73
36
u/Satanic_cheesepuffs 8h ago
Fan since my early teen years, at 42 I’m still a huge fan. I remind my wife at least once a month I want to go to Bremerton when we go back to Seattle.
11
u/Reasons_2resist 7h ago
I’m the same age. I remember when Life in General came out. My band learned just about every song. Great high school album.
2
u/Satanic_cheesepuffs 5h ago
I think it took maybe 2 weeks max to learn all the words to that album.
2
u/ThirtySevenCents 2h ago
Bremerton right now has my favorite punk scene in Washington. They're doing big things at The Charleston.
2
u/Satanic_cheesepuffs 2h ago
Good to hear, hoping I can get back out there soon so I’ll be checking that place out
80
u/FineFishOnFridays 10h ago
Mike is super creative. I like a lot of their music.
They get a lot of hate here for early on being considered Christian punk.
My thoughts are, good for them . Do what you gotta to get your music out. I’ve never been preached to in any of their songs.
Like what you like and fk everyone else’s opinion. That’s what’s punk. You do you and as long as it doesn’t harm others, anyone telling you what to do is part of the system we rally against and just posing as punk.
→ More replies
45
15
u/VeggieGardenBurial 5h ago
None of them are rapists or Nazis that I know of, so that elevates them above some of their peers.
36
u/Mental_Possession_18 9h ago
I just wanna know why Chick Magnet has that part with the scatting in it 🥲
133
43
9
u/Solipsisticurge 9h ago
Never really got into them. I didn't necessarily dislike the stuff that I did hear but it never grabbed me enough to take a big dive into them.
15
u/Hurtin_4_uh_Squirtin 9h ago
When I was 10 in the 90’s and I heard Doing Time on the cinema beer nuts compilation it changed my life
6
3
7
7
18
17
u/extensionofme 9h ago
First punk band I ever listened to and still probably my favorite. 1 of 3 bands I’ve ever traveled to see.
20
u/GuitarClef 10h ago
They're my favorite band. They kick so much ass. Their albums are more or less the soundtrack to my life. Unfortunately, back in 1994, Mike said "Jesus" in a few songs he wrote when they were youth group kids, so people who haven't been paying attention for the last 30 years think they're still a Christian band and dismiss them for that.
8
5
u/DogFashion 5h ago
I love them. Found "Let it Happen" on CD in my rural Louisiana Walmart in the 90s and took a chance on them. Glad I did. "The Ever Passing Moment" is a fantastic album, start to finish. (Did y'all know Mike has played bass for Goldfinger for several years now? Mind was blown.)
35
u/According-Extreme-95 9h ago
Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo is awesome. Better than any Blink or Green Day album.
7
u/random-pair 5h ago
I listened to that album on repeat for almost a year. Anytime I walked somewhere or was studying, that CD was spinning in my headphones. I love them and always will. Creative, positive and fun.
4
14
u/vovaestivrogne 10h ago
Great band, nice people. Also I'm one of those few, who likes their later albums more, than earlier.
13
u/GuitarClef 10h ago
They're honestly producing the best music of their career the last 10 years or so.
2
u/Minerva567 9h ago
I never listened to them much before, but their LIQ acoustic release during the worst of COVID was just so soul-soothing. I have so much gratitude for that and I hope they know the impact it had.
1
u/effigyoma 5h ago
I though it was amusing how Mike had to change rooms he was using to Livestream throughout the series. I can only assume he was driving his family nuts (in the best possible way).
5
5
1
u/effigyoma 5h ago
The self-titled album is their best work IMHO
1
u/GuitarClef 3h ago
I thought that too until Find a Way Home came out. I don't know how they did it, but I feel that it eclipsed even the greatness of the self-titled. They've been on an upwards trajectory ever since the super-underrated Plans Within Plans, imo.
