NOFX
NOFX
Genre: Rock
Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
Major Members: Fat Mike, Eric Melvin, El Hefe, Steve Kidkiller
Biography
Formed in Berkeley, CA, in 1983 and relocating to Los Angeles not long afterwards, NOFX steered clear of major labels and commercial exposure over the course of their career, recording an impressive number of full-lengths albums plus an assortment of EPs and singles. The band started out as a trio comprising vocalist/bassist Fat Mike (Mike Burkett), guitarist Eric Melvin, and drummer Erik Sandin (aka Erik Ghint/Erik Shun). Sandin quit in 1985, and his place was taken by Scott Sellers; that same year, NOFX also recorded two 7" EPs for the Mystic label, No F-X and So What If We're on Mystic? Sellers quit shortly thereafter and was replaced by Scott Aldahl for only two weeks, upon which point Sandin re-joined the band; vocalist Dave Allen also joined in 1986, but his tenure was tragically cut short by a fatal car accident. Dave Casillas joined as a second guitarist later in the year, by which point NOFX's touring schedule had become far-ranging and rigorous. The EP The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This was released on Fat Mike's own Fat Wreck Chords label in 1987. Casillas departed the group in 1989 and was replaced by Steve Kidwiller for NOFX's first full-length album, S&M Airlines, which was released on the legendary punk label Epitaph; the band remained there ever since, despite the release of several albums -- such as 1995's I Heard They Suck Live -- and EPs on Fat Wreck Chords, which gradually grew into a premier stable of punk revival artists.
Having appeared on 1990's Ribbed and 1991's Liberal Animation (which was actually recorded in 1988), Kidwiller left the band in 1991, and Aaron Abeyta became the permanent second guitarist (as well as trumpeter), adopting the nickname El Hefe. Dragged into the mainstream spotlight by the mid-'90s success of labelmates Bad Religion and the Offspring, NOFX compensated with albums like 1992's White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean that were even closer to the anti-commercial extreme; exemplified by White Trash's accompanying single "Please Play This Song on the Radio," which lured un-alert radio programmers with a tight melody, but ends with a stream of obscenities. The El Hefe-anchored lineup continued to blossom with 1994's Punk in Drublic; often regarded as the band's best, the album was eventually certified gold. Releases on Fat Wreck Chords continued throughout the '90s, as did the full-length Epitaph albums, like 1996's grungier, less up-tempo Heavy Petting Zoo, 1997's punkier So Long & Thanks for All the Shoes, and 2000's Pump Up the Valuum and Bottles to the Ground; the latter album followed an experimental Fat Wreck Chords EP titled The Decline, which consisted entirely of the 18-minute title track. Next up was the Surfer EP, which showcased select sloppy cuts in spring 2001, the first 500 copies on colored vinyl.
In 2002, NOFX sifted through countless tapes and recording sessions, eventually collecting 47 songs for 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records. "Pimps and Hookers," which was the only new song on the album, was recorded in one day. Later that year, BYO Records got the band to release the NOFX/Rancid split album BYO Split Series, Vol. 3. This particular album had Rancid covering six NOFX tracks while NOFX returned the favor by switching up six Rancid songs. The four-song EP Regaining Unconsciousness came out in March 2003 and served as a teaser for May's The War on Errorism, released on Fat Wreck and littered with political criticisms. With the band's outspoken and leftist nature, it was then not surprising when they launched Punk Voter, a movement of punk bands that sought to politically empower disenfranchised youth and vote George W. Bush out of office. The organization still remained in action, even after Bush's 2004 re-election. Back on the music front, NOFX next released the EP Never Trust a Hippy in March 2006, and the full-length Wolf in Wolves' Clothing followed a month later. ~ John Bush & Steve Huey, All Music Guide
The Clash, Rock Band
Born: 1976
Birthplace: London, England
Died: 1986
Best Known As: The punk band who did "London Calling"
One of the most famous punk rock bands of the 1980s, The Clash went from being too radical for the radio to a modern-day classic rock pillar, thanks in part to hit songs such as "London Calling" and "Should I Stay Or Should I Go." The Clash members were: Joe Strummer (b. John Mellors, 21 August 1952, Ankara, Turkey, d. December 2002), guitar and vocals; Paul Simonon (b. 1956, London), bass; Mick Jones (b. 26 June 1955, London), guitar and vocals; Nicky Headon (b. 1956, Dover, England), drums. Formed in 1976, The Clash (at the time with drummer Terry Chimes) released their self-titled debut album in 1977. Songs such as "White Riot" combined the energy of hard rock with political and social consciousness and the album became a favorite of the critics. With a solid following in the U.K., The Clash toured the United States in the late '70s and released their 2-LP set London Calling (1979), now considered by many to be their best (it included "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)," a hidden track that reached the top of the U.S. charts). The triple-album Sandinista (1980) proved The Clash still had a bone to pick with corruption and injustice, and revealed a variety of musical influences that included ska, dub and reggae. Amid rumors that co-songwriters Strummer and Jones weren't getting along, they released Combat Rock (1982) to great success -- and accusations by hardcore fans that they had sold out. The album spawned the hits "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Rock the Casbah" and the band headlined big festivals and arena shows. In 1982 Headon was replaced by original drummer Chimes, and in 1983 Jones left the band (he went on to form Big Audio Dynamite). With a new lineup, Strummer and Simonon forged on with Cut the Crap (1984), but the band was officially over by 1986. After working on the compilation The Essential Clash, Strummer died in 2002, just a few months before the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their songs include "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais," "Lost in the Supermarket" and "Clash City Rockers."
Joe Strummer's real name was John Mellors... The Clash were featured in the punk movie classic Rude Boy (1980), and Strummer co-starred with Courtney Love and Elvis Costello in the 1987 film Straight to Hell... Heaton was jailed in 1987 for his role in a friend's fatal heroin overdose.
The Streets
Genre: Electronica
Active: '90s, 2000s
Instrument: Vocals
Biography
Mike Skinner's recordings as the Streets marked the first attempt to add a degree of social commentary to Britain's party-hearty garage/2-step (and later grime) movement. Skinner, a Birmingham native who later ventured to the capital, was an outsider in the garage scene, though his initial recordings appeared on Locked On, the premiere source for speed garage and, later, 2-step from 1998 to the end of the millennium. He spent time growing up in north London as well as Birmingham, and listened first to hip-hop, then house and jungle. Skinner made his first tracks at the age of 15, and during the late '90s, tried to start a label and sent off his own tracks while he worked dead-end jobs in fast food.
At the end of 2000, he earned his first release when Locked On -- already famous for a succession of burning club tracks from Tuff Jam, the Artful Dodger featuring Craig David, Dem 2, and Doolally -- signed him for the homemade "Has It Come to This?" By the following year, the single hit Britain's Top 20 and the inevitable full-length followed in early 2002. That album, Original Pirate Material, unlike most garage compilations and even the bare few production LPs, found a home with widely varying audiences, and correspondingly earned Skinner a bit of enmity from the wider garage community. By the end of the year, it had been released in the States as well, through Vice. After a quiet 2003, Skinner returned with A Grand Don't Come for Free, a concept record that pushed his production and performance eccentricities to a new level, but also resulted in a fresh wave of critical praise. A succession of live dates followed, after which Skinner began recording his third full-length, 2006's The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, which shone a bright light on the vagaries of fame as Skinner had experienced it. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide