NOFX: Backstage Passport
Encyclopedia
NOFX: Backstage Passport is a documentary
series that was shown on the music network Fuse
about NOFX
's 2008 world tour. The show documents the stops on the tour and the band's reaction to various events. The creation of the show was noteworthy, due to the band's often noted disdain for the media including music television.
NOFX: Backstage Passport was released on DVD on March 17, 2009.
bands usually don't play. They explain that their manager, Kent, has had a horrible time booking the tour and that they're hoping not to get "killed or kidnapped
." Each band member makes preparations to leave: Fat Mike says goodbye to his wife and daughter, Eric Melvin
practices the accordion, Smelly
shaves his head with his wife, and El Hefe packs junk food to take on the trip.
The band's first stop on the tour, Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil, goes horribly when Kent shows up at their hotel drunk. In Porto Alegre, Melvin's guitar
broke half way through the band's set. Instead of fixing his guitar, however, he spends 10 minutes fixing his tuner, and the crowd turns on the band. The next stop, Medellín
, Colombia
, goes even worse. The venue the band was set to perform at had no idea of the show, so the show was canceled. In response, their Colombian promoter, Santiago, began receiving death threats, forcing the band to leave the country as soon as possible.
However, things improve when the band plays a "crazy, punk show" in Santiago, Chile
. Wild fans jump off the second level balcony and jump on stage. One fan even grabs El Hefe in a headlock during the middle of a song. The band was pleased and their spirits were rekindled.
, Ecuador
, where the band plays on tennis courts that were rented out by "rich kids who basically wanted NOFX to play at their country club." At the next stop, Buenos Aires
, Argentina
, the band plays a great show and wants to do an encore, but the manager of the club they are playing at won't let them, irritating the band immensely.
One of the band's crew members, Carlos, attempts to contact their Peruvian promoter, Yolanda, about their upcoming show in Peru
, but fails. He informs the band that Yolanda believes that NOFX
plays shows in low-quality venues like they did in the 1980s, and El Hefe muses that he thinks "they're gonna get screwed in Peru." The band arrives in Peru and they meet Yolanda for the first time. She proves to be an incompetent promoter when she fails to honor the band's requests or follow their directions. As the band departs for the hotel, Fat Mike warns the crew, who are headed to the venue, to "be nice."
When the crew arrives at the venue, they find that it is a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) plot of dirt and gravel with a fence around it. The venue lacks food, water, a backstage, or even electricity. As the crew set up and wonder "how [this could] get any worse", Peruvian police show up and inform them that they don't have the permits to perform at the venue. Kent and the crew attempt to contact Yolanda, but she doesn't pick up her phone or leave any clues as to where she is.
While the band is out to dinner, the fans start to show up at the venue. Riot police arrive and place the site on lock-down: The crew can't leave, and the fans can't get in. Carlos texts Kent and explains the situation, so Kent heads to the venue to attempt to rescue the crew. Jay, the band's drum technician, finds a man with a flatbed truck at the site, and bribes him to "smuggle the crew out of the venue." The crew load up their equipment and lay down flat in the back of the truck. As the truck driver begins to drive away, one of the riot police jumps on the side of the truck and sees the crew, but falls off, and the crew manages to escape.
The crew is checking into the hotel when Yolanda shows up. Jay, who is extremely irritated, exclaims that "if [she] had shown up earlier, I would've strangled [her]." The band calls Yolanda a liar and labels the whole trip as a flop. The next day, as they begin to depart for their next location, a few hundred fans show up at the hotel cheering for NOFX. Looking to appease the fans, Fat Mike finds an acoustic guitar and plays an acoustic version of "Franco Un-American." The fans are delighted and Mike says that he has never done anything like this before.
Later, while the band is partying in one of the dressing rooms, Kent heads out to get work visas to travel to Singapore. He explains that he feels that the band doesn't understand what he has to go through for them, but they do appreciate him. When he distributes the work visas to the band and crew, they find a stamp inside declaring that illegal drug trafficking is punishable by death, which worries the band members.
