NOFX's Fat Mike Recounts Euthanizing His Mother, Takes Aim at Religious Freaks

"I'm actually really fond of awkward situations," NOFX's Fat Mike tells Spinner, laughing after he has left us open-mouthed and speechless. The NOFX vocalist/bassist has just recounted the story behind his song 'La Pieta,' which translates to "pity" and takes its name from the Michelangelo statue in St. Peter's Basilica where the Virgin Mary is holding Jesus after his crucifixion.

"It's a song about how I killed my mom," he says. "She was dying of ovarian cancer and she asked me to kill her."

Unsurprisingly, Mike has strong feelings on the topic of assisted suicide and euthanasia.

"How can you be an educated person and not agree with euthanasia?" he says. "There are certain things that I feel very black and white about, that I can't believe are arguments. It's just unbelievable to me that certain rights are not given to certain people, like gay marriage. If you are against gay marriage there is something wrong with you. Or if you actually believe in god there is something wrong with you. I'm not gonna tell people what to have crazy faith in. If you want to believe in Santa Claus, you can do that too. I'm not here to tell you what you can or can't believe ... and who cares?"

Listen to Fat Mike Perform 'La Pieta'

"It's like Christians who are against gay marriage, f--- you. I mean, c'mon, no one can even show evidence there was a Jesus f---ing Christ, for f---'s sake. There is all this weird s--- in the universe we don't understand, but putting a name to it, making a book ..." When we interject and say that the term "God," whether attached to religion or not, might be a good word for the unexplainable. "I prefer goddess," Mike replies.

NOFX, as usual, have lots of stuff in the works. Fans can anticipate a nine-song EP of obscure, old-school punk covers, which include NOFX's take on tracks by Maumee, Ohio natives Necros and Sacramento's Rebel Truth. "We're old hardcore kids with all these old 7-inches, so we tried to find bands that no one has ever heard of and do some of their songs," Mike says. "It doesn't have a name. We just call it 'The Hardcore EP.'"

As for a follow-up to NOFX's 2009 album 'Coaster,' Mike admits he's had a bit of writer's block. "I've written two or three songs," he says. "I don't really have inspiration for it though. I'll record them and then they'll sit there for a year or two. I write songs when I'm inspired and I haven't been in awhile." Or at least he hasn't been inspired by a life-changing event like the subject of 'La Pieta.'

Fat Mike has only performed the track once and that's all it took for it to go viral, thanks to YouTube. "I felt like she brought me into this world, so fair enough that I take her out," he says. "If you're not backing euthanasia, you're a f---ing idiot or some religious freak. How could you say no? This person is suffering and they want to die, they have incurable cancer and you are going say 'No, do it the natural way.' F--- you. It's what you do for your f---ing mom, if you're a man. It's what she wanted. If I didn't do it, I'd feel terrible. I'd feel cowardly."


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