NOFX/Frank Turner Share "Thatcher F***ed The Kids" & "Bob" Covers from Upcoming West Coast vs. Wessex Split Album (Fat Wreck Chords)
Billed like an old school boxing "fight night" poster, the cover image for NOFX/Frank Turner's upcoming split album explicitly boasts, "FAT WRECK BOXING CLUB, WEST COAST VS. WESSEX, 10 ROUNDS OF MEDIO-CORE, NOFX CHAMPIONS VS. FRANK TURNER CHALLENGER." It features NOFX frontman "Fat" Mike Burkett & Frank Turner (Möngöl Hörde, Million Dead) posing in boxing gloves and gear akin to Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat's iconic black-and-white boxing photographs. Announced earlier this week, Fat Wreck Chords announced said split 10-song album; West Coast vs. Wessex will feature NOFX covering five Frank Turner songs on "Side A" and vice versa on "Side B." Along with said split's announcement, Fat Wreck Chords released NOFX's cover of Frank Turner's "Thatcher F**ked The Kids" accompanied by Turner's cover of NOFX's "Bob." Both tracks are currently featured on Bandcamp, along with pre-order information, and were, additionally, accompanied by proper music videos, as well.
NOFX's "Thatcher F**ked The Kids" video was directed and Edited by Chris Blake and produced by Laura Blake, while Frank Turner's rendition of "Bob" was directed by Chris Graue with "Bob" played by Ty Deran. "Thatcher F**ked The Kids" fittingly features a bunch of kids dressed up like adults frolicking around and getting into all sorts of hi-jinx. It's extremely cute, but, admittedly, there isn't much more there to be discussed... Frank Turner's "Bob," on the other hand, showcases an uncredited appearance from Fat Mike & NOFX doing their best impression of Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls, along with self-described "Professional Unicorn" Ty Deran. We spoke with "Bob" director Chris Graue, who told The Witzard, via email, "I was stoked to work on this project. We had a lot of fun making it and poking a little fun at Frank. It was, also, great seeing the video Frank had done for the NOFX version of "Thatcher F**ked The Kids." Chris Blake absolutely crushed it!"
For this very feature, we, also, reached out to Frank Turner himself, via email, who explained, "basically, [Fat] Mike asked. We've been friends since Reading [Festival] 2011 when I guested on guitar with them. We were planning on doing most of the Punk In Drublic tour this year and Mike suggested this as a set-up for that," when we asked how it all came together. In addition to "Thatcher F**ked The Kids" & "Bob," NOFX/Frank Turner's West Coast vs. Wessex split, additionally, features covers of Frank Turner's "Substitute," "Worse Things Happen at Sea," "Ballad of Me & My Friends," and "Glory Hallelujah," as well as NOFX's "Scavenger Type," "Eat The Meek," "Perfect Government," and "Falling In Love." If you're a fan of Fat Mike, NOFX & Fat Wreck Chords' antics, we would strongly recommend checking out their official commercial for West Coast vs. Wessex, as well. NOFX/Frank Turner's West Coast vs. Wessex is currently available for pre-order in a number of formats from Fat Wreck Chords