NOFX guitarist Eric Melvin has broken his silence on claims that he sued bandmate Fat Mike, issuing a statement ahead of the SXSW premiere of the band’s new documentary 40 Years of F—-‘ Up to deny that any lawsuit was ever filed.
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The dispute first became public in January when drummer Erik “Smelly” Sandin addressed Melvin’s absence at a Punk Rock Museum roundtable event in Las Vegas, reading a statement claiming that Melvin’s lawyers had served Fat Mike with legal papers the morning after NOFX’s final show in October 2024, accusing him of “legal financial malfeasance.”
“He is not a thief,” Sandin said at the time. “I will go on record saying he is not a thief.” NOFX’s longtime manager Kent Jamieson subsequently stated that while “Mel has grievances, no suit has been filed.”
Melvin, who was in Austin, Texas for the SXSW screenings of 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up, has now set the record straight in his own words. “Things have been said about me that aren’t true, and I’ve been quiet long enough,” he wrote on social media. “I never sued Fat Mike, NOFX, or served anyone in the band legal papers — not at 8am, not ever.”
He clarified that what was actually sent was a letter requesting financial records he had been seeking for years, alongside a request for certain conduct to stop.
“Not a lawsuit, not a demand Mike pay me millions of dollars — the words ‘thief’ or ‘illegal’ appear nowhere in it,” Melvin said. “As a member of this band and the LLC, that’s my right. It was private.”
He added that his intention was to “shut down the rumor mill” and reiterated his affection for his bandmates. “I love being in NOFX. I love my band mates. I am so proud of what we’ve built together over decades.”
Directed by James Buddy Day and produced by Fat Mike, 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up traces NOFX’s journey from drug-addled teenage punks to one of the most successful independent bands in history. All four members — Fat Mike, Melvin, El Hefe and Smelly — serve as executive producers on the film.
Sneak-peek screenings are running March 15 and 16 at Brushy Street Commons in Austin, with the documentary set to roll out to curated theaters worldwide beginning in April. The film also features unreleased NOFX music exclusive to attendees.
NOFX played their final show in San Pedro, California in October 2024, capping a 41-year career. The band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 and became one of the most enduring acts in punk rock, releasing over a dozen studio albums independently through Fat Mike’s Fat Wreck Chords label.