Punk rock's legacy is secured thanks to a new Las Vegas museum

15:26We want The Punk (Rock Museum) with Fat Mike and Talli Osborne

Mike Burkett, better known as Fat Mike, is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX. He is also the mastermind behind the new Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas — a 12,000-square-foot shrine to the biggest moments in punk. 

The spokesperson for that museum is Talli Osborne, a punk superfan and singer. She is also a motivational speaker who has delivered TEDTalks on being born with shortened arms and shortened legs. Her friendship with Fat Mike dates back 20 years ago at a NOFX show in Toronto.

The pair tell host Elamin Abdelmahmoud about their friendship and what they're most excited about for their latest venture.

We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow the Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud podcast, on your favourite podcast player.

Elamin: Mike, let's talk about the encounter where you first met Talli. It was a NOFX show in the early 2000s, and then that's how [the song] She's Nubs came to be. Can you tell the story of that encounter? 

Fat Mike: I saw her and I said, "What the hell happened to you? Was it thalidomide?" And she said — what did you say?

Talli: I said, "No, I was born like this. It's a boring story."

Fat Mike: Yeah, but then I invited her backstage, and we just hung out all night and talked. We've been close friends ever since.

Elamin: So when you first heard that song, Talli, what was your reaction? Because I think if you're not necessarily into the NOFX sense of humor, you might find that song offensive, right? How did you react to it first?

Talli: Yeah, a lot of people said that to me, but honestly, NOFX was my favorite band since I was 12 years old, so I couldn't believe my ears; it was unbelievable, to the point where I thought there's no way it could be about me — even though it talks about this girl with no arms and a Toronto punk show. It's obviously about me.

Elamin: Like, there's one. Yeah.

Talli: Yeah, I heard it the day it came out and my friends were like, "Talli, this is about you!" And I was like, "Are you sure?" And so I did what you did back in early 2000s: I went on the Fat Records website, clicked "Contact Us" and wrote them a letter, and said, "I think this song is about me. I don't know, but tell Fat Mike I love the song.

Fat Mike: I didn't warn her it was coming out. The record just came out.

Talli: That's what I was about to say: I didn't know. I had no idea. Our first encounter, it was pretty brief. We didn't hang out all night or anything, and I didn't think I made any impact, never mind an impact that big. And then a year and a half later, that song came out. Once I wrote Fat Records, then Fat Mike wrote me back from his personal account and said, "You know, after 12 albums, it's hard to think of things to write about. When I met you, you were the perfect character for a song." People said to me, "That song's pretty offensive." But it's NOFX in all its glory, you know? And it's shock value, it's funny, but the moral of the story to me is, it doesn't matter if she can't do this or that — she comes out to punk shows and she rocks out, and that's all that matters, you know? That's what I took from the song.

Fat Mike: You don't get to choose your own nickname. It was the same with Fat Mike — people started calling me Fat Mike. You get a nickname and you're stuck with it, alright? That's how it goes.

Elamin: And we've ditched the government names.

Fat Mike: People who don't have a nickname, they're not living life. They're not doing stuff.

Elamin: What made you want to create The Punk Rock Museum?

Fat Mike: Well, I didn't really want to. Just, once the idea entered my head, it had to be opened because the world needs this. There's no Grammy for punk rock. There's no Billboard chart. Punk rock is not really part of the music industry, and it doesn't really have respect, which is fine because we don't deserve respect, really, but we deserve our own building. In the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Green Day is in there and the Ramones are in there, and the Sex Pistols, but that's it. So we need a place where all punk is represented.

Elamin: You know, when I think about punk music, I think about something that is necessarily progressive and moving forward. It is sort of pushing the boundaries of the music that people are familiar with and comfortable listening to. So, it doesn't immediately mesh with my idea of what a museum is, because a museum is about preservation, it's about archiving, and it's about trying to make something sort of standstill for a moment. Are those ideas at odds at all for you?  

Fat Mike: I don't think so. I think we have both. Probably the most exciting thing we have is a jam room, where you can play my bass through my amp. You can play Fletcher from Pennywise's guitar through his amp. We have C. J. Ramone's bass. You can play the instruments; they're not hidden behind glass. You can't go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and play B.B. King's guitar — but you could play our guitars.

Elamin: I've got to ask also, why Vegas? It's not a city that occurs to me as particularly associated with punk history.  

Fat Mike: Well, it's a very punk rock town, and it's not hard to get people to go to Vegas. It's such a huge destination point for so many people. So we actually think we're going to get more people through our doors than anywhere else. In New York, it would cost $40 million to open. We're right off the [main] strip, next to the freeway. So it didn't cost us that much.

Elamin: What are some of your favorite pieces that are in the museum?  

Fat Mike: We have Pat Smear's — from Nirvana and Foo Fighters — his first royalty check for $8.34 from when he was in the Germs. From D.O.A., we have Dave Gregg's guitar that he burned on stage, and we have a photo of it. We have Sid Vicious' belt. We have Darby Crash from the Germs' black book … That just drives me crazy how cool it is. We have minutia.

Elamin: That's incredible. 

Fat Mike: We have stuff with stories behind it. It's not boring stuff. 

Talli: We have a wedding and a wake chapel, so you can have a wake or you can get married. But it's a punk rock wedding chapel, so we have backdrops and you can even have punk rock legends witness your wedding if you want. 

Fat Mike: We have tour guides that are all legends of punk rock.

Elamin: How does a tour program work?

Fat Mike: You pay $100 and you get to have me give you an hour tour. We have Don Bolles of the Germs. We have Casey Royer from Adolescents.

Talli: We have so many people.

Fat Mike: Every day you can get someone, and you don't just get a tour of the museum. You get to hear all our stories.

Talli: Yeah, it's mostly storytelling. It's one of a kind stories that only that person can tell — stories that maybe no one's ever heard before.

Elamin: Well, it sounds like you guys have created something really special. I really appreciate you guys being here to tell me about The Punk Rock Museum. I appreciate your time, thank you so much.

Fat Mike: Thanks for having us.

You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.