NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories
By NOFX with Jeff Alulis
(De Capo Press)
Hepatitis Bathtub is in the title of the new NOFX book. From the band with over three (mostly successful) decades in their resume, that sordid title accurately depicts what to expect in this extensive autobiography. Told chapter by chapter from each band member’s perspective, Hepatitis Bathtub blends and cross-examines the occasionally blurry recollections to share their story. With narratives intertwining deep into their teenage years, it reads more like a debauched family history than a glamorous rock star handjob novella.
The 352 page tome opens with “Fat” Mike Burkett (bass/vox) describing early childhood memories complete with a black and white photo of a younger, docile, football-hugging Michael. Erik “Smelly” Sandin (drums) and Eric Melvin’s (guitar/vox) beginnings round out the initial chapters with the reader discovering how they found music and each other in the Southern California 1980s punk era. Melvin details shaving his head to “become punk” after seeing a Bad Brains show in which Black Flag’s Henry Rollins hopped on stage for an encore of “Pay To Cum.” The scene was commonly replete with violence, drug use, and cop beat-downs. Digging into their pasts, each page unveils stories that have been deeply buried with no hope of ever getting out. The candid demeanor of their stories mirrors the ethics the band have held all along—not always pleasant, but a direct reflection of their early DIY roots.
Never a band to hide their admiration of drug use, Smelly gets into the tough side of his own addiction. With an endless appetite for substance use of the intravenous persuasion in his twenties, even his friend and Hole lead singer Courtney Love referred to him as the “the worst junkie she’d ever seen in her life.” That’s a hefty dose given her own history. In that less than glamorous time, Mike gave him an ultimatum of drugs or NOFX. Thankfully, Smelly got clean in the same year that Aaron “El Hefe” Abeyta (guitar/vox) joined, and the band’s sound solidified.
Even before time opened the doors of drug use to Mike, he hypothesizes a race of magnet-bearing mole people have always kept him from danger. Whether it be certain death at the hands of an L.A. punk gang or a drug overdose, he acknowledges a wealth of “dumb luck” cascading through the years. He puts this same chance happening with the band as well—but NOFX didn’t just hop on a bandwagon and hit it big. This is a band that sweated in odorous, decaying squats, remaining true to themselves. As their peers in Bad Religion and Green Day hopped in bed with major labels, they kept their pants on—or at least only took them off around each other—to create something on their own.
We all have memories to share, but when your life forms in the volatile pits of 80s SoCal punk rock, evolves with creativity and ingenuity, and continues with a lust for life across more than 30 years … the stories are quite a bit more intriguing. Hepatitis Bathtub covers it all. Whether a casual listener, hardcore fan, or a “couldn’t give a fuck about NOFX” character, this book is an evolutionary tale of grimy, realistic fun worth learning to read for. But you don’t have to take my word for it. (Scott Murry)
Purchase NOFX: The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories here.
