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Were there particular goals you had when you started? And now that you’re older and have families obviously your music has changed a great deal since Teenage Politics. Where does MxPx find itself in light of all the above?
Well yeah, it’s interesting because, you know, there’s got to be some shifts along the way when you start out as a high school band. Talking about high school, talking about relationships, talking about authority. And, you know, just sort of blanket “I hate authority-isms” (chuckles). And then growing up, paying bills, mortgage. Making a career out of music.
You know … as a songwriter I try really hard to, for one, be honest and not write about something I have no idea about. Or something I can’t relate to. And, at the same time, keep things interesting. You know, I’m not going to write a song about paying bills … So there are parallels to being in a band and everybody else being part of the workforce. It’s a different type of job, but we are out there, working really hard and traveling. It’s kind of like a circus in a way (chuckles). But I try to use that and draw parallels to what our normal listener may be going through. And, you know, as far as subject matter, I try to keep things fresh. But at the same time it’s always usually pretty universal. Sometimes maybe about relationships. A lot of it may be just about experiences. Social ideas, social struggles. Politics definitely come into that a lot … Ever since, I think around Teenage Politics, I had a couple of songs that were about politics. But ever since then I really haven’t had too many songs directly involving politics. Usually more of, like, the ideals around politics or comments on the status quo. Authority or an administration. Stuff like that. But it’s usually a little bit broader.
Have you had much freedom to talk about political issues while working within the Christian music industry?
Personally think I have the freedom to talk about politics. At the same time, I know that my politics aren’t necessarily the politics of a lot of people that listen to us. But at the same time I’m sure my politics have a lot of similar qualities with a lot of people who listen to us. That’s the thing about MxPx is [that] we’re Christians. But there’s plenty of fans that don’t believe what we believe. So I think, in the same way, there’s probably plenty of fans that don’t believe politically the same way.
Right. Well, on those lines…I read an interview with Damien Jurado where he said he doesn’t like when musicians sing about politics. And he used the parallel of a baseball player stopping mid-pitch to talk to his fans about his political beliefs. Damien also used the same parallel to explain why he doesn’t preach about his religion during concerts. Now, I just found his answer and those parallels incredibly unsatisfying. For instance, what about the whole folk movement of the 60s? That was incredibly influential. If you took the politics away there’d be nothing left. But when it comes to religious issues, I think I might agree with the parallels Damien used; and I’m a religious person. On similar lines, I also read a recent MxPx interview in Christianity Today where you said you do not preach at your concerts. So what do you think about those parallels?
I think … I mean, I know what you’re saying and I kind of agree. I think there is room. There’s plenty of room for politics in music and there’s room for spirituality in music. Really, music should be about expression. Whatever you get out of it as a songwriter, and hopefully it’s relevant to the people listening. Because if it’s not they’re going to stop listening. But I think there’s absolutely room for politics and spirituality in music if you choose that. It’s all about choice, and that’s the great thing about anything [explosion sound]. OH MY GOD!
Are you ok?
Sorry. Yeah, I’m ok. They just threw a firecracker at me. [Mike yells "I'm on the phone" to someone in the background]
Gracious, I thought you ran over an elderly person.
No [laughs]. I’m at a tattoo parlor. My friend owns it. And he just threw a firecracker. Scared the crap out of me.
We’re talking about spirituality and suddenly you die.
[laughs] I know.
Are you getting a new tattoo?
No, I’m not. We’ll see what happens. But where was I … You know, if that’s Damien’s opinion and if he doesn’t want to deal with politics then that’s great, you know? But I personally am very affected by people that have strong [political] ideas in their music. But I’m a fan of songs that are just fun. Love songs, just fun songs. But I’m also a fan of music that really makes you think. That makes you want to write music that matters. Bob Dylan. I’m a huge fan of Bob Dylan. I’m a fan of a lot of folk stuff. Like Woody Guthrie, that kind of thing. But at the same time I’m a huge country fan, too. And country is not very political at all, usually. It’s about the songs. It’s about a feeling you get. It’s about memories and love.
So what country bands or singers do you like?
Oh … a ton. Dwight Yoakam. Obviously Hank Williams. I learned to write country songs from him. Not directlyfrom him, obviously [laughs]. Everybody says Cash. I dolike him, but I never mention him first. Too easy [chuckles].
Merle Haggard?
Yeah, yeahl Haggard’s great. George Strait. There’s so much good out there. A lot of smaller guys … [Country music is] something that I’ve been into a while. I try not to listen to only one style of music. I like to go back and listen to my favorite punk records. Put the Black Flag back on. It’s important, I think. I’m not so much into new music. I like some new music out there, but it usually doesn’t sound like what’s hugely popular.
What are some examples of the newer stuff that you like?
