Via fatwreck.com:Let’s be real: What’s really left to say about NOFX? For over thirty years the reigning kings of punk rock have remainedrelevant by continuing to pushthe boundaries of their music, lyrics and good taste in a way that’s as endearing as it isinfectious. For that reason it’s remarkably apt that the band’slatest LP First Ditch Effort is also their thirteenth becauseominous black clouds hang over this collection of songs that see frontman/bassist Fat Mikeexploring self-loathing and mortalityin a more raw and honest way than he ever has before. Mike credits much of this to ...read more
Via fatwreck.com:Let’s be real: What’s really left to say about NOFX? For over thirty years the reigning kings of punk rock have remainedrelevant by continuing to pushthe boundaries of their music, lyrics and good taste in a way that’s as endearing as it isinfectious. For that reason it’s remarkably apt that the band’slatest LP First Ditch Effort is also their thirteenth becauseominous black clouds hang over this collection of songs that see frontman/bassist Fat Mikeexploring self-loathing and mortalityin a more raw and honest way than he ever has before. Mike credits much of this to the writing process behindNOFX: TheHepatitis Bathtub And Other Stories, the band’s New York Times Bestselling memoir that forced him to confront hisghosts andrevisit his past in ways that weren’t always comfortable.“This album is more personal than anything I’ve ever done before because once we put everything out there in the book itopened all of these doorsare far as what I want to sing about” Fat Mike explains. However this wouldn’t sound like a NOFXalbum without powerful performances from guitaristsEric Melvin and El Hefe as well as drummer, Smelly. In that spirit thisalbum also marks the first time that Melvin helped write songs and hiscontributions to “It Ain’t So Lonely At The Bottom” and“I Don’t Like Me Anymore” as well as his signature vocals on the opener “Six Years On Dope”add a visceral impact to thesesongs that will surprise even the band’s most hardcore fans. “It’s like you don’t expect it, what the fuck?” Mike says oftheaforementioned opener. “That song reminds me of the Angry Samoans meeting the Bronx and I don’t think there’s anythingthat sounds like it.”Despite the fact that NOFX helped invent melodic punk music (alongside their longtime peers such as Bad Religion and Rancid),they’ve never madethe same album twice and First Ditch Effort sees them continuing to push their own musical boundaries.“One of the things I’m proud of on this albumis the song ‘California Drought’ because it’s written in a rhythm that I don’t thinkanyone has ever used before and we have a drum solo on that song,”he explains as if he can’t even believe it himself. FatMike also adds that spending the past few years working on his musical Home Street Home helpedsubconsciously influencethis album, whether it’s via the fully formed harmonies or prevalence of piano. “I’ve written so many crazy songs forthemusical that even though NOFX didn’t have a mold I keep pushing barriers,” he responds when asked why this album soundsso inspired.Fat Mike also credits producer Cameron Webb (Motörhead, Alkaline Trio) for helping make these songs so dynamic. “Cameronhad a lot of ideas that Iwould have never have thought of when it came to arrangements,” he explains. In fact the band wereso inspired that they wrote eighteen songs forthe album and even came up with some ideas when they weren’t even trying.“The song ‘Ditch Effort’ just came out of nowhere from us jamming,” FatMike recalls. “That’s not a normal thing for us but wejust started playing and it had so much power and it felt so good to play it together so we had toput it on the album.” Theband also prove that they haven’t lost their innate ability to craft a hook on First Ditch Effort and the conspiracy theory-rich“Sid And Nancy” and self-reflective rocker “I Don’t Like Me Anymore” are two of the band’s catchiest tracks to date.However ultimately seriousnessand somberness also lie at the core of First Ditch Effort, a fact that’s most evident in Mike’smusical eulogy to No Use For A Name’s frontman Tony Sly(“I’m So Sorry Tony”) as well the apocalyptic closer “Generation Z”which features guest vocals from Mike’s 11-year-old daughter Darla who will also beproducing the subsequent music video. “Alot of people are going to look at me differently after hearing this album,” Mike explains. “I think I was morecomfortable aboutbeing myself on this record and a large part of that is due to my relationship with my wife and involvement in the BDSM world.“Iused to live so much of my life in private but I’ve slowly started going to parties and out in public without being embarrassedof my true identity andthat confidence just transferred over to my entire life,” he continues. “When you’re dressed in rubberand heels and corset and you’re waiting in line foran Omelette in Jamaica, well, after that there’s nowhere else to go.”After battling skinhead punks in the eighties, major-label executives in the nineties and George W. Bush in the early 2000s,NOFX are finally ready toenjoy the success they’ve been too preoccupied to embrace in the past… and it’s turning out to bepretty exciting. “I went out with El Hefe the othernight to a party and I think it was the first time we had ever hung outsocially and it was a ton of fun,” Fat Mike recalls. “I think the process of doingthe book and the book tour and making thisrecord has brought the four of us together and formed a bond that we never would have discoveredotherwise,” hesummarizes. That newfound revelation is inherent in even some of this First Ditch Effort’s darkest moments making it theperfectsoundtrack to both a fresh start as well as the end of the world. As the band have undeniably learned over the past 33years, sometimes it’s just allabout your perspective.SOURCE: http://www.fatwreck.com/band/index/6 « hide
