Formed in California by guitarist Tony Sly and drummer Rory Koff, No Use For A Name have been entertaining punks old and new with their infectious, fast-paced anthems since 1987. After releasing two albums on New Red Archives, the band inked a deal with punk heavyweight Fat Wreck Chords in 1993. Owned and operated by NOFX frontman Fat Mike, the indie imprint has put out six full-length studio recordings and a live disc on behalf of the group.
Since signing with Fat, NUFAN have undergone several lineup changes. One of their most notable former members was guitarist Chris Shiflett, who departed in 1999 to join Foo Fighters. He was replaced by Dave Nassie from Suicidal Tendencies. Ex-Face To Face bassist Matt Riddle rounds out the quartet.
NUFAN first toured Japan as the headliner for the 2003 Fat Tour with former labelmates Anti-Flag and Rise Against. Despite taking over 15 years to make their Japanese debut, the group were taken aback by the support they received, and returned in 2004 and 2005. Next week marks a fourth visit to Japan, and a second in support of last year's release "Keep Them Confused." Shifting from their harder past and into the pop-punk realm as they mellow with age, the album is their most melodic and even includes an acoustic ballad and strings arrangements.
The band are writing the followup to "Confused" this autumn, and there are rumors of a NUFAN DVD surfacing as well. Although they haven't quite achieved the commercial success of other elder statesmen such as NOFX or Rancid, NUFAN have been a cornerstone of the American punk scene for the last decade and likely will be for years to come.
