’s a bit of mixed feelings because I’m so happy Obama won, but then there’s the stuff with Proposition 8 that sours it. But in terms of the presidential race, I really couldn’t be happier. What’s interesting is that I like to think that although it’s terrible that George [W.] Bush won a second term, there’s no way we would have had someone as good as Obama in office if it wasn’t for Bush winning in 2004. That’s the one silver lining of the last eight years.

How did you go about getting into politics? There’s a huge difference between your earlier records and 2003’s The War on Errorism.

We’ve always had political songs, it’s just that we’re a fun band, so people don’t really look at us in that way.

But the shift in later records seemed so striking. You couldn’t tell if you were paying more attention, or you were just angrier about the state of affairs.

That’s what it is, I got more into politics and I started really going out there and getting people organized, and that’s what gave the illusion that NOFX became political as a band. We were always [political] as people but not as much lyrically and musically. We’ve been doing it for a long time, but it was just time to get more serious about it.

What brought that about?

It was from fear of George W. Bush. I mean, we all knew he was going to be that bad, but he outdid our expectations! He was actually worse! No one could imagine four years ago or eight years ago that this country could be in worse shape than it is.

What’re your thoughts on the passing of Proposition 8 in California?

Well, Proposition 8 is really sad. But there might be a silver lining to that one too. Because people are so outraged by it–and it is, it’s outrageous, a civil rights issue like this–I mean, they’re actually enacting a law into the constitution that discriminates. It’s just unbelievable. And it’s more unbelievable that the Mormon Church, [which isn't] even here, spent 20 million dollars to pass a law that’s not even in their state! It makes me hate religious people even more. They just can’t mind their own business.

How did you become involved with Scott Ritter?

I talked to him and he came out to Vegas, and he spoke at the Punk Voter show. And me and him just played craps at the casino and had beers, and he told me some really interesting stuff. For those who don’t know him, he was a Republican, he was in the Army for 20 years, I think, and he was second-in-charge for weapons inspections in Iraq. He worked under Hans Blix and he went to, I think it was Dick Cheney and said, “Hey, we’ve searched for a year and a half and there’s no weapons of mass destruction.” And they basically called him a traitor, all for letting us know–before we invaded–that there was no weapons there. That could have saved hundreds of thousand of lives.

Did you see a positive reaction from these Punk Voter shows?

We played a couple of cities, like Bakersfield, where there were a lot of rednecks. We got spit on a lot and while we were playing and they were throwing big chunks of concrete at us. One of them hit [NOFX guitarist] Eric Melvin. We’re never going back to Bakersfield.

I think we laid a lot of good ground work in 2004, and you can see by the numbers of how many kids came out and voted this time. I really think that we had a lot to do with that. I mean, we did our part. We got maybe 100,000 to 200,000 kids who may not have voted into voting. It was something very necessary for the youth of this country, because, you know, it’s our country now. Though I can’t really call myself a youth (laughs). But you know, old people are the ones who voted for McCain and they’re dying, and young people are the ones voting for Obama.

But that was a question, should we take Punk Voter and have concerts in cities that were right wing and try to turn people? Or do we just play liberal cities to just try and get people excited and get out there?

Is this a responsibility of artists? Should they be using their voice to try to bring about change?

I think everybody should. The only thing with artists is that sometimes we have a bigger audience, or a bigger soapbox. But real change is brought about by just talking to people for two hours. Like, I changed a Republican from being a Republican, or so I think, on a three-hour plane ride once. That’s when you get real change. It’s not slogans, it’s not something you say on stage. It’s talking to people and giving them the facts. A lot of Republicans have liberal beliefs–they just don’t vote it because they don’t understand it. If you watch Fox News your whole life, you’re not going to find out about it.

On the television show NOFX Backstage Passport, you said the last tour was the hardest and that you’re probably not going to be able to do it again–yet here you are, on tour.

What I meant by that is that when we tour South America and all over Southeast Asia, you’re flying every day, and you’re not making the money. I think in Asia we lost a hundred thousand dollars. We’re getting kinda old to be traveling like that, and partying that much, and losing money (laughs). So, we’re not stopping touring but we tour about three months a year. It’s not that hard. Our tours aren’t very long. Three of us have kids now, and none of us really fancy being away from our kids for more than three weeks. Not only that, me and our guitar players are total fucking alcoholics and drug users when we’re on tour, and after three weeks, when you’re playing five nights a week and you’re partying every night, you need some time off.

Can you talk about your record label Fat Wreck Chords? Specifically the philosophy about the one-record deals enabling bands to leave if they want?

Well, I’m just…You know, I’m in a band, and I was on a label, so I know what it feels like to have a rotten deal. Epitaph always gave us a good deal, so that was never a problem…

But you were on Mystic, which reportedly ripped off everybody.

Yeah, exactly. So I know what it feels like. It’s not the best business move. I might have done better if I had longer contracts, because I would have kept Rise Against and Against Me! on the label (laughs). But I just don’t have the heart for it. I like to be as fair as I can be. I think that’s why I’ve been successful with my label, and why bands don’t say bad things about me, because I’ve never ripped anybody off. You can be a capitalist without ripping anybody off.

Last time you were here, I know you ended up at The Hideaway…

Yeah, there’s a good chance we’ll end up at The Hideaway. It’s funny, because, you know, I just thought it was a fun bar, and then I saw it on, what, Dog? The bounty hunter?

Yeah, he’s not allowed in there.

Yeah, but on his show he was like, “We don’t go in that bar, it’s too dangerous.” I’m like, what? It’s not dangerous. It’s fun.

NOFX perform at The Cellar 744 (Maui) Fri 1/16, 8pm, and Pipeline Cafe Sat 1/17, 9pm. Tickets available beginning Fri 11/22, through [hnlnow.com] and all Hawaiian Island Creations locations.