Fat Mike
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Fat Mike | |
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Fat Mike in South Africa, September 2007
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Background information | |
Birth name | Michael Burkett |
Also known as | Fat Mike |
Born | January 31, 1967 |
Origin | Newton, Massachusetts |
Genre(s) | Punk rock Skate punk Ska punk |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, Bass |
Years active | 1983-Present |
Associated acts | NOFX Me First and the Gimme Gimmes |
Website | NOFX Fat Wreck Chords Me First and the Gimme Gimmes |
Notable instrument(s) | |
Danelectro |
Michael Burkett, more commonly known as Fat Mike, is the lead singer and bassist of the California punk band NOFX, as well as bass player for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. As Misfit Mike, he played in a band called False Alarm before founding NOFX in 1983 with Erik Sandin and Eric Melvin. He is also the owner of Motor Studios in San Francisco, California. Mike lives in San Francisco with his wife for 14 years, Erin, and their young daughter, Darla.
The nickname "Fat Mike" originated as a misnomer - when the somewhat thin Mike went away to San Francisco State University he returned having gained a few pounds. He was slightly heavier than the broomstick-thin punk rock crowd, and the nickname stuck. Today Mike regards himself as "Not that fat."[1]
In 1990 Mike founded a record label called Fat Wreck Chords. It is one of the largest and most financially successful punk-affiliated record labels in the United States. The label is mainly run by Fat Mike and his wife Erin.
Fat Mike was the main organizer of the Punkvoter website (founded in 2003) and the Rock Against Bush project (in 2004). Both of these were created to promote political involvement within the punk community. They aimed to increase voting to get George W. Bush out of office, and to make issues close to the punk community known to politicians.
In addition to being known for political cynicism, for many years Fat Mike has been a vegetarian and supporter of PETA.
In 2005 he started a magazine called Punk Rock Confidential which distributes 4 issues a year.
He played bass on the Real McKenzies album 10,000 Shots.
Contents |
[edit] Albums with NOFX
- 1988 Liberal Animation
- 1989 S&M Airlines
- 1990 Ribbed
- 1992 The Longest Line
- 1992 Maximum Rocknroll
- 1992 White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean
- 1994 Punk in Drublic
- 1995 I Heard They Suck Live!!
- 1996 Heavy Petting Zoo
- 1997 So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
- 1999 The Decline
- 2000 Pump Up the Valuum
- 2002 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough To Go On Our Other Records
- 2003 The War on Errorism
- 2004 The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us!)
- 2006 Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
- 2007 They've Actually Gotten Worse Live!
[edit] Albums With Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
- Have a Ball (1997)
- Are a Drag (1999)
- Blow in the Wind (2001)
- Take a Break (2003) #131 US
- Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah (2004) #197 US
- Love Their Country (2006) #169 US
- Have Another Ball (2008)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Fat Mike at the Notable Names Database
- Q&A with Fat Mike about religion, yuppies and Dick Cheney.
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