MXPX

2012 has been as big a year as any for ageless Bremerton, Washington trio MxPx. They served up their first full-length in five years in the form of ‘Plans Within Plans’, which punknews.org described as “a 35-minute blast from the past,” and “their most energetic, exciting, cohesive and effortless sounding album the band has released since the late ’90s.” More importantly, they reached quite a milestone celebrating their 20th Anniversary as a band. A mighty accomplishment in this day and age, for any artist. It is a 20 year journey Australian fans have followed closely from the very beginning. We were introduced to them amid the pop punk explosion that was the mid to late 90′s which saw MxPx deliver records such as ‘Pokinatcha’, ‘Teenage Politics’, the career defining ‘Life In General’ and ‘Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo’. In the ’00s the prolific trio treated us with ‘The Everpassing Moment’, ‘Before Everything & After’, ‘Panic’ and ‘Secret Weapon’. Their discography also features EP’s, cover albums, a Christmas record, numerous compilations and even an in depth documentary. Throughout both decades of their existence, MxPx have maintained a solid relationship with Australian fans. They’ve played both the large and small club rooms as well as the festival stages, each time the reviews read the same, and the fans continue to return ready to sing along to their anthemic punk rock tunes. “The whole venue was littered with jumping, moshing, and everyone basically having a good time.” The Au Review said of their most recent visit. In such a long existence there are always going to be ups and downs, and throughout MxPx have maintained their awareness of where they came from and what made them connect with so many fans throughout their time. “Success for us was a by-product of our hard work, I’ve always just been writing songs, promoting and getting the word out, and I think that’s why we didn’t quit, because MXPX wasn’t doing this for money, we weren’t doing it for success. We started when we had nothing, and I’m doing this now still, twenty years later with these guys, and we have something, we have a lot actually” says front man Mike Herrera. As many of you already know, the band has scaled back a bit on their tour schedule; however, they will be returning to Australia in March 2013 for four headline dates in major cities as well as an appearance at the Forest Edge Festival. Though featuring an alternative line-up, Mike Herrera and company will be returning to Australia ready to reminisce with fans through a set list of both old and new tracks all of which MxPx fans can sing along to. So, whether new to the ranks, or a long-time fan, don’t miss your chance to catch Mike and company do what they do best – live on stage – playing the hits that many of us grew up with.