Fat Mike Opens Up on Why He's Ending NOFX

Earlier this fall, NOFX bandleader "Fat" Mike Burkett revealed his plans to disband the veteran California punk rock act in 2023. A few weeks later, the musician extended that estimate into 2024 to account for what will be the band's expansive final tour.

Now, he's recapitulated the reasons why NOFX is coming to an end.

"Because I don't enjoy it like I used to," Fat Mike told Louder on Thursday (Dec. 1). "And if I don't get loaded, I really don't want to do it. I don't need to be onstage hearing people applaud and dance. I don't need that. Some people are addicted to that."

He added, "I've started doing stand-up comedy and I like that way better, in front of 30 people. And writing music. I've been writing [string] quartets, which I really enjoy, and writing for other people. I have another band called the Codefendants, which is really exciting to me."

Plus, "40 years is a fucking long time to be in a band," he said.

Earlier this month, the NOFX figurehead echoed those same sentiments to Spin. "I just don't enjoy it like I used to," Fat Mike relayed. "But we are all excited about playing our final shows."

He explained, "We're going into 2024. It will be our absolute final tour. … We're going to play every album we've ever recorded. … We'll have been a band for 40 years with all original members, and we're going to play 40 cities. Every show, we're going to play 40 different songs. It's just a whole bunch of cool things."

Friday (Dec. 2) saw the release of NOFX's Double Album. It was previewed with the release of "Darby Crashing Your Party" in September; "Punk Rock Cliché" emerged in November. The related Single Album arrived in 2021. Stay tuned for NOFX's final tour dates.

NOFX started as a hardcore band in 1983 before becoming underground punk stalwarts with seminal releases such as Punk in Drublic (1994). The group includes Eric Melvin on guitar, Erik "Smelly" Sandin on drums and Aaron "El Hefe" Abeyta on guitar. Fat Mike also owns the punk label Fat Wreck Chords.

Listen to NOFX's latest singles under the video.