After arriving in Singapore, there a miscommunication about having dinner, and El Hefe has gone missing. Kent explains wandering through Singapore to find him would be a bad idea, and Jay has to attempt to soothe the restless crowd at the venue. Finally, 5 minutes after the band is supposed to be on stage, El Hefe shows up, completely oblivious to the fact that he's extremely late. The band rushes to the venue as fast they can and make it to the show 15 minutes late.
That night, Fat Mike buys a green powdery substance
from a drug dealer, and he snorts a line with Limo and Kent in their hotel room. All of them begin to experience hallucinations, and Fat Mike declares he's "never been so fucked up in his entire life." He calls Melvin's hotel room and asks Melvin for help, but Melvin ignores him. Fat Mike goes up to Melvin's room and begins knocking on the door, but Melvin continues to ignore him. Finally, feeling guilty, Melvin heads down to Fat Mike's room, and Mike explains to him that his current situation is similar to when Melvin smoked PCP
in 1985. Limo encourages Melvin to try the powdery substance, much to Mike's chagrin, and Melvin does half a line while Mike declares "you just made the worst decision of your life."
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series that was shown on the music network Fuse
Fuse TV
Fuse is an American national television network dedicated exclusively to music. It features original series and specials, exclusive interviews, live concerts and video blocks....
about NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
's 2008 world tour. The show documents the stops on the tour and the band's reaction to various events. The creation of the show was noteworthy, due to the band's often noted disdain for the media including music television.
NOFX: Backstage Passport was released on DVD on March 17, 2009.
Episode 1
The episode begins with the band planning to play in countries where punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands usually don't play. They explain that their manager, Kent, has had a horrible time booking the tour and that they're hoping not to get "killed or kidnapped
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
." Each band member makes preparations to leave: Fat Mike says goodbye to his wife and daughter, Eric Melvin
Eric Melvin
Eric Scott Melvin is an American musician and the rhythm guitarist in the California punk band NOFX. He has been in the band from its beginnings in the early 1980s to the present day. Eric has been known for his dreadlocks that vary in color each time NOFX performs...
practices the accordion, Smelly
Erik Sandin
Erik Sandin , is an American musician and the drummer of the popular California punk band, NOFX. He was a founding member of the band when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983, but moved to Santa Barbara two years later, leaving the band.In just one year without Sandin, the band had...
shaves his head with his wife, and El Hefe packs junk food to take on the trip.
The band's first stop on the tour, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil, goes horribly when Kent shows up at their hotel drunk. In Porto Alegre, Melvin's guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
broke half way through the band's set. Instead of fixing his guitar, however, he spends 10 minutes fixing his tuner, and the crowd turns on the band. The next stop, Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, goes even worse. The venue the band was set to perform at had no idea of the show, so the show was canceled. In response, their Colombian promoter, Santiago, began receiving death threats, forcing the band to leave the country as soon as possible.
However, things improve when the band plays a "crazy, punk show" in Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. Wild fans jump off the second level balcony and jump on stage. One fan even grabs El Hefe in a headlock during the middle of a song. The band was pleased and their spirits were rekindled.
Episode 2
The tour continues to GuayaquilGuayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, where the band plays on tennis courts that were rented out by "rich kids who basically wanted NOFX to play at their country club." At the next stop, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the band plays a great show and wants to do an encore, but the manager of the club they are playing at won't let them, irritating the band immensely.
One of the band's crew members, Carlos, attempts to contact their Peruvian promoter, Yolanda, about their upcoming show in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, but fails. He informs the band that Yolanda believes that NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
plays shows in low-quality venues like they did in the 1980s, and El Hefe muses that he thinks "they're gonna get screwed in Peru." The band arrives in Peru and they meet Yolanda for the first time. She proves to be an incompetent promoter when she fails to honor the band's requests or follow their directions. As the band departs for the hotel, Fat Mike warns the crew, who are headed to the venue, to "be nice."
