Interview with Fat Mike of NOFX [he discusses Offspring]
Source: http://www.kiss.uni-lj.si/~k4fe0443/
Date: 1995
 

    You've been traveling around the world for ten years now. Which country has the biggest punk rock audience, and where's your favorite place to play?

Fat Mike: The biggest is Germany. But I think my favorite place to play is San Francisco. Because in San Francisco we can play over 21 shows, and last time we played over 21 we had 1000 people. And I like playing to adults. I like playing to people my own age. And they rock out way more than kids do, cause they're all drunk and fucked up and having a good time - and they understand my jokes.

     Is that hard, being in punk from the older days, and now you look out and the new punk audience are these young kids?

It's not weird. That's what everyone says. They say everyone's so young. But fuck, I was going to shows when I was 14. I don't know what's so weird about that. Audiences are young, and it's just that we're old.

     Your new record, Punk In Drublic. You did it three weeks. Now did you do that because that's the way records should be done, or was money tight for studio time?

Neither. That's as long as it took. We have no recording budget. Epitaph says spend as much money as you want to. We went into a studio that cost $350 bucks a day, and it took us three weeks to do. We didn't skimp on anything. We just did it.

     When you go in do you play mostly live together or do you go in one at a time?

We do bass and drums live, and guitar separate. And we usually do two to three mixes a day.

     Sex, AIDS, Peace, Love: your views on those.

Sex: kinky. Love: I'm married. AIDS, kinda sucks. No, it totally sucks. You know what sucks? I used to think gay guys were so fucking cool. I was like, "Man, these guys are so stoked. They can go and get fucked as much as they want to, no problem.
Just go to a bar and fuck, and just fuck all the time. Those guys are stoked. They're so lucky." And now they can't do that anymore. Now just the lesbians. Only the lesbians can do it.

     At least someone's having fun. So does your wife like the kinky side, too?

Oh yeah.

     How has NOFX changed its musical style over the past 12 years. You look at the first record and you look at the new one.

We're better. We're definitely a band that gets better, which is not rare, but not usually the case. And I'm very happy. I spend a lot of time writing songs. It takes me months to write a song, and I think when you put a lot of care into music like that, and you rip off good riffs from other bands, then you're going to do good. Don't Call Me White took me four months to write. It's not like I spent four months on one song. Like right now, we have a new album - it's being written. It's got 13 songs on it, and three are finished. And every day I get two more lines in a song, or two more lyrics, or maybe one new harmony or something like that.

     So do you sit there and go, "OK, time to write a song." Or do you wait to get inspired?

I have a tape recorder, and whenever I write good stuff, a neat riff, I put on the tape recorder. And every month I listen to the whole tape, and the songs come together. Different parts sound right - the right key, the right speed. I know a lot of songwriters who write a song in day. I can't do it. I write albums. I have the album in mind when I'm writing it.

     Are all the songs yours, or is it a team effort?

Mine. All the guitar stuff. Everything. I even write the trumpet parts, and I can't play trumpet.

     So are looking for another 12 years? Do you think you'll be around?

I'm going to be playing music all my life. I know that. I'll probably give up singing in a while, because your voice goes. And I don't have a good voice to start with. I'm not a very good singer. I think I'll just write songs and play in a band. I mean, there's no reason why NOFX will break up - unless we are just a joke. Then we'll probably just do albums, and not play.

     A lot of bands become jokes.

I think its because they stop caring. They start thinking radio and they start thinking, "Let me write a song. All I gotta do is write a hit song." Like, you shouldn't print this either, but Offspring, a lot of those lyrics were written that day in the studio. The "Keep 'em separated" lyrics were written that day. There's no thought in that song, at all. It's a throwaway song on the album. I like the Offspring. I think they have some good songs. But I don't think their album is ground breaking at all. But it's a good sounding album, it's a good band.

     So what do you think about that. Two years ago Offspring was opening up for you guys.

Oh I was so jealous for a couple months. Totally. We were bummed. I was so bummed. Cause we're a better band - I think. But now, I'm really happy for them. Honest. No shit. Because I understand it. And when I listen to Offspring next to what's on
the radio - next to Pearl Jam - they fucking blow Pearl Jam away. If you put the Offspring next to a lot of punk bands, they're totally average. But if you put them in the big business music scene, they fucking smoke. And that's how the music works.
Some bands are great, and they're big. And some bands aren't good, and they're big. Nirvana was a band that was totally awesome, and they deserved everything, cause they were kings.

     Do you relate better to the punk of the old days or the punk of the new days?

I think the whole music industry, and punk bands, is the greatest it's ever been. I've never liked a lot of bands, and there are so many good bands coming out. You listen to the radio and you hear good songs, all the time. That's totally new.

The crowds, they're getting a little bigger because punk rock's popular. I don't care, whatever. I don't really think about it. One of our best shows, last tour, was in Oslo in front of 200 people. But it was perfect, fucking prefect. We were laughing on stage all the time because funny shit kept happening. Like the Offspring - the one thing that really bugs me about them is they play the same exact thing every night. Same jokes - they do a little Weezer, a little Green Day. In between every song he says the same thing. It makes you not a band. It makes you like a circus act, and you're performing for these people. And I don't feel that way when I'm playing. I feel like I'm just doing my songs. I'm doing my thing. I might do the same jump every night, but I'm not going to be performer for them. I'm not a show. Bad Religion did the same thing, too. They say some joke, and then they'll start laughing, and it's not funny after 30 times. And they still laugh, because they're just laughing to show people that they're laughing. And I don't think that's cool. I've done this one gimmick before. I've done it three times in my whole life. I tell everyone to give me their clothes, and I put on every piece of clothing that comes on stage, and I get bigger and bigger and bigger. And it's funny, but I'm not going to that every night. Sometimes it sounds right. Like I just got this bracelet the other night.

     You get a lot of souvenirs as you go across the world.

I started it in Seattle because I was like, "I want some grunge clothes. You guys got the coolest clothes here. Gimme your clothes." I got so many striped shirts. This striped shirt I got in Seattle. I got so many, it was just fun.

     Do you like to be in crowd ever. Do you still go see punk rock bands?

Sure, but I won't go see big shows. I won't even go see 1000 people. I don't like it. I'd rather see bands in bars all the time. I saw Jawbreaker the other day. It was a 500 seater. that was a lot of fun. But really, to enjoy myself, I have to have a beer in my hand and be able see the band, and not get slammed on.