MxPx - On selling out
The rumors of MxPx’s demise are greatly exaggerated. The buffalo may have gradually wandered off into extinction — with not a little help from the reckless interaction of man — but don’t expect this trio of punk rockers to follow suit.
In fact, this album’s endangering title, Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo, was inspired by a joke. The band (consisting of bassist/vocalist Mike Herrera, guitarist Tom Wisniewski, and drummer Yuri Ruley) received a letter from a fan shortly after Teenage Politics came out, where this guy wrote about how bummed he was that this album was slightly poppier than the group’s debut, Pokinatcha.
“Basically,” recalls singer Mike Herrera with a laugh, “he was saying we were selling out. If we were selling out, we should come right out and say it, instead of slowly going the way of the buffalo.”
This story has a happy ending, though, because a couple of months later, this same fella wrote the band to tell of how he’d changed his mind, and that he was once again a fan.
How quickly some folks rush to judgement, and how oftentimes they take any changes in their favorite bands as personal assaults. It’s as if they’re just waiting for their heroes to fall.
Many punk purists will tell you that a sign of selling out is when a band signs with a major label. When you sign on the dotted line, you immediately lose your credentials. It’s the first step on a road that leads directly to opening slots with the Spice Girls, and to playing the big rooms of Las Vegas.
What these conclusion-jumpers don’t know, though, is that art is one thing, but intelligent business sense is quite another thing. Who says you can’t be a smart businessman and an artist? Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past year or so, you know that MxPx is now signed to A&M Records — the same people who bring you Sting. MxPx entered into this deal wisely, and they certainly were not buffalo-d, so to speak.
So far, they’re happy with their new home. “When we were younger, a few years ago,” recalls Herrera, “we thought major labels were evil. But we kind of figured out that it’s not whether it’s a major label or not — any company, depending upon what their goals are, what it comes down to is money. And believing anything else would be naive, I think.”
The band makes the art, and the label sells it. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. But with a band comprised of Christians, there’s always the danger of spiritual compromise, in the name of the almighty dollar.
So far, MxPx hasn’t been asked to make any unsavory compromises. “They didn’t make us do anything we didn’t want to do,” says Herrera. “They pretty much said that, depending on how you want your career to go, you decide, say, if you want to do these interviews (for example), or you can not do them. It’s up to you.”
An endless interview schedule may be tiring, but it’s worth it in the end. “With things like that though,” continues Herrera, “you kind of screw yourself if you don’t talk to your fans.”
Ultimately, though, it’s the music — and not which magazine or newspaper features the group — which matters most. “As far as the songs go,” says Herrera “we always had the last say. They’d give us their opinion, and we’d give them our opinion, and I think it was pretty much a compromise.”
That’s compromise in the best sense of the word, by the way. It certainly didn’t require the guys to bow down before any idols.
When asked if MxPx has ever refused to do anything the label asked it to, Herrera responds “nothing important really. Just stupid marketing things, and things like that. In Europe (for example),” says Herrera “Polygram wanted to put “Chick Magnet” on our new album. And we were like, ‘No way.’”
All in all, Herrera is happiest with the organization he sees in the major label. Like a well-oiled machine, it can get things done quickly. “Everybody’s working together for certain goals they have for the album. Things get done pretty fast. The distribution is way better,” remarks Herrera. “We went to Europe, and there were label reps there at our shows.”
The band will continue to see its share of label reps as it hits the road as part of the Warped Tour. It had a brief taste of this experience last year, but it will see the whole enchilada this time. On the Warped Tour, MxPx was right in its natural skate-punk element. Lately, though, it’s also experienced some very different touring situations, such as opening for pop sensations No Doubt. “It’s so different from the way we normally tour,” says Herrera, “it was like sheds and amphitheaters and arenas. It was pretty low tech on our end, because we just got up, and we barely got a sound check. We didn’t get any boos or anything, so that’s good. But we usually didn’t have very many of our fans, because the prices were like $20 for the show, and to see us for only a half an hour would be a waste of money.”
Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo, on the other hand, is certainly worth your money. But don’t expect a lot of biblical paraphrase from it. With this new album, you won’t find many Christian buzzwords. Nevertheless, God is still inspiring much of the music Herrera writes. “When I write a song, and God’s speaking to me,” says Herrera, “and He’s putting something in my mind and heart to write about, it doesn’t always come out overtly spiritual. And I think that’s maybe my personality, and the way I write.”
As Herrera has matured, so has his writing. “On Pokinatcha, there were at least five or six songs that were directly spiritual. But I think those songs were a lot simpler, they were a lot more naive — in a good way, not a negative way. That’s because we were young.”
Whether spiritual messages are right out front, or hidden a little, these ideas are always a necessary part of what Herrera does. “I definitely think it’s important to write about what’s important in my life, which is God, and which is being a Christian. I think I’ve done that on this album. I think I’ve stuck to what we’ve always done, and yet we’ve gone the next step musically, song-wise, and lyrically. There are at least six songs that are totally about God or being a Christian, even though they don’t necessarily say God in them.”
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