Transformonline.com May-22-2006 Fat Mike and Eric Melvin
Original Interview: http://www.transformonline.com/music/features/004453.php
By Tim Den Monday. May 22, 1:28 AM
A rare interview with bassist/vocalist Fat Mike (Part One) and guitarist/backup vocalist Eric Melvin (Part Two).
== PART ONE == (Fat Mike)
In all seriousness, was Bush's reelection a surprise to you? How bummed were you about the inability of Punkvoter – and all counterculture – to stop this idiot son of an asshole from ascending to the throne once again?
I was a bit surprised that Bush won, but that’s how it goes. Elections have always been fixed here and there. I was only bummed for a couple days, cuz we did our part at Punkvoter. We accomplished everything we set out to do. We just lost the election. If I had done nothing, I would have felt a lot worse.
Does / did it bother you that, despite all your efforts to bring political awareness to "the kids," many outsiders (indie snobs in particular) dismissed it all as a joke?
It doesn’t bother me. I knew before I started Punkvoter that I would get some shit and some ridicule, but that’s how it goes. If you’re gonna go out on a limb and make a big stink, people are gonna throw stink bombs right back at you. I don’t mind stinking.*
Much has been made about Propagandhi's song "Rock For Sustainable Capitalism." Could you once and for all delve into your relationship with the band and give readers insight as to why they seemingly aimed the song at you?
I wish I knew why they put me in that song. I always thought that we were all on the same team. I’m a fucking activist, and just because we don’t share all the same beliefs doesn’t mean we aren’t all fighting the same fight. I think there are a lot better targets out there besides me. Then again, Propagandhi don’t follow anyone’s set of rules. They are a pretty amazing band.
Fat Wreck Chords and NOFX have grown exponentially since the early '90s when I first became a fan. How have you been able to make all the "right business choices," so to speak?
We grew exponentially for about 10 years, but now we’re going a few steps back. Our brand of punk doesn’t sell like it used to, but that’s okay. Those are the choices that we made: to put out our brand of honest punk rock. We never followed the ska trend and we never bought into the emo trend, and maybe we don’t sell as many records as we did five years ago, but we sure are proud of the bands we do have. Selling units isn’t everything.
You don't talk much about family life, but you are happily married to E Dagger, no? Give us an image of what the Fat Mike household is like.
I get up at 8am with my baby girl, eat breakfast, change a diaper… you know, this is not that interesting. My life is just normal, ‘cept when I go on tour. That’s when the crazy stuff happens. When I’m at home, I’m just a dad.
How did the parents of NOFX members deal with you guys pursuing a "career" in music for so many years prior to you becoming self- sufficient? Were they pissed? Did they think you were throwing your life away?
I can’t speak for everyone’s parents, but mine thought I was throwing my life away. Especially since I graduated from college and still played in a punk band for no money. When the money started rolling in a few years later, that’s when they started being proud and supportive. Standard.
You often pay tribute to your favorite punk bands... who would you say are your absolute favorites: now and when you were young?
Now: Bad Religion, Randy, and Sum 41 (yes, Sum 41). Then: Subhumans, Rudimentary Peni, AOD, RKL, and Adolescents… oh, and The Germs.
Do you honestly dislike other forms of music – indie, metal, etc. – or are your onstage rants merely humor?
I don’t like music much. Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the only record I can listen to all the time.
You've often said that NOFX make the same albums over and over again. Does that bother you? Why / why not? After two decades of writing NOFX songs, why do you continue if it's the same ol' same ol'? What do you want to accomplish by continuing to write songs?
I say that but I don’t really mean it. I think all our albums have their own unique sound. Yeah, there are similarities, but I think most of our fans can tell the difference.
The Fat family has lost plenty of members due to drug use, yet you seem to still be all for substances. What are your views on drugs, alcohol, etc.? How do you know when to say when?
Everything in moderation. That’s the key. I’ve lost a lot of friends to drugs over the years, but every one of them had serious drug problems. Not only that, but heroin and speed were the culprits in almost every case, and I think those drugs are trouble. I really think there’s a right way and a wrong way to use drugs. Maybe that’s just a rationalization, but I don’t think so.
How did you hire the best publicist in the world, Vanessa? Did you make a deal with the devil?
We found her at the Jersey Underground Gypsy Network: a great place to meet friends.
== PART TWO == (Eric Melvin)
Most bands today barely last five years, yet you and Mike have carried on NOFX for over 20. What is the key to your longevity, friendship, loyalty, creative chemistry, etc.?
We were friends before we were band mates. Since the very beginning Mike, Erik, and I have had a sense of humor and a sense of humility. When Hefe joined, he fit right in.
What was it like growing up with Mike?
I would go over to his house after school and we would listen to records, go looking for a house with an empty pool to skateboard in, or go to some parties in the valley. He rarely came over to my house because he and my mom didn't get along. My mom was kinda strict, and wouldn't let me go out all the time like his mom did. He was skinny and scrawny, and a late bloomer. He also had a radio hour on the local cable channel that broadcast from his high school.
How did the parents of NOFX members deal with you guys pursuing a "career" in music for so many years prior to you becoming self- sufficient? Were they pissed? Did they think you were throwing your life away?
My mom once said to me, “If you don't know what you want to do with your life, maybe you could join the army or something.” I said that I knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to play music with this band.
Before one of our first tours, I talked with my Dad about the gigs we had booked ourselves. We compared expenses, and on paper it looked like we could actually come home with money. In reality, six weeks into the tour, the money I had saved for the summer had run out, and I had to call my parents and ask them to Western Union me $150 in Charlotte, NC for gas money. At that time $150 could get you a long way toward gas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and Meister Bräu.
Does Mike write most of the material? Or do you come up with parts, complete songs, etc.?
Mike writes most of the material. He comes up with the titles first, then the chords with melodies separately, and we work out arrangements together as a band by playing it over some time. I wrote the intro to “Leave it Alone” and the main riff in “Insulted By Germans (Again).”
I can't help but feel the sadness in "I, Melvin" as utterly real. Would you care to elaborate on those feelings? How do they sustain or discourage you from continuing to play in a punk band?
Mike and I wrote those lyrics together, then he polished them up before I sang them.
It was an exercise in mentally going to that place where one's worst nightmare could be true, and then talking about it and describing it as a story. There's usually a dark side: it should be neither ignored nor dwelled on, it's just a perception, and there is usually a bright side too. It's something lots of people deal with every day. It can make getting out of bed in the morning an impossibility, or a joy.
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