When the crew arrives at the venue, they find that it is a 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) plot of dirt and gravel with a fence around it. The venue lacks food, water, a backstage, or even electricity. As the crew set up and wonder "how [this could] get any worse", Peruvian police show up and inform them that they don't have the permits to perform at the venue. Kent and the crew attempt to contact Yolanda, but she doesn't pick up her phone or leave any clues as to where she is.
While the band is out to dinner, the fans start to show up at the venue. Riot police arrive and place the site on lock-down: The crew can't leave, and the fans can't get in. Carlos texts Kent and explains the situation, so Kent heads to the venue to attempt to rescue the crew. Jay, the band's drum technician, finds a man with a flatbed truck at the site, and bribes him to "smuggle the crew out of the venue." The crew load up their equipment and lay down flat in the back of the truck. As the truck driver begins to drive away, one of the riot police jumps on the side of the truck and sees the crew, but falls off, and the crew manages to escape.
The crew is checking into the hotel when Yolanda shows up. Jay, who is extremely irritated, exclaims that "if [she] had shown up earlier, I would've strangled [her]." The band calls Yolanda a liar and labels the whole trip as a flop. The next day, as they begin to depart for their next location, a few hundred fans show up at the hotel cheering for NOFX. Looking to appease the fans, Fat Mike finds an acoustic guitar and plays an acoustic version of "Franco Un-American." The fans are delighted and Mike says that he has never done anything like this before.
Episode 3
The band continues their world tour and heads to Japan where they hold a press conference and play their biggest headlining show ever. Afterwards, the crew and the band split up to enjoy themselves. The crew members (with the exception of Jay) are walking around when they come to a street corner with a woman who is vomiting, an intoxicated businessman, and two businessman fighting in a flower bed while one chats on his cell phone. The crew declares that "Japan is just like America now!" The band and Jay claim they're going to see the "real dark side of Japan" and head to an S&M bar called Osaka Jail. They watch the S&M show between two women and are enjoying a drink when the head mistress asks Fat Mike if he'd like to participate. He turns down the offer, but points to Jay and says "He'll do it." While the band members wince in horror as Jay is whipped and beaten, Jay simply smiles, laughs, and calls it "a good time."Later, while the band is partying in one of the dressing rooms, Kent heads out to get work visas to travel to Singapore. He explains that he feels that the band doesn't understand what he has to go through for them, but they do appreciate him. When he distributes the work visas to the band and crew, they find a stamp inside declaring that illegal drug trafficking is punishable by death, which worries the band members.
After arriving in Singapore, there a miscommunication about having dinner, and El Hefe has gone missing. Kent explains wandering through Singapore to find him would be a bad idea, and Jay has to attempt to soothe the restless crowd at the venue. Finally, 5 minutes after the band is supposed to be on stage, El Hefe shows up, completely oblivious to the fact that he's extremely late. The band rushes to the venue as fast they can and make it to the show 15 minutes late.
That night, Fat Mike buys a green powdery substance
Benzylpiperazine
Benzylpiperazine is a recreational drug with euphoric, stimulant properties. The effects produced by BZP are comparable to those produced by amphetamine. Adverse effects have been reported following its use including acute psychosis, renal toxicity, and seizures...
from a drug dealer, and he snorts a line with Limo and Kent in their hotel room. All of them begin to experience hallucinations, and Fat Mike declares he's "never been so fucked up in his entire life." He calls Melvin's hotel room and asks Melvin for help, but Melvin ignores him. Fat Mike goes up to Melvin's room and begins knocking on the door, but Melvin continues to ignore him. Finally, feeling guilty, Melvin heads down to Fat Mike's room, and Mike explains to him that his current situation is similar to when Melvin smoked PCP
Phencyclidine
Phencyclidine , commonly initialized as PCP and known colloquially as angel dust, is a recreational dissociative drug...
in 1985. Limo encourages Melvin to try the powdery substance, much to Mike's chagrin, and Melvin does half a line while Mike declares "you just made the worst decision of your life."