Formed in 1983, NOFX is one of punk’s longest-running entities and has, in turn, gone through several stylistic and personnel changes. (When NOFX celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year, it performed a few shows—including one at Slim’s—with all four incarnations of the band.) The group has gained a reputation for being immature thanks to writing songs like “My Vagina” and “New Boobs” and releasing an album cover depicting a man fingering a sheep; so NOFX surprised a lot of people by getting overtly political during the Dubya years, issuing The War On Errorism in 2003 and Wolves In Wolves’ Clothing in 2006, and helping to organize punkvoter.com, the Rock Against Bush compilations, and the Rock Against Bush tour. Then again, the band has always been political—sometimes it was just hard to notice amidst all that bestiality. Mike Burkett, a.k.a. founder, leader, and local resident Fat Mike—who also owns Fat Wreck Chords—seems to be continuing his quest to attack right-wing ideologies through a mix of vitriol and gross-out jokes. His band’s new album, Coaster, does this, but it doesn’t skimp on the odes to moonshine either.
Decider: You once said your main goal was to get Bush out of office. What’s left for you to do?
Fat Mike: Kick back and see what happens! My angst is gone right now, and I’m gonna see what comes of it all.
D: A lot of people are celebrating Obama’s victory, but some people in the punk community, including Jello Biafra, remain suspicious. What’s your take on our new president?
FM: Actually, I’m not suspicious at all. I think he’s a really good man. Still, the chances of surviving this are pretty low. I don’t see a big future for this country. I do think the America we know will become a much more dangerous country, much less wealthy. I think the U.S.A. will become more like Argentina or South Africa.
D: Bill Stevenson, who’s played with the Descendents, Black Flag, and All, produced Coaster. What did he add to the band’s sound?
FM: What’s great about Bill Stevenson is his ability to record a song. When I tell him we want to sound like X, he makes us sound like X. He gave us inspiration. Seventy-five percent of the guitars on this album were played on a Jazzmaster Fender through a Silvertone amp. We haven’t recorded like this in a long time—it’s a real classic sound. It’s our most old-school-sounding record. It comes from a time before we started playing. It has the L.A. punk sound. We nailed the Germs guitar tone.
D: This is your 12th album. How will you avoid becoming a novelty or nostalgia act?