Superdrag. I don’t know if they’re a band anymore … Gasoline Heart, one of my favorite bands and good friends of mine. They kind of have a Tom Petty but kind of harder style. Bands that aren’t, like, on MTV. Not that I wouldn’t like a band just because they were on MTV. I’m not really into hip-hop. I like the Beastie Boys … I like some of the stuff. I’m kind of more into the people. I’m into artists. I’m into bands. Usually if I like somebody I like almost everything they do. The White Stripes. I loveThe White Stripes. They’re amazing. If a band is brilliant, like The White Stripes, it’s obvious. You can like them for more than just one reason. You can like them for so many reasons. That, to me, matters.
And they’re pretty unpredictable, too.
Yeah. I mean, they have their style. You know what they sound like. But it’s cool! It’s great. They could put out the same record or they could put out a little bit different record each time. Either way, it’s good.
Now, are you in touch with the direction the music industry seems to be taking? MySpace? Independent promotion, etc.?
Yeah, definately. I mean, the deals these days are completely different. They’re changing. Labels are turning more into, like, artist management firms. [Artists are] trying to get more of the money, aside from just records. They’re trying to get money from merch. Live shows. Publishing. So it’s a weird position for a lot of these companies to be in. And it’s not great for anybody, really. Even the independent labels aren’t doing as well. The market’s down 35% … I think overall everybody’s down. I mean, independent labels aren’t down as much as majors. But think about the amount of records that’ve gone gold in the last year. It’s, like, drastically lower than it was five years ago. And also the records that are charting at number one of top ten billboards are ridiculously lower than normal. You know, it’s just a different model altogether, as far as what bands have to do to get music out there. To get it going.
Now, do you think the model is very apparent? I mean, from what I’ve seen, it’s a lot of surprises. You know, someone will record a song, put it on MySpace, then suddenly they’re famous. Then there are other bands who will sign to major labels after a lot of hard work and BOOM they’re dropped. It seems like there is a model, but that it’s hard to detect.
I mean, nothing’s definite. Everything’s a fast burn. When things are successful … these bands get all this exposure at once. You might see them again; you might not. It’s interesting to see what’s going to happen with a lot of the new bands coming out. I think that there’s already been a few bands that did really well, had a hit song, and now they’re broken up. But bands like us … we have to struggle and keep working at it.
Final question. You’re back with Tooth & Nail. Now, I know very little about Tooth & Nail as a label. Really, I just know about their artists. With other labels it seems like listeners know at least a little bit about how the labels function. For instance, Saddle Creek. But Tooth & Nail is a bit more elusive. That being said, what’s your relationship with Tooth & Nail been like? What are the differences between them and the other labels, such as Fat Wreckchords and A& M, that you’ve worked with?
Well, Tooth & Nail’s been great. We started with Tooth & Nail. Last year we did a re-release of Let it Happen with them. Working with them, it was like, they got interested in us because of that and our relationships were starting to sort of “re-build.” They basically offered us a great deal. It kind of seemed like it made sense. It was like us coming home. It was a homecoming. As far as the label itself … they’ve got a great staff. The main thing that really, really brought us to them, brought us back to them, is they cared about the band. We’ve been on all these major labels and it always seems like you get promiseda lot of things. But they never really follow through with it. So with Tooth & Nail, we kind of figured, you know, they’ve got something to prove. They’ve got to make it right with us and really support this record. So that’s what they’ve been doing, and it’s been awesome.
Is it fairly cooperative there? Do you maintain relationships with the other bands on that label?
Yeah. We know a few of the other bands, and everybody’s great. It’s like with any label. You don’t necessarily know all the bands, but you end up meeting a few of them.
For more info on MxPx, check out: www.mxpx.com; www.myspace.com/mxpx
Also check out www.toothandnail.com
The political songs on Teenage Politics were ridiculously misinformed-sounding, but I don’t fault them for it.
Good interview.
alright Superdrag got a plug, a great band
The music industry is in it’s final strangling moments… time to put it down. If you listen hard enough, you can hear the sound of a double barreled shotgun being pressed against the side of the ol’ mare’s head.
What was once sacred and hard fought is now disposable and so readily available that all mystery and intimacy once shared between the imaginative listener and the artist on the other side of the wires has been stripped bare by the always changing, ever more impatient consumerism that is popular culture.
Captain Trips took Rock n’ Roll to his favorite place, left it there to die, and no one came to save it.
thank god for vinyl
Come again, Howard?
did howard just quote Stephen Kings’ The Stand?
Just another happy note from yours truly. Caught the Cynical Bug along the way, hoping to purge it by free expression. So far, it’s just sort of… growing.
ok… just don’t turn into that Artist General dude from the Pearl Jam thread…
Bleh. Just stopped by that thread, wondering: Why would AT&T censor the band that gave us Scott Stapp?
(give it a second.)
(yeah.)
Then, I saw this Artist General person’s spam- I mean… “art.”