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By
Jered
Scott
BIO:
The Christian-themed punk-pop outfit MxPx formed in 1993
in Bremerton, WA. Originally dubbed Magnified Plaid, the
group launched while its three members — vocalist/bassist
Mike Herrera, drummer Yuri Ruley, and guitarist Andy
Husted — were still attending high school. The moniker was
later shortened to MxPx after Ruley abbreviated the name
on some show flyers; poor handwriting saw the periods
being interpreted as x's instead, and the name stuck.
Wielding an energetic sound that was inspired by
the Descendents,
NOFX, the group's own Christian faith, and
California's skateboard culture, the band wasted little
time attracting a local following.
By the time Ruley and his bandmates received their
driver's licenses, the trio had already released several
7" singles and a debut album,
Pokinatcha, for Tooth & Nail Records in 1994. It
quickly became the label's best seller and prompted the
release of the band's sophomore effort,
Teenage Politics, late the next year. By this time,
Husted had been replaced by guitarist Tom Wisniewski, and
the group quickly followed the release of
Teenage Politics with a short collection of cover
songs entitled
On the Cover. Popular with the skate/surf community as
well as the punk underground (with a snowboard sponsorship
to their name), MxPx ultimately broke out of the
underground in 1996 with their classic third LP,
Life in General. The album included such fan favorites
as "Chick Magnet" and "Move to Bremerton."
Though dubbed a Christian punk band, religious themes were
never an overbearingly dominant force in the band's songs,
as they usually relied on such universal themes as growing
up. Furthermore, as MxPx progressed in their career, their
songs gravitated toward the secular side of things even
further.
Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo, the band's debut
for major label A&M, appeared in 1998. That fall, they
also released the compilation album
Let It Happen on their old Tooth and Nail label; the
odds-and-sods collection contained B-sides, demos, and
other stray tracks. The live recording At the Show showed
the band's ability to re-create their spunky music in
concert, and The Broken Bones EP appeared 2000 before
their next full-length,
The Ever Passing Moment, arrived in the spring.
Another effort,
The Renaissance EP, was followed two years later with
MxPx's first greatest-hits release,
Ten Years and Running. The band's next official studio
effort came in the form of 2003's
Before Everything & After, an album that alienated
some fans with its slick, pop-oriented nature. Late 2004
saw the release of a career retrospective DVD, B-Movie,
and the guys passed the following summer by returning to
the Vans Warped Tour. MxPx then returned to form (and back
to the indie leagues) with their seventh studio album,
Panic, which surfaced in June 2005 on the Side One
Dummy label. MxPx spent summer 2006 on the road with
ska-punkers
Reel Big Fish before dropping their next record,
Let's Rock, that October.
Let's Rock was comprised of previously unreleased
tracks from recording sessions dating back to 2000. The
next month, Tooth & Nail reissued a deluxe version of
MxPx's 1998 rarities compilation
Let It Happen, including a bonus DVD and several
unreleased songs. MxPx then confirmed in early 2007 that
they'd re-signed with Tooth & Nail with the intention of
releasing their new album that summer, and release it they
did, with
Secret Weapon hitting stores in the middle of that
year. They remained on the roster for the 2009 release of
On the Cover II, another covers album that paid
tribute to the band's early days while showing their
appreciation for the likes of
the Clash,
Ramones, and
the Go-Go's. ~ John Bush & Corey Apar, All Music Guide
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