The internet has got carried away once again.
NOFX’s co-founding guitarist Eric Melvin (the guy with the blue dreads) is denying having ever sued bandmate Michael Burkett AKA Fat Mike.
News of the feud all started back in January when Burkett sat down at a roundtable Q+A discussion at the Punk Rock Museum with fellow NOFXers Erik Sandin (Smelly) and Aaron Abeyta (El Hefe).
The band broke up after 41 years together in October 2024 and public appearances have been few and far since.
Smelly called himself the “most level-headed of the band” and said Melvin wasn’t there because he’d served Fat Mike legal papers accusing him of legal financial malfeasance at 8am that very morning.
Except now, Eric Melvin is saying that never really happened.
He took to Instagram to shut down the rumour mill, writing “I never sued Fat Mike, NOFX, or served anyone in the band legal papers – not at 8am, not ever.”
What apparently went down instead was a letter requesting Fat Mike send over some financial records Melvin had been chasing for years – ones that he believes he was entitled to as member of both the band and its business entity.
Oh, and he says it happened on October 7th, 2024. Not January this year.
But all that aside, Melvin’s hanging onto the hope there’s not bad blood.
“I love being in NOFX. I love my band mates. I am so proud of what we’ve built together over decades,” he wrote.
Whether the dispute is legit or all just a publicity stunt for their new documentary ‘40 Years of F**kin’ Up’ which airs in a couple weeks time, we may never know.
Either way, NOFX knows how to stay punk – post break-up band drama and all.
