Starting Over ... Sort Of
Punk icons MxPx got their start on Tooth & Nail, a mostly Christian record label, then went to mainstream A&M for a while. Now they're back with T&N ... well, maybe.
by Jackie A. Chapman | posted 1/15/2007
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Punk rock band MxPx has been together for over a decade—and has been around the block when it comes to record labels. Frontman/bassist Mike Herrera, guitarist Tom Wisniewski and drummer Yuri Ruley kicked off their career as MxPx back in 1994 on Tooth & Nail with the debut Pokinatcha. After a few full-length and EP releases, MxPx left T&N and signed with mainstream label A&M, releasing four albums over a half dozen years. But the band never gained much momentum through A&M, and chose to go independent in 2005 with Panic, and more recently a collection of "B sides" called Let's Rock (released October 24) with Side One Dummy Records. Now MxPx returns from whence it came—Tooth & Nail—to re-release its 1998 compilation, Let It Happen (Deluxe Edition), with three new songs. Whether the band will continue with T&N is unknown at this time, but the band seems to be keeping all options open. We talked to Herrera about the band's journey there and back again.
Drummer Yuri Ruley (left), singer/bassist Mike Herrera, and guitarist Tom Wisniewski celebrate their time with Tooth & Nail through a re-release of the 1998 album Let It Happen.
How did the idea of re-releasing Let It Happen with Tooth & Nail come about?
Mike Herrera
Tooth & Nail came to us with the idea to re-release Let It Happen with some new songs. In [2002], we did 10 Years and Running with them—not a greatest hits record, but more like favorite songs up to that point.
This "coming back to Tooth & Nail" actually makes a great deal of sense for us now, and not just because we're putting out a record with new songs. This time Let It Happen is more of a reintroduction to Tooth & Nail's audience. We have a fan base, and Tooth & Nail has a fan base. Both have definitely grown apart over the years, and now different people listen to Tooth & Nail than when we first worked with them. So the label wanted to reintroduce us to their fans and our fans to Tooth & Nail. This seemed the best way to do that.
What are the new songs on the re-release?
Herrera They're three new and different songs covering what we are doing right now. They're each an example of an MxPx-style song. "Role Remodeling" is more the new rock of MxPx, "Prozac" is the light matter with light lyrics that's fun for kids, and "Your Turn" is very basic MxPx, the starter model of the band.
Why the return to Tooth & Nail at this time?
Herrera Why now? It just happened. I think many things happen for a reason. We have a different management team and different crew around us. It's a fresh start for us and the label. Brandon [T&N chief Brandon Ebel] is still at the label, but there is new staff there since we were around. We just want to start over with Tooth & Nail.
Start over? Why? What happened?
Herrera Just because we left Tooth & Nail doesn't mean that we [the band members] were the ones that left. It wasn't us as a band. I guess we didn't burn the bridge totally. I don't want this to be about the past but the future. Tooth & Nail as a company has been great, and it's the best it's ever been right now. So we're pretty stoked to be working them. [Editor's note: We asked Tooth & Nail execs to clarify the circumstances regarding the band's departure from the label, but T&N declined to comment.]
Is this a return to the Christian music industry?
Herrera The technical, business reason that people are seeing us more [in the Christian market] is that in the past the people working on our booking [didn't book us in the Christian market]. Now that we're back to doing things on our own, we can accept everything that's offered: "Sure, we'll do that show. We'll do that interview." It's strange that it happened almost simultaneously with working with Tooth & Nail. They are two separate things. There hasn't been a big change in format or in our theme or policy.
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