NOFX

NOFX (H)
Early years (1983–1990)


In 1983, guitarist Eric Melvin met bassist/vocalist Mike Burkett (Fat Mike) and started the band under the name NO-FX, after a Boston hardcore punk band called Negative FX.[9] At this time, they were joined by drummer Erik "Smelly" Sandin. NOFX's first recording was a demo from 1984, produced by Germs drummer Don Bolles, which did not sell many copies. The only people who possess this rare copy were either the people who made it or the people they sold it to, obviously. It is an incredibly rare collector's item. Many have been uploaded online, but barely any are valid. Fat Mike claims no copies exist anymore, though it is unclear whether he or any other members of the band still possess the item. They released their self-titled debut EP NOFX on Mystic Records in 1985, which was later re-released in 1992 as part of the Maximum Rocknroll CD. The band's lineup had undergone numerous changes; however, the original three members had reunited. For a year, Erik "Smelly" Sandin left the band and was replaced by Scott Sellers, and later by Scott Aldahl. Dave Allen was in the band for about four months, until he died in a car accident. In 1986, the band released So What If We're on Mystic! Dave Casillas joined the band on second guitar in 1987 and was featured on the EP The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This, attacking the PMRC's campaign for music censorship. The original cover was an edited S&M photo; the cover for the re-released version was changed to a photo of Eric Melvin. Prior to the release of Liberal Animation, a compilation of 14 early NOFX songs was released on Mystic Records. The album was self-titled, and featured the songs from the NOFX and So What If We're on Mystic! EPs. The album is quite rare and only printed around 1,000 copies. The price of the album ranges from $80–300 (see "NOFX" article on NOFX Wiki for more details). The album's cover was a remastered version of the cover from the NOFX EP.



They recorded Liberal Animation in 1988 with Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion. Although the title and some of the album's lyrics mocked vegetarianism and animal rights, Fat Mike says that he became a vegetarian after writing the Liberal Animation album.[10] The album was re-released in 1991 on Gurewitz's label Epitaph Records. Dave left the band and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller (a.k.a. 'Steve the Caucasian') after the recording of Liberal Animation. NOFX released their second album S&M Airlines on Epitaph Records in 1989