NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after, and El Hefe joined the band in 1991 to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up.
Mest is an American rock band originally formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Tony Lovato, bassist Matt Lovato, drummer Nick Gigler, and guitarist Jeremiah Rangel. They broke up in 2006 after eleven years, but temporarily reformed in California in 2008 for a "final tour." Later, it was announced that the classic lineup of Mest, with Tony Lovato, Matt Lovato, Nick Gigler, and Jeremiah Rangel, would be getting back together.
Cowpunk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and southern California in the early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matter, attitude, and style. Examples include Boothill Foot Tappers, X, the Blasters, Meat Puppets, The Beat Farmers, Rubber Rodeo, Rank and File, Jason and the Scorchers, and Violent Femmes. Many of the musicians in this scene subsequently became associated with alternative country or roots rock. In the 2000s (decade), Those Darlins have been called a cowpunk band.
Punk in Drublic is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on July 19, 1994 through Epitaph Records. The title is a spoonerism of "Drunk in Public".
Steven Lee Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto from its founding in 1976 to its latest hiatus in 2019. A prolific session musician, Lukather has recorded guitar tracks for more than 1,500 albums representing a broad array of artists and genres. He has also contributed to albums and hit singles as a songwriter, arranger and producer. He played guitar on Boz Scaggs' albums Down Two Then Left (1977) and Middle Man (1980). Lukather was a prominent contributor to several studio albums by Michael Jackson, including Thriller (1982), Lukather has released seven solo albums, the latest of which, Transition, was released in January 2013.
Stephen James Howe is an English musician, songwriter and producer, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to learn the instrument himself at age 12. He embarked on a music career in 1964, first playing in several London-based blues, covers, and psychedelic rock bands for six years, including the Syndicats, Tomorrow, and Bodast.
Aaron Abeyta, better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from el Jefe is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. He started playing guitar at the age of 13, but he states that he started taking it seriously at the age of 15, joining his first band. He attended the Berklee College of Music and graduated with honors.
Eric Scott Melvin is an American musician and founding member of the punk rock band NOFX, a group that has sold over 6 million records worldwide. Though most recognized for his ability to play the guitar, Melvin also plays the accordion.
Rich Kids on LSD (RKL) was a Californian hardcore punk band formed in 1982 in Montecito, California, a suburb of Santa Barbara. They were associated with the "Nardcore" scene that evolved out of nearby Oxnard. Their music expanded over the years from West Coast hardcore to a mix of hardcore with rock and metal elements. This style, along with touring, made them very popular on the European scene, especially among skaters in the 1980s and 1990s. Guitarist Chris Rest was the band's only consistent member.
Slaughter is an American rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Mark Slaughter and bassist Dana Strum. The band reached stardom in 1990 with their first album Stick It to Ya, which spawned several hit singles including "Up All Night", "Spend My Life", "Mad About You" and "Fly to the Angels". The album reached double platinum status in the United States. The band remains a steady act in national tours, mainly in the Rock Never Stops Tour which features several bands of the same era.
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist, composer and producer. He is best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He produced or co-produced all Dream Theater albums from 1999's Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory to 2019's Distance Over Time. He has been the sole producer of the band's albums released since Portnoy's departure in 2010. Petrucci was named as the third player on the G3 tour seven times, more than any other invited guitarist. Joel McIver's 2009 book The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists ranks Petrucci second, after Dave Mustaine. He was also named as one of the "Top 10 Greatest Guitar Shredders of All Time" by GuitarOne magazine. In 2012, Petrucci was ranked the 17th greatest guitarist of all time by a Guitar World magazine reader's poll.
S&M Airlines is the second studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on September 5, 1989 through Epitaph Records. It was also the group's first release on Epitaph. A music video was made for the title track. The album was recorded and mixed in only six days at Westbeach Recorders. Bad Religion's Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz appear on the final track, a cover of the Fleetwood Mac song "Go Your Own Way". They also did harmonies on a few other songs. Bassist/singer, Fat Mike considers it to be the first real NOFX album. It was heavily inspired by Bad Religion and Rich Kids on LSD, and showed the band moving more towards a melodic and metallic sound. The album sold 3,500 copies upon its release.
The War on Errorism is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on May 6, 2003 through Fat Wreck Chords.
Ribbed is the third studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on March 26, 1991 through Epitaph Records. It was their last album to feature Steve Kidwiller on guitar, who was replaced by El Hefe. Ribbed is also the last NOFX album produced by Brett Gurewitz, who produced the first two albums Liberal Animation and S&M Airlines. The album sold 8,000 copies upon its release. Chris Hannah of Propagandhi considers Ribbed to be the best NOFX album and a significant influence on Propagandhi's early sound.
Greg Hetson is an American guitarist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and has lived in the Los Angeles area since he was 2 years old. Active since 1979, Hetson is best known as the guitarist for the influential hardcore punk bands Redd Kross, Circle Jerks and Bad Religion. He is known for his high energy stage antics which people have coined the term "The Hetson Leap ". He was a founding member of and also plays guitar in another supergroup, Punk Rock Karaoke and the hard core punk band G.F.P.
White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on November 5, 1992, through Epitaph Records. It is the first NOFX album to feature El Hefe on guitar, replacing Steve Kidwiller, who left the band in 1991. White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean was also the first NOFX album not produced by Brett Gurewitz, who produced the band's first three albums. According to the liner notes for the album, the original title was going to be White Trash, Two Kikes and a Spic, but one of the band members' family members thought it was offensive, so they changed it to the title of the actual release.
The Greatest Songs Ever Written is a greatest hits compilation album released on November 9, 2004 by NOFX consisting of previously released songs that have been cleaned up and restored using a more recent technology. Some songs were even re-mixed for the compilation.
Derek Shawn O'Brien is an American drummer and producer. The Fullerton, California-born O'Brien started his career while still at Fullerton High School and played in Rock cover bands by night with Guitarists Stan De Witt and Frank Agnew.
Patrick Muzingo started playing the drums at the age of 12. Hailing from Los Angeles, California he grew up with a supportive family that boasted other musicians. Growing up in the 1970s and 80's brought the drummer into some amazing situations. Looking back Muzingo experienced the 1st wave of Pool skating, was one of the original Eagle Rock ramp crew, witnessed many genres of music in its infancy including the 1st wave of Punk rock and the late 1980s signing spree of rock bands in Los Angeles. Muzingo reflects back on growing up during these important times- "Its funny, I used to skate with so many now famous skaters. I even entered contests where I beat a few skaters that are now multi millionaires. With the music thing I saw friends go from living with various girlfriends to owning huge houses and selling multi platinum releases. I was in some pretty cool situations. I got to grow up with many now successful/ famous people. Unfortunately I saw many talented people fall to dependencies that lead to their own demise."
Michael John Burkett, known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Fat Mike started out with his first band False Alarm in 1982.
