As you probably/hopefully have heard, Fat Wreck Chords are in their 25th year. And to celebrate the band have planned the Fat Wreck Tour (purchase tickets). We asked members of Fat Wreck Chords’ bands to answer three questions for us. Check them out below!
Joey Cape, Lagwagon
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
Lagwagon had all but given up on the idea of getting signed or becoming a working band. I moved to the San Francisco to take a house painting job are just after we finished our 4th demo tape. It was called “Super Big Gulp Demo” and would eventually lead to our first record’s worth of songs. I didn’t expect anything to happen.
One night I was out at a show and saw Fat Mike speaking with some mutual old friends. I had seen or heard that he recently started a Punk label. I remembered that I had the demo in my car which was just outside the club. I gave him the cassette and with no expectations. He called the next morning and said he wanted us to do a record for Fat Wreck Chords. I called the guys and a few days later we resumed a practice schedule. Later we recorded “DUH” for the new label in 3 days total. Fat Mike produced it. It was fairly miraculous.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
Well, there were not many options. Haha. But that said, I knew it was the right label for us. I could hear in Mike’s music many influences and similarities to what we were doing. I knew he would get it and after all these years, Fat is still a still the perfect fit.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
There are so many. Too many to list. I generally love the music Fat puts out. I think it is one of strongest indie labels of all time. I can’t think of any other label that shares Fat’s consistency for signing and producing seminole bands. There are many circumstances where labels have introduced a genre of music to the world but Fat is a prime example of a label that founded a sound and found immediate success worldwide without the tools of promotion used by many other labels. It was word of mouth and a groundswell. Fat Mike had a vision and we were in the right place at the right time.
Jake Kiley, Strung Out
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
We played a show with nofx at kept in touch with mike for about a year, sending up demos and stuff. I think Jim put in a bunch of new carpet for him to seal the deal
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
We loved the albums they had put out at the time and we could tell mike knew what he was doing.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
Guns n wankers, all lagwagon, all propagandi, nofx the longest line.
Johnny Bonnel, Swingin’ Utters
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
Max Huber convinced Mike into putting out a full length. Mike wasn’t really crazy about Streets of SF but thought our live shows were dangerous and fun. We had a lot of fights at our shows for some reason.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
I was down as soon as I met Erin. She’s cool, honest, real. When Mike showed up at one of our shows dressed like Cookie Monster, I was sold.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
Snuff- Demmamussabebonk
Guns n’ Wankers- For Dancing and Listening
toyGuitar- In This Mess
The Soviettes- LP III
Chris Cresswell, The Flatliners
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
Our drummer Paul was introduced to Melanie Kaye, who at one point was the head rep for Fat Wreck in Canada, by a mutual friend at a Lagwagon / The Lawrence Arms / A Wilhelm Scream show in Toronto. This must have been sometime back in 2005 or 2006. We had just begun demoing songs for what would eventually become “The Great Awake”. Melanie was intrigued by the news, since her assistant at the time was apparently a big fan of ours, and would talk her ear off about us constantly. Good for us, because once we sent her a few demos, she instantly forwarded them on to Fat Mike. We never expected to hear anything back from Melanie or Fat Mike. About 2 weeks go by and Paul gets a phone call from Mike saying that him and Melanie had both been listening to the demos a lot and that they’d love to hear more.
