NOFX

This photo of Fat Mike of NOFX is from 1995, when the band played at Seattle's King Cat Theater with Face to Face. I had lined up an interview with NOFX ahead of time through their tour promoter, so went down early to the venue. It's never the same when you go to do a band interview. Bigger bands may have a roadie or tour manager with them that handle everything, but usually you have to talk your way into the venue or find someone from the band out back smoking or loading shit in and approach them yourselves. The front doors of the theater were locked and I saw no one, so I walked around and found a side door propped open. I walked in and walked out on the stage where NOFX was sound checking and playing a few songs. No one paid attention to me at all, so I jumped off the stage and sat in the theater seats and watched the band's mini-set with a bunch of dudes with colored hair who turned out to be Face to Face. The Face to Face guys were cool and talkative, they asked about why I was there and eventually flagged Fat Mike down for me to say I was there. Mike had injured his leg and it was in a cast, so he was gimping around. He said lets take a walk and we went outside and did an interview sitting in a doorway. The best part of the interview was when a young punk kid came up and tried to sell Mike a ticket to the show, not realizing who he was. "Come on man, you should buy it, NOFX are really good," the kid said. Mike replied, "No way man, I heard those guys suck!" I was completely losing it laughing, then Fat Mike busted out laughing, but the kid never caught on who he was talking to. Ha ha ha!