• 1991-

  Davey HavokLead vocals

  Adam CarsonDrums

  Mark StopholeseGuitar1991-1998

  Vic ChalkerBass1991-1992

  Geoff KresgeBass1992-1997

  Hunter BurganBass1997-

  Jade PugetGuitar1998-
• AFI stands for "A Fire Inside." The band didn't officially start using that full name for their acronym, though, until 1997, when their third album, Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes, was copyrighted to A Fire Inside. In a 2010 interview, founding bassist Vic Chalker claimed that AFI originally stood for "A Bunch of F--king Idiots." At other times, the band's members have joked that AFI was short for "Asking For It" and "Anthems For Insubordinates."
• Davey Havok formed AFI while attending high school in Ukiah, California, with fellow classmates Chalker on bass, Mark Stopholese on guitar, and Adam Carson on drums. When the band got together, they practiced in Carson's garage, and Chalker and Stopholese didn't know how to play their instruments. AFI initially played aggressive hardcore punk music, influenced by such artists as Minor Threat, Black Flag and Misfits.
• Davey Havok is straight-edge, meaning he abstains from alcohol and drugs. It's a lifestyle he's embraced since his early teens when he discovered straight-edge hardcore bands like Minor Threat.
• Explaining why he went straight-edge, Davey Havok said, "To me, there was nothing more mainstream than drug use in America. And when I saw people on drugs and the way that they acted and the way that they treated each other, I found it really sad and disgusting, if not disappointing at best. And I never wanted to be like that."
• After only playing a handful of shows with AFI, Chalker was replaced on bass by Geoff Kresge in 1992. Kresge wrote the music to most of the songs on the band's first two albums - Answer That And Stay Fashionable (1995) and Very Proud Of Ya (1996). After leaving AFI in 1997, he went on to play with a variety of other bands. From 2018 to 2023, he was the bassist in the influential Los Angeles hardcore band Fear.
• Since guitarist Jade Puget joined AFI in 1998, the band has gone through a variety of stylistic changes. Among the genres the group has explored in the ensuing years are horror punk, emo, alternative rock and gothic rock. In a 2025 interview with the Rock Sound website, Davey Havok explained that AFI is devoted to constantly evolving musically, while noting that sometimes disappoints part of their fanbase.
  
  "There are always those few people who are shocked that our new music doesn't sound like that one record of ours they liked two decades ago," he noted. "There are always those people that think, 'Maybe this one will sound like they used to,' but it never will. If it does, it means this band has become stale and boring."
• In 2000, Havok and Puget teamed up to launch the popular electronic-music duo Blaqk Audio. The group's first three albums - CexCells (2007), Bright Black Heaven (2012) and Material (2016) - all reached #1 on Dance chart.
• In 2000, Havok was approached about becoming the lead singer of the influential horror punk band the Misfits, but he turned it down because he was committed to AFI. AFI have covered various Misfits songs in concert over the years, and have recorded versions of "Demonomania" and "Halloween."
• Havok was part of the original lineup of Son Of Sam, a horror-punk supergroup formed in 2000 that paid tribute to Glenn Danzig's post-Misfits band Samhain. Son Of Sam was formed by Todd Youth, who played guitar in Samhain and the band Danzig. The group also featured Samhain alums Steve Zing and London May.
• In 2012, Havok and Puget formed a short-lived straight-edge hardcore punk band called XTRMST. The group, which also featured Saosin bassist Chris Sorenson, released a self-titled album in 2014.
• In 2016, Havok formed the New Wave supergroup DREAMCAR with the three members of No Doubt who aren't frontwoman Gwen Stefani. The band released their self-titled debut album in 2017 and a self-titled EP in 2024.

Comments

More Songfacts:

TragedyBee Gees

The thunderclap sound heard in the Bee Gees song "Tragedy" was made by Barry Gibb with his mouth.

Mr. BojanglesThe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

The Texas songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker wrote "Mr. Bojangles" after a weekend in jail where a fellow inmate told him his life story.

Just In LoveJoe Jonas

Lil Wayne does an unlikely rap in a remix of the Joe Jonas song "Just In Love." The pair met at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards.

Crocodile RockElton John

Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."

Killing In The NameRage Against the Machine

Tired of X-Factor winners getting the UK Christmas #1, British Facebook users staged a successful campaign to download "Killing In The Name" by Rage Against The Machine enough times to boost the song to the top in 2009, blocking the X-Factor single by Joe McElderry.

Love BitesDef Leppard

At the end of "Love Bites" by Def Leppard, there are some vocals that are hard to understand. It was rumored that they were: "Jesus of Nazareth, Go to Hell." It is actually producer Mutt Lange saying "Yes it does, Bloody Hell," with a thick British accent.

Editor's Picks

Chris Frantz - "Genius of Love"They're Playing My Song

Chris and his wife Tina were the rhythm section for Talking Heads when they formed The Tom Tom Club. "Genius of Love" was their blockbuster, but David Byrne only mentioned it once.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Scott Gorham of Thin Lizzy and Black Star RidersSongwriter Interviews

Writing with Phil Lynott, Scott saw their ill-fated frontman move to a darker place in his life and lyrics.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Chris IsaakSongwriter Interviews

Chris tells the story of "Wicked Game," talks milkshakes and moonpies at Sun Records, and explains why women always get their way.