NOFX was formed in Berkeley, California, USA, in 1983. Immediately, it was obvious that they were one of the few bands on the hardcore scene to embrace humorous lyrical fare to genuinely amusing effect. The original trio of Fat Mike (b. Mike Burkett; vocals/bass), Eric Melvin (guitar/ vocals) and Erik Ghint/Groggy Nodbeggar/Erik Shun/Smelly (b. Erik Sandin; drums), was joined by guitarist Dave Cassilas in 1987. They set their agenda with their debut EP for Mystic Records, The P.M.R.C. Can Suck On This. Afterwards, they addressed accusations about being on this most unfashionable of labels (which was completely injudicious in releasing material by any hardcore band that came its way) with the So What If We're On Mystic! EP. It was via a contract with Epitaph Records and the Ribbed album that No FX became a productive unit in terms of worldwide sales. New guitarist Steve Kidwiler featured on both S&M Airlines and Ribbed, the latter an unblemished collection of genuinely funny songs, notably the male-hygiene-bonding epic, "Shower Days". The full musicianship and clean production only helped to illuminate their witty, everyday intrigues, with lyrics written by Fat Mike, a graduate of San Francisco University. El Hefe (b. Aaron Abeyta; guitar/trumpet) replaced Kidwiler in 1991, making his debut on The Longest Line EP.
With the breakthrough of acts such as the Offspring and Rancid, NOFX, significantly older than either, became a mainstream act by the mid-90s, though in truth they had not altered musical direction since their inception. Instead, each album offered increasingly savage witticisms and a disciplined but flexible musical attack, able to vary pace from anything between outright thrash and ska. The band has also released several EPs and albums on Fat Mike's own Fat Wreck Chords label.
