MxPx
MxPx (/ˌɛmɛksˈpiːɛks/)[2] is an American punk rock band from Bremerton, Washington, formed in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead guitar and backing vocals, and Chris Adkins on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. The band's discography includes twelve studio albums, four EPs, four compilation albums, a live album, a VHS tape, a DVD and 20 singles. A number of the group's releases have charted on Billboard, including the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboard Christian Albums.[3]
MxPx
Magnified Plaid[1]
Bremerton, Washington, U.S.[1]
- Punk rock
- pop-punk
- skate punk
- Christian punk (early)
1992–present[1]
- Tooth & Nail
- A&M
- Fat Wreck Chords
- SideOneDummy
- Rock City Recording Company
Arthur
- Mike Herrera
- Yuri Ruley
- Tom Wisniewski
- Chris Adkins
- Andy Husted
History[edit]
Early start (1992)[edit]
MxPx was formed in Bremerton, Washington in July 1992 by Mike Herrera, Yuri Ruley, and Andy Husted, who were 15 years old at the time, playing their first show in Herrera's parents' backyard. Herrera and Ruley were classmates at Central Kitsap High School[4] in Silverdale, Washington, and Husted attended South Kitsap High School in Port Orchard, Washington.
The group was originally called Magnified Plaid, which was a tribute to Husted's fascination with plaid shirts, but did not fit on the band's posters. Consequently, the name was abbreviated to M.P. on show posters. Yuri Ruley, who used Xs in place of periods, made the posters for the band, resulting in the four-letter moniker.[5]
Arthur[edit]
Arthur is a side project of MxPx featuring all three members of MxPx and their former tech assistant Neil Hundt, who now techs for Pearl Jam. The group released an EP called Loneliness Is Bliss in 1999. The band members went by their middle names: Arthur (where the band name came from), Edmund, Zane, and Alexander (Mike Herrera, Tom Wisniewski, Yuri Ruley, and Neil Hundt, respectively). After over ten years since the inception of Loneliness Is Bliss, the band released a full-length album called Watch the Years Crawl By on December 7, 2010.[56] In 2013 those involved in the project announced that they would be discontinuing the project.[56]
Musical style and influences[edit]
MxPx is usually described as a pop-punk band,[57][58][7] but has also been labeled as skate punk[59][60] and punk rock.[59][61][62] Originally a punk rock band, by the rise of popularity of pop punk in the late 1990s and early 2000s the group leaned more towards a more pop-punk sound.[63] Albums like The Ever Passing Moment and Before Everything and After were criticized by some fans for its pop-punk style.[1] MxPx's influences include Descendents, NOFX, Bad Religion, Rancid, Social Distortion, All, the Clash, the Dead Milkmen, The Who, Sex Pistols, Black Flag, and the Ramones.[64][65][66][67][68][69]
Many of the band's early releases touch on Christian themes[70][71][72] and placed them in the front of the Christian punk scene.[73][74][75] However, by 2012, "Christian punk" was a genre classification that the band was trying to distance themselves from.[76] As of 2015, MxPx singer Mike Herrera has said he is no longer Christian. When asked about the topic he stated "...do I believe in god? I'm not sure. Do I believe in this exact religion? No I don't."[77]
Current members[78]
Former members
Studio albums: