NoFX

RAD spent some time with Fat Mike of NOFX.

RAD: How's your record label?
Fat: Terrific. Fat Wreck Chords is doing just swell. We're selling a lot of Face to Face CDs.
RAD: Rancid was very excited about what they've done with Fat Wreck Chords and with Epitaph. There seems to be a good relationship there.
Fat: I just did a seven inch with them. I love Rancid. They're the best band on Epitaph, I think.
RAD: What was it like playing Japan? Did they just kind of sit there?
Fat: No. We were eating sushi in a restaurant and about 20 kids came in and watched us eat. It was pretty cool. Oh, and instead of doing the heavy metal thunder thing, they do the claw.
RAD: How do you see the difference between punk today and punk 10, 15 years ago?
Fat: More people like it, I think the bands are better, and you can make money with it. But I think the spirit's still there.
RAD: What are some of the influences that NOFX has?
Fat: Cheap Trick, Bad Religion, but I never got influenced by a lot. I got influenced by Eric Clapton. I like that song, "Tears in Heaven"-- heavy song. What else...Minor Threat, maybe.
RAD: What are your views on life?
Fat: I have a great view from my house in San Francisco. I'm on the fourth floor, you can see downtown, you can see the bay bridge, Daly City, I've got a great view. And Jefe's got a nice view of the ocean. So the NOFX views, I've gotta say, are pretty cool. I think our views are much better than Rancid. They live in Berkeley and you can't see anything there.