Fat Mike
photo by Susan Moss

Fat Mike talks Punk Rock Museum, end of NOFX, Green Day coming around, and more

2023 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Fat Mike. His longtime band NOFX are celebrating their 40th anniversary and also beginning what will be their final tour ever, and he spearheaded the new Punk Rock Museum, which opened in Las Vegas earlier this month. We talked to Fat Mike about both of those things on the new episode of the BrooklynVegan podcast, as well as his new project Codefendants, and some general punk rock talk, like how he first got into punk himself and what he believes is the true start of the genre. “The Ramones started the sound, the Ramones brought the punk sound to England, and The Sex Pistols brought punk rock to the US,” he said, adding, “The Ramones really did it because they could barely play, and they were just kids having fun and arguing, and they never thought anything would happen. They never thought they were gonna be a big band, and that’s kind of the spirit of punk – people just doing it for fun.”

He also reinforced that there will “never” be a NOFX reunion after this tour, gave his stance on rising concert ticket prices and large promotion companies like Live Nation, explained why certain bands were left out of the Punk Rock Museum, spoke about Green Day initially being uninterested in the museum but then having a change of heart and lending the museum items like Billie Joe Armstrong’s classic “Blue” guitar, discussed the NOFX song he had originally written for blink-182, and more. Listen to our full chat with Fat Mike on Spotify, Apple, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Punk Rock Museum is open now, and it’s full of artifacts from all five decades of punk history. It also features guided tours by members of punk bands, including Fat Mike himself, other members of NOFX, and members of Circle Jerks, The Germs, Fishbone, Less Than Jake, Agnostic Front, Anti-Flag, the Ramones, The Damned, The Vandals, Sick Of It All, TSOL, The Adicts, and much more. You can also play famous punk musicians’ actual instruments in the museum’s jam room, and there’s a bar, a tattoo parlor, a wedding chapel, and more. More info at the Punk Rock Museum website.

All upcoming NOFX tour dates here. More TBA.

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