NOFX may still record and release new music despite retiring from touring

NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin says the band's decision to quit touring for good is most likely down to stress and anxiety felt by frontman 'Fat Mike' Burkett.

The singer and bassist said earlier this year that they'd celebrate their 40th anniversary with a final tour in 2023, although he didn't give a reason.

In conversation with Avenged Sevenfold's Johnny Christ on his Drinks with Johnny podcast, Melvin says the band support Burkett in his decision.

He says: "It's sad, but it's true. It's Mike, really. I think I have a clue, but I'm not really sure why exactly. It's maybe stressful, anxious for him. And he's just like, maybe not sure that it's working for him any more.

"He's just been talking about it for a few years. We've been trying to make adjustments and of course the pandemic has thrown a wrench in everything. We've tried to make adjustments to see if that works better for him, and it just seems like it's not.

"So he's got to get out and stop. I think that we're like showing our strengths more than ever in the live show and he's just not feeling it. He's gotta do what he's gotta do. We're brothers and we've gotta take care of each other, despite the reasons pulling us in different directions.

"We gotta support him in that. Let's make the biggest bang that we can to get out. Have a big party, celebrate 40 years of touring, 40 years of recording."

Melvin also revealed that while the band will no longer hit the road, they may still record and release new music.

He adds: "He still wants to record and release records as NOFX. So we'll see how that works because they kind of go hand-in-hand, but they don't have to."

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.