• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• NOFX

• Holding Onto Sound

• Holding Onto Sound

• Holding Onto Sound

• Old Man Markley

• Old Man Markley

• Old Man Markley

• Lagwagon

• Lagwagon

Shahab Zargari braved beer tidal waves and flashes of Fat Mike‘s junk to photograph NOFX, Lagwagon, Holding Onto Sound, and Old Man Markley at New Years’ Heave in Sin City. Check out his pics from one of the wildest shows to ring in 2012.

Following the footsteps of bands like The Who and Pink Floyd — both famous for the concept or theme album — Me First and the Gimme Gimmes unleash their second theme-based EP in the year. Their first effort, Go Down Under, helped the band promote a short tour in Australia by covering popular songs by Australian-based artists.  Sing in Japanese follows in the previous effort’s footsteps.

Sing in Japanese goes back to the Gimme Gimmes routine of fun, upbeat songs that you want to start singing along to. The tracks “Hero” and “Kekkon Shiyoyo” (the latter track shares the opening rift with the famous Social Distortion song “Story of my Life”) really highlights vocalist Spike Slawson’s energy. Later in the album, the Gimme Gimmes’ vocal harmonies really shine in the track “C-C-C” where Joey Cape and Fat Mike sing along with Slawson giving the song that special touch that is common with the group.

From the beginning to end, Sing in Japanese is an energetic and upbeat collection of songs, like past Gimme Gimmes albums.  It’s going to be awhile for me to get this album out of my rotation, so I’d better start learning some Japanese.

(Fat Wreck Chords, PO Box 19360, San Francisco, CA 94119)

Other than the cover, there’s nothing new on this 30-track EP, with the possible exception of “Perverted.” This is supposed to be the ultimate collection of EP tracks and rare, hidden songs, but really, it’s just a mix of Cokie the Clown, The Longest Line, Never Trust a Hippy, 13 Stitches, and the PMRC Can Suck on This with some extra tracks. If you’ve been religiously collecting NOFX’s music, then there’s probably nothing you haven’t heard before — unless you neglected to collect the punk compilations NOFX has been on, in which case “Jaw Knee Music” and “Concerns of a GOP Neo-phyte” will interest you.

According to Distorted Magazine, all other NOFX EPs have gone out of print upon the release of The Longest EP. Fans will not be overly impressed, but I suppose Fat Wreck can’t be pressing 10-year-old four-track vinyls forever.

(Fat Wreck Chords, 444 Townsend St. #2, San Francisco, CA 94107)

One could argue that the path to discovery takes root in acknowledging our own cerebral fallibility, and possessing a humble approach to theoretical findings (specifically, those deemed empirical). “The problem of induction” is the question of whether inductive reasoning leads to knowledge, challenging, thusly, all empirical claims made in everyday life or through the scientific method.

The problem of induction itself hearkens to the theory of knowledge, or “epistemology” — simply put, what is knowledge, how do we acquire it, and how much do we possess? Does knowledge simply exist as a subset to “truth” and “belief” — existing therein where the two intersect — or is it something deeper, beyond our own comprehension?

One such undeniable truism exists: simply explaining how things occur (the cornerstone of scientific discovery) is still different from explaining why things occur. People have been asking “What is the meaning of life?” for ages; we can understand how our bodies work, but not why we are here. So, too, can we theorize and understand quite exactly how fire burns, how glaciers carve mountains, even how our very universe came to be…but not why.

Such a complex and, perhaps, unanswerable set of questions lends itself to both the very best and worst (or at least, exploitative) minds the world has to offer: religion has its creationists, new-agers have their What tнe #$*! Dө ωΣ (k)πow!?, Hollywood has its Ben Stein, and the scientific community has its Allan Sandage. But consider those doubters of empirical “wisdom” such as Carl Sagan and Albert Einstein; dreamers such as Thomas Pynchon and Jules Verne (with a nearly prophetic imagination); minds such as Max Planck, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Hugh Everett, whose “Many-worlds interpretation” hypothesized that “while the multiverse is deterministic, we perceive non-deterministic behavior governed by probabilities, because we can observe only the universe — i.e. the consistent state contribution to the mentioned superposition — we inhabit.”

So, perhaps it is — in actuality — where sophisticated, erudite academe and childlike fascination with the mysteries of the universe intersect where the boldest questions are asked, and the grandest discoveries are made. At best, we will have to be satisfied with the conclusions we devise on our own (0r at least our own interpretations of the theories, empirical or otherwise, that others decipher for us), and at worst, we will continue to be baffled by the barrage of enigmatic conundrums pitched our way by the space and time we inhabit.

In the grand footsteps of those possessing the intellectual fortitude to call into question the empiricism of the claims made by trailblazing vanguards who’ve preceded them, the only clowns scarier than Fat Mike — The Insane Clown Posse — have written a song that will make you question your system of beliefs, and open your eyes to the beauty and, yes — the magic — of the world around you. I suggest you take their words to heart, for indeed, fuckin’ magnets…how do they work?

