Sticking to punk convictions is tricky business — something NOFX know all too well. Their unwitting involvement in the pop-punk explosion of the mid ’90s put them in the same awkward position every band from that scene faced: either they could move to a major label, as Green Day and the Offspring did, or they could stick to the indie infrastructure that had supported them since they became fixtures on the SoCal punk scene in the late ’80s. Not only did NOFX take the latter course by continuing to release material on Epitaph, but frontman Fat Mike eventually formed his own imprint, Fat Wreck Chords. Still, no matter how hard they tried to keep hype to a minimum (there are even disclaimers on their CDs asking radio programmers not to put their music into rotation), success dogged NOFX, as did absurd cries of “sell out.” Fat Mike refused any kind of mainstream coverage until the Rock Against Bush campaign he helped launch gave him a reason other than promoting his band to speak to the press.
Reflecting NOFX’s enduring popularity, the Worcester Palladium was a sold-out madhouse a week ago Friday, even though Wolf in Wolves’ Clothing (Fat Wreck Chords) isn’t due till April 18. They played long-time slam-and-egg faves “Bob” and “Linoleum” and treated the crowd to a couple of new tunes from the upcoming disc. Between songs, an apparently very intoxicated Fat Mike bragged about out-drinking Dropkick Murphys and insisted that Big D and the Kids Table smoke too much weed for a ska band. There were no cries of “sell out” at this NOFX show: the kids were having too much fun slamming around and laughing along with Fat Mike to care.
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