Fat Mike

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Fat Mike
Fat Mike in concert, 2006.
Born	January 16, 1967 Newton, Massachusetts
Alias(es)	Fat Mike
Genre(s)	Skate punk Punk rock Ska Punk Pop punk Melodic hardcore
Affiliation(s)	NOFX, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
Years active	1983-Present
Official site	NOFX Fat Wreck Chords Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Michael Burkett, more commonly known as Fat Mike, is the lead singer and bassist of the popular 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's also the owner of Motor Studios in San Francisco, California. Mike and wife of 14 years Erin have one child, daughter Darla.

The name Fat Mike is a misnomer, as he isn't obese. This nickname emerged when the somewhat thin Mike went away to San Francisco State University and returned having gained a few pounds, making him slightly heavier than the broomstick-thin punk rock crowd. The nickname stuck, even working its way into the name of his label, Fat Wreck Chords, one of the largest and most financially successful punk-affiliated record labels in the United States, mainly run by Fat Mike and his wife Erin. The label was founded in 1990. He regards himself as "Not That Fat".

In 1997 he opened Motor Studios in San Francisco together with record producer Ryan Greene.

Fat Mike was the main organizer of the Rock Against Bush (Vol. 1 (2004) & Vol. 2 (2004)) and Punk Voter (founded in 2003) projects. Each project was created to increase voting among fans of punk music to vote George W. Bush out of office, and to make issues close to the punk community known to politicians.

[edit] Trivia

• In line with the band's notoriously irreverent nature, NOFX's members have gone under comedic pseudonyms for some of their albums. A couple of Fat Mike's have been: "Mike Rakhabit" (my crack habit) (S&M Airlines), "Mike Roskope" (microscope), and "Fatty" (live album insert).
• Fat Mike is also responsible for the punk rock tabloid-esque magazine, Punk Rock Confidential.
• Fat Mike frequently uses Danelectro DC series bass guitars.
• During the 1980s, Fat Mike attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California; however, he claims to have graduated from Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
• Owns Fat Wreck Chords, Honest Don's, and Pink & Black Records.
• Went to college majoring in social science and minoring in human sexuality.
• Writes almost all the music and lyrics for NOFX, even for the trumpet.
• Sings on Screeching Weasel's song "Peter Brady" from their album Anthem for a New Tomorrow.
• Sings on the Randy song "Beware".
• Sings on Lagwagon's song "Lazy" from their album Trashed, and the song "Mr. Coffee" from their album Duh.
• His greatest fear in life is "being tied to a bed when an earthquake hits"^{[citation needed]}.
• Wrote and plays guitar on the Bracket song "No Brainer" on the album When all Else Fails on Fat Wreck Chords.
• Plays bass on Swingin' Utters song "Unpopular Again" from their album "Five Lessons Learned".
• Sings in French on NOFX's cover of the Joe Dassin song "Les Champs Elysees".
• Mentioned in the Bowling for Soup song "Punk Rock 101"
• After breaking his foot on stage at a show in Germany, Mike insisted on playing the next day's festival so he performed the entire show sitting on a couch with his bass.

[edit] External link

• Fat Mike at the Notable Names Database
• Interview with Fat Mike, discussing S&M, religion and his education.

NOFX
Fat Mike | El Hefe | Eric Melvin | Erik Sandin
Scott Sellers | Scott Aldahl | Dave Allen | Dave Casillas | Steve Kidwiller
Discography
Studio albums: Liberal Animation | S&M Airlines | Ribbed | White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean | Punk in Drublic | Heavy Petting Zoo | So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes | Pump Up the Valuum | The War on Errorism | Wolves in Wolves' Clothing
Extended plays: NOFX | So What If We're on Mystic! | The P.M.R.C. Can Suck on This! | The Longest Line | Liza and Louise |Don't Call Me White | Leave it Alone | HOFX | Fuck the Kids | Louise and Liza | All of Me | Timmy the Turtle | The Decline | Bottles to the Ground | Pods and Gods | Fat Club 7 | Surfer | Regaining Unconsciousness | 13 Stitches | 7" of the Month Club | Never Trust a Hippy
Compilation and live albums: I Heard They Suck Live!! | Maximum Rocknroll | 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records | The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us!)