Saturday Night Live threw some questions of their own into the mix:

The box set comes in different forms — I received only the CD and the DVD documentary, but the complete package also includes two LPs and a coffee table book. Stuff like this will really compliment your music collection. The documentary tells the tale of three brothers who started a band called…you guessed it, Youth Brigade. The documentary is much like other punk docs: American Hardcore comes to mind first and foremost. In many ways, Let Them Know is superior to American Hardcore because it concentrates on only one band and one city, while American Hardcore had to put the spotlight on many hardcore punk bands in many cities in the 1980s. Let Them Know features interviews with Fat Mike, Ian MacKaye, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, as well as members of Bouncing Souls, 7 Seconds, Swingin’ Utters and many more. And, of course, this film would be nothing without interviews of all four Stern brothers. Since Mark and Shawn Stern are the masterminds behind Youth Brigade and Better Youth Organization Records, you’ll become comfortable listening to their deep, soothing voices. If punk rock was a university course, Let Them Know would be required material.

The CD is even better and 10 times more exciting than the documentary. BYO Records has always produced great compilations, but this one is possibly one of the best: 31 tracks, each a cover of a song found on a record released by BYO. You have Youth Brigade playing SNFU, Bouncing Souls playing 7 Seconds, Anti-Flag playing the Unseen, Krum Bums playing Alkaline Trio. I’ll tell you, it’s like a big punk rock swingers party, a massive musical orgy, with Lower Class Brats jacking off in the corner because they’re the only band with an original song on this compilation. I listened to the originals before each cover to see how differently they were altered. Some bands kept the essence and changed their own style to suit the style of the original, like NOFX’s version of “No More Lies” by Battalion of Saints. Others differ immensely from the originals, such as The Ignorant’s cover of “Keep On” by Hepcat.

My personal favorites have to be Dropkick Murphys doing “Fight to Unite” and 7 Seconds doing an acoustic number of “Sink With California,” both originally by Youth Brigade. However, one track that stands out the most is Old Man Markley playing a Celtic-folk version Youth Brigade’s “We’re In!” Pure musical genius. But don’t take my word for it — get it yourself! Money should be no object when you’re dealing with something as desirable as this.

(BYO Records, PO Box 67609, Los Angeles, CA 90067)

Click here to download a sample from the box set: “We’re Gonna Fight,” a cover of the 7 Seconds song performed by Pennywise

Fat Mike: the guy behind Fat Wreck Chords and NOFX…a strong presence at the Vans Warped Tour…columnist for the new AMP Magazine…and now, in the last few months, the founder of a new website, www.punkvoter.com. Inspired by the words of filmmaker Michael Moore (Bowling For Columbine, Roger & Me) to, as Mr. Mike states, “Stop whining and start doing,” punkvoter.com is the fruit of his recent labors — an attempt to make a difference to kids who otherwise might not have the proper motivation or resources to become educated in the political world. While on a recent trip, Fat Mike took the time to do an email interview with Jackson Ellis. Yes, correspondence between two punk rock legends of their time. *cough* But this is Fat Mike’s turn to speak, so read on.

Hey Fat Mike. I just want to start off by asking a bit about your newest site, punkvoter.com. When did you launch the site, and what was your primary motivation to do so?
We launched it last summer, but it’s still in its infancy stages. I wanted to get it launched before the election last November, but we really didn’t have it together enough to have any impact. The main goal of the site is to get a group of young concerned citizens to vote as an organized unit. Get kids care about what’s going on in this country, and to realize that if we act together, we can make a big difference.

What has the overall reaction been from those who’ve corresponded with you regarding the site?
Everybody has been really positive, except for the few people who don’t think I’m qualified enough to have a political site. Fuck them. I may not be a political science major, but I have the opportunity to influence a lot of people, and that may be a lot more important.

Have you had many contributors to the site besides yourself? If so, who?
So far the only contributors have been Pat from Anti-Flag, Russ from Good Riddance, and Jim from Pennywise, but we will be getting many more. It just takes a bit of time to get everyone involved.

Any favorite political authors/books and websites that you are a fan of and would recommend to others?
Well, Michael Moore is pretty much the main reason why I started the site. I saw him speak, and he convinced me to stop whining and start doing. So of course I think people should check out his books and
website, as well as moveon.org. People should just check out the punkvoter.com site and look at the links. That’s a good start.

In your opinion, how much of the present American turmoil related to GW, and how much was inherited?
In all fairness, I think most of it was inherited, but GW seems to be making every situation worse.

I recall in an early issue of AMP magazine (issue one, I think) you mentioned that one step to improving the government is to minimize Republican control by voting Democrat. Do you think ignoring the third parties is a wise choice, and do you think there is enough true distinction between Republicans and Democrats, other than superficial talk? For instance, Gore may have been the “liberal” of the two-party system during the ’00 election, but this is a man whose track record includes opposition to abortion and gun control, heavy support of the Gulf War, an iffy environmental record…the list goes on (and let’s not get into his wife).
I think both parties suck, but by voting for a third party you are ensuring Republicans stay in office. In fact, the Republican party spent more money on ads for Nader in certain states than Nader did. They want the Democrats to split their vote. We need one strong more liberal Dem party, not two weak ones.

A lot of punk bands sing about how rotten the government is, but really, preaching to the choir doesn’t do much — it just gives a lot of kids a reason to be pissed off with no sense of what to do. What do you think are the best ways young adults can become involved with political activism?
Probably the most important thing you can do is to get informed. The more knowledge you have the more ammo you have to fight. Learn both sides of every issue, not just the left side. Once you have the information, share the information.

Off the subject of politics, what is in store for NOFX this year? Another album, another stint on the Warped Tour?
We got a new record called, The War on Errorism, coming out in May, and then we go to the bar.

Thanks for your time, Fat Mike. Anything else you’d like to add?
If this interview sounds kinda lame, it’s because I did it at three in the morning after more than a few drinks. Oh well.