20 years ago today was life changing. From the records Ive work on to the people Ive met. Here is a partial interview by Alternative Press talking with Nofx about the record Punk in Drublic. Happy Anniversary! One million records. Thats how many copies of NOFXs Punk In Drublic were eventually sold, according to Fat Mike, who proclaimed as much to the website Dream Not Of Today in 2009. Its certified Gold in the U.S. (500,000 copies), but s, but more than anything, hope for the future of the entire punk-rock ethos as Seattles grunge wave was dominating nearly every corner of rock radio in America (not to mention whatever form of music television any listener preferred to watch). More than a decade into their existence, the quartet managed to produce one of the most defining moments pop-punk history would see in the modern day. As AllMusics Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote in his review of the album, With their 1994 album Punk In Drublic, NOFX truly hit their stride... Prior to this record, they merely showed promise, but with Punk In Drublic they fulfilled their potential. dont see bands who write songs without a chorus. I dont think people notice that about NOFX—its one of our secrets. Hefe, meanwhile, has no hesitation before expressing where he believes the set falls in his bands oeuvre. To me, that was our best album, the guitarist explains. That was where we reached our peak. I had no idea that it was going to sell that big. Gold? That was probably the furthest thing from our mind. We were doing pretty good off White Trash, Two Heebs And A Bean. We were making a living. I was thought, Wow, this is great, but okay, its punk music, and how much money can you really make in the punk scene? I had no idea what the next step was going to be, he continues. We were just hoping for the best. When it did take off like that, I was just like, Whoa, whoa, whoa. What is happening? All of a sudden, were playing huge festivals all of a sudden with huge rock stars, sharing the stage with Soundgarden, Metallica and Neil Young, and it was crazy. From there, it was like the rollercoaster just took off. Perhaps the most lasting consequence of the record, however, had little to do with its actual songs; instead, that prize went to the birth of the bands ongoing collaboration with producer Ryan Greene. Having worked mostly with Epitaph owner/Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz through their first three releases, Greene brought forth a polish and professionalism to the NOFX equation. (His production credits eventually wound on releases by everyone from Megadeth to Usher.) Fat Mike doesnt hesitate before noting how much the producer would ultimately help shape his bands sound. We worked well together, very nicely, he says. We just seemed to jell, and we ended up working with him for the next 10 years before he moved away. It was the first punk record he ever recorded. He never recorded anything like it, only metal bands, so he definitely helped us sound kind of metal. He gave us a more metal guitar sound. He was a great producer, Hefe adds. He was very meticulous about his work. He was very anal about everything and just a perfectionist. And we were just like, Wow, this guy is really good at what he does. He definitely got more focus out of us. Thats when our recordings started sounding more professional. According to the guitarist, Greene encouraged the band to embrace experimentation with their songs. The most blatant example came in the form of My Heart Is Yearning, one of Hefes favorite Punk In Drublic tracks. At the suggestion of Kenny Lyon, who played the guitars calypso patterns for the song, Greene and the band made My Heart one of the few NOFX tracks ever to include a steel drum part. The albums recording process would also prove to be one of the final times the quartet would record without the added element of partying, Fat Mike points out. There might be other things, too, that some fans may not already know about what went into the making of the record—the addition of Fishbones Chris Dowd on Dig and the hurried recording process that forced everyone involved to shy away from second-guessing too much of their choices, to name a couple—but for the most part, there wasnt too much about the genesis of Punk In Drublic that was different from anything else NOFX had done in the past. It was just another album, both Hefe and Mike say, despite the legend it would go on to earn. Still, theres no denying the impact it left on an entire subgenre of music that would only grow in scope as the years passed. NOFX went on to record seven more LPs (the latest being 2012s Self Entitled, and even as they talk today, both Fat Mike and El Hefe explain how fun its become to re-learn the entire record from front to back for a set of shows where they plan to perform Punk In Drublic in its entirety. I think we perfected our sound with that album, Hefe says. I get fans coming up all the time, going, Your music totally influenced my life. It ended up coming out amazing-sounding. Something magical happened within that time.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 08:00:20 +0000
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