We scrambled into the studio to demo the rest of the songs for that record, and I think I finished the vocals for those demos in the evening on Christmas Eve 2006. We frantically sent them off, and then waited. For something like 3 weeks. It felt like an eternity, but once we got the call back, Mike invited us to join the Fat Wreck family. He even wanted to just put out the demos he had heard as the actual record. Something that was equal parts flattering and surprising. Luckily we were able to talk him into letting us take a real stab at making this record, and for NOFX to take us on tour for like 2 years.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
A gigantic portion of the punk rock music myself and the rest of The Flatliners grew up listening to was released by Fat Wreck Chords. Wether it was discovering the first wave of Fat bands through skateboard and snowboard videos, our older siblings and friends showing us bands like NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, etc, or following the label’s legacy and falling in love with bands like None More Black, Dead To Me, Against Me, The Lawrence Arms and Dillinger Four – everything had its purpose. And the purpose of all those bands to us was unbridled inspiration. We grew up on Fat Wreck Chords. So once we were presented the opportunity to join those bands, we jumped at the chance. We honestly didn’t think too much about it. If all those bands were ones who’s music and work ethic we really respected and looked up to, the label must be treating those bands really well.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
My all time favourite Fat release is probably The Decline. There are so many great records that have come from Fat Wreck, and some other very honorable mentions would be:
Lagwagon – Let’s Talk About Feelings
None More Black – File Under Black
Dead To Me – Little Brother
Dillinger Four – Situationist Comedy
The Lawrence Arms – Oh Calcutta
Intruder Blue, Masked Intruder
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
We were on Red Scare and Toby passed our CD to Fat Mike. I guess his daughter Darla got to listening to it and we became one of her favorite bands. So, they signed us cause Darla loved us. She’s awesome.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
We had always dreamed of being on Fat, like a lot of punk fans/bands that came of age in the 90s. So, when the opportunity came up, it was a no brainer. We love Fat!
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
There are so many great ones! Propaghandi’s first couple records were huge for us… Also basically every Me First & the Gimme Gimmes record. Personally, Hi-Standard has always been one of my favorites. I used to listen to Growing Up over and over. Also, Screeching Weasel’s Bark Like a Dog has always been a favorite.
Stacey Dee, Bad Cop/Bad Cop
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
I had invited Fat Mike and Soma to a show, which was for Lilith Bear, a rad Drag Queen SF “Bear” celebration. After we played Mike told me he liked all of the songs and couldn’t believe we sounded as good we did on such a crap sound system. He said he wanted to put out a 7″ first. I was in shock, I never thought that would happen. I got a call 3 days later from Fat Mike saying that the Fat Wreck Camp had a meeting and they wanted to sign Bad Cop / Bad Cop.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
Being from San Francisco and being such a fan of everything Fat Wreck Chords put out, I had always wanted to be on the label. When given the chance to be on the label, there was no question that our band wanted to be part of the Fat Wreck Family more than anything.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
I’m really a fan of everything that was put out by Lagwagon, Guns and Wankers, NOFX, Good Riddance, Against Me!, Snuff, Strung Out’s “Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues” Huge fan of Dance Hall Crashers, Tilt, Swingin’ Utters, Sick Of It All, The Soviettes, The Loved Ones, Get Dead, Masked Intruder, toyGuitar. Dead To Me. My life has been to the soundtrack of so many Fat Wreck bands!
1) How’d you end up signing with Fat Wreck?
Jack: I texted Mike and asked him if he would put out the toyGuitar record. He texted back, “done!” Then I replied, “awesome!!!!!” His response was “stoked.” And that was that.
2) Why’d you sign with Fat Wreck?
Jack: We signed with FAT because I’m friends with all of them and they’re super sweet and awesome people. I’ve also put out a record or two with them previously – that didn’t hurt either.
3) What are some of your favorite Fat Wreck releases?
Jack: Pretty much anything by Swingin’ Utters, Dead To Me, Western Addiction, and Randy
Rosie: Tilt’s “Till It Kills” and Propagandhi’s “How to Clean Everything”
Miles: The Soviettes “LP III”, any Against Me!, and the “Short Music for Short People” comp
Paul: The whole Swingin’ Utters catalog, Propagandhi’s “Less Talk, More Rock” and the Uke-Hunt LP
Want this in writing? Then grab the print issue by clicking the image below!
The issue comes with an exclusive Fat Wreck CD comp!
Fat Wreck Chords are also holding a 25 year anniversary party in San Francisco. More details on the event here, or by clicking the image below.
