Guitarist
voices concert lifestyle, upcoming album
By Jack Schneider
On-line Forty-Niner
 Performing
live shows before becoming old enough to
vote, MxPx has been a band that strives
on making sure the fans get connected to
the music.
The
band has performed shows with some of the
biggest names in recent punk rock, including
Bad Religion, Rancid and the Sex Pistols.
Currently
on Honda Civic tour with New Found Glory
and Good Charlotte, MxPx wants to make sure
its stage energy is noticed.
“We
just want to get out there and rock,” guitarist
Tom Wisniewski said. “We have some people
who are coming to their first show.”
On
the tour, MxPx has been performing songs
from the band’s upcoming seventh album titled
“Before and Everything After,” to be released
in June.
Wisniweski
said that the album, similar to other MxPx
albums, contains the same type of music
fans and newcomers will enjoy.
“The
new album has a normal mix of MxPx songs,”
Wisniweski said. “Some [of the songs] have
an ’80s vibe, some are hard rock, and others
are fast paced. In our new album we try
to step outside our rules and regulations
and try to write songs that are really good.”
“Before
and Everything After” is their first studio
album with producer Dave Jerden, who has
worked with some of alternative rock’s biggest
names including Alice in Chains and Red
Hot Chili Peppers.
“He
had some good ideas [for the album],” Wisniweski
said. “We wanted to work with someone that
was new.”
One
aspect of MxPx songs has been the songwriting.
With the switch from the independent label
Tooth & Nail to A&M Records in 1996,
Wisniweski said the meanings of the band’s
music haven’t changed.
“Songwriting
it songwriting, and it doesn’t change with
the record label,” he said. “We still talk
about the usual MxPx [song themes], including
girls and life.”
A
favorite song that Wisniweski said he likes
to play is “My Life Story” whenever he and
the band hit the road.
“It’s
a good song to play, I get to jump around
a lot on stage and get in people’s faces,”
Wisniweski said.
As
MxPx plans to rock arenas around Southern
California, Wisniweski said the fans in
Southern California have always been great
to the band.
But,
no matter where or when MxPx plays, the
most important aspect is to energize the
audience.
“It
doesn’t matter where we play, all we want
to do is rock,” Wisniweski said. “There
are fun places to perform, and a club it’s
more intimate. The idea of performing in
an arena is living a childhood fantasy.”
MxPx
will come to Southern California playing
shows on June 4 at the UCI Bren Center,
June 5 at the Santa Barbara County Bowl
and June 7 at the Universal Amphitheater.
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