NOFX

• From: San Francisco, CA
• Sounds Like: Pennywise, Rancid, Bad Religion

NOFX formed in Los Angeles back in 1983, a helluva year for new bands and one that gave birth to Alcatrazz, Trixter, White Lion, and any number of bands that are completely defunct and irrelevant in this day and age. That alone says something about NOFX’s enduring popularity. Maybe they lasted this long because they were forged in the same fiery furnaces of the L.A. hardcore scene that gave us Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies, Germs and Descendents. NOFX sharpened their teeth in that tumultuous talent pool until they joined forces with Epitaph in 1989 and went on to release a string of crucial punk records. Their first major breakthrough came in the form of 1990’s Ribbed, still a fan favorite, followed up by now-classics White Trash, Two Heebs and a Bean and Punk in Drublic, the latter selling well over a million copies. That was a wildly successful decade for NOFX as the band popularized the Warped Tour and was the flagship band for the skate/surf/snow culture of the 1990’s.