NOFX -- forever punk

Photo of the band NOFX. Left to Right: Erik, El Hefe, Fat Mike, Eric Melvin Credit: Jesse Fischer

For their latest tour, which started sometime last year and continues well into the next, the members of NOFX decided to go to all the countries they've never been to before. Not necessarily countries where the long-standing San Francisco punk band sells any albums, just countries it's never been to before, such as Peru, Israel, Thailand, Argentina and Singapore.

How has it been so far?

"It's been amazing and it's been disastrous," says the group's singer Mike Burkett, a decidedly average-size man who is better known as Fat Mike. "We had two different shows where riot cops shut us down. I played in a hotel lobby once because our show was canceled. We played a tennis court at a country club in Ecuador. We played to 20,000 people in Brazil."

Fortunately, a film crew has documented the journey, and a DVD will be released sometime next year. But local fans don't have to wait that long. They can get a live preview when NOFX plays three consecutive sold-out shows at Slim's this week, beginning Tuesday.

Burkett celebrated his 40th birthday with his wife and 2-year-old daughter the night before our interview.

"I'm a little shaky," he says.

He formed NOFX with guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin in 1983, when they were all just 16. The original lineup has more or less stayed intact over the course of 24 years, 10 full-length studio albums, 10 EPs and countless 7-inch singles. In that time, the musicians have sold more than 16 million albums, all without the help of a major label. They still call second guitarist and trumpet player Aaron "El Hefe" Abeyta, who joined in 1991, "The new guy."

"Last year was our first argument," Burkett says.

The singer's alcohol intake before shows caused the row. He had fallen off the stage in the middle of the set in Boston.

"I got to a point where I was drinking maybe a half bottle of vodka mixed with a Valium before we would play, and I was getting a little sloppy," he says.

The argument didn't last long. The other members of the band suggested compromise: "They said, why don't you take half a Valium and drink beer?" Burkett says. "They were absolutely right."

Remarkably, the problem didn't surface until the singer was 39. He made it through the '80s relatively sober. "I wasn't a big partier," he says. "I didn't even try drugs until I was 30."

Sandin, meanwhile, spent six years as a junkie before temporarily quitting the band in 1992, the year NOFX released its breakthrough disc, "White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean." The original title of "White Trash, Two Kikes and a Spic" was considered too distasteful by Melvin's family.

"We're all nice, reasonable people," Burkett insists.

In a way, NOFX is the U2 of the D.I.Y. punk scene, minus all the swearing, drinking and moshing, although Burkett prefers to draw a comparison to the Ramones, who hated each other until the bitter end.

"Well, I wouldn't say we're best friends, but we're all close," he says.

Burkett reckons NOFX has survived so long because the other members of the group have simply let him call all the shots.

"We were just talking about this the other day," he says, laughing. "Our guitar player said he had to do the second grade twice. And our drummer said, 'Wow, I had to do the second grade twice.' I was, like, 'Ah, I skipped the second grade.' That's kind of how it's laid out. I'm definitely the brains of the operation."

He says it's OK to print this without the risk of causing NOFX's second argument.

"That's why we get along so well," Burkett says. "I make all the decisions, and they trust my decision making. I write the songs. I own the record label. We split everything four ways. They're just happy to be doing so well after so many years. What could they possibly complain about?"

In April, the group released its most controversial album, "Wolves in Wolves Clothing." Its previous release, 2003's "The War on Errorism," depicted President Bush in clown makeup on the cover and included politically charged tracks such as "Idiots Are Taking Over" and "Franco Un-American." The new one takes on a bigger nemesis: organized religion.

How do the band's political views go over with its punk -- and often drunk -- fans?

"I don't really preach onstage," Burkett says. "I think people just rock out to the songs they like the best. I don't think lyrics are that important."

But it's hard to miss the message behind tunes such as "Leaving Jesusland" and the as-yet-unreleased "Idiot Son of an A -- ."

"Politics and punk rock have always gone hand in hand," Burkett says, although he does acknowledge that NOFX's most recent material has pushed some buttons. "The new album has been getting a lot more criticism because of the anti-Christian stance. We've actually had people walk out of our shows."

Does it bother him?

"It does the opposite of bother me," Burkett says.

Few would expect less from the man who started ("a coalition to educate, register and mobilize progressive voters"), released two successful "Rock Against Bush" CDs on his Fat Wreck Chords label, and followed it with a tour of the same name leading up to the 2004 election. "Even though we didn't win 2004, we did in 2006," he says. "We did make a difference."

Burkett has no plans to ease off the politics, either.

"I'm just sick of punk bands nowadays," he says. "No one wants to say anything offensive because they're afraid of losing sales. I'd rather piss people off. It's a personality flaw. I always try to push the envelope."

And, at 40, he doesn't foresee an end to his days as the leader of a punk band.

"We've been saying we'll stop in five years," he says, "for 15 years now."

NOFX plays Tues.-Thurs. at Slim's, 333 11th St., San Francisco. $21. (415) 255-0333, .