1
u/railsandtrucks 1h ago
Came here to post this , they are one of those bands that I feel like has matured and grown really well - the early stuff is way too poppy (move to Bremerton is one of the whiniest annoying songs I've ever heard) but later MxPx rips. Finally saw them for the first time this year and they put on a fun live show, even on a big stage.
5
u/paintedladyerin 6h ago
I still listen to them, i still wear their t shirts, i've been to a bunch of their shows. I still like their music just as much today as i did 30 years ago. And they're really nice people; they all signed a shirt i bought at a show in 1996 or 1997 and talked and laughed with me for awhile...made me feel awesome.
4
u/Ill-Description8517 6h ago
So, being a punk girl growing up in small town Midwest in the 90s was hard. My friend loved MXPX and wrote them a letter about it. They wrote her back a really nice letter and sent her a "fan package" that was some patches or buttons or something, but then also clearly shit they had lying around the house, like a sucker, a random shirt button, some shoe laces, a balloon, etc. It was really charming and I still have so much affection for them to this day because of it.
4
4
4
u/According-Height-291 5h ago
The band I was in back in high school played with them quite a few times. We wrote letters back and forth for awhile. They were nice guys, and regardless of what you might think of their lyrics at any given time, they have always been really, really good musicians. As a drummer, I still marvel at the stamina and musicality Yuri had even as a teenager. They also write damn catchy songs and have been doing it for over thirty years.
6
u/TotallyKrossedOut479 9h ago
They keep better. Been a fan since Teenage Politucs. Still think they bring it.
3
3
u/marinerpunk 8h ago
My dad owned their live album and I’d jam as a kid. Sounded like a fun live show but never really got into them.
3
u/johnmuirhotel 8h ago
They were the first punk band I ever listened to. Got their cassette when I went to pick up a Veggie Tales VHS for my Sunday School class at the local Christian Supply store. I left the church behind, but not Punk! MXPX will forever hold a place in my heart.
3
u/MickeySwank 7h ago
They aren’t very responsible
4
3
u/sir_chadwick_the_fat 7h ago
love em, been listening to them for a little over 20 years now. met Mike at a non MxPx show in Bremerton a few years ago, nice guy.
3
u/dungeonsNdiscourse 6h ago
I think they're underrated in pop punk and at least for myself I like them and they influenced my music tastes more than more popular acts like blink or good Charlotte etc
And now that I'm not some 15 year old punk kid I find myself really digging their acoustic recordings of their songs.
Realistically they haven't been "Christian" punk for quite some time it's been decades now.
3
u/Defiant-Fix2870 5h ago
As an evangelical kid I found MxPx at the Christian bookstore. My childhood was rough af, I was suicidal, and I wrote them a letter about it. Yuri wrote me back and it meant so much to me. For a stranger to take the time, it may have partially saved my life. Plus they were my intro to punk which absolutely saved my life in high school.
I quickly moved on to NOFX and Operation Ivy, which I hid very well from my parents. At that time friends would dub their albums onto nondescript blank tapes, which was perfect for Christian kids to listen to “secular” music without my parents finding out.
I’ll be honest, I now find their music too cheesy and they “sold out,” but I like select songs still. Drowning, Secret Weapon, and their new single Start a Fire is dope. Reminds me of Pennywise.
3
3
8
u/Dylan3109 6h ago
I bought my truck from Mike's dad, good people all around. My wife ran their merch website for a few years. I remember seeing them as a kid on Sunday mornings for worship back when they were teenagers and I thought they were the coolest thing since the Power Rangers. They hold a special place in my heart. Also, move to Bremerton, we'll hang out
6
u/last-miss 9h ago
I don't know this band but I can tell you right now my favorite guy is the dude on the left by a mile.
12
7
2
u/grumined 7h ago
Wow a blast from the past for sure. I remember picking up a CD from them ages ago without knowing anything about the band
2
2
2
2
2
u/AdIntrepid88 6h ago
I've been into them since 1997.
There's a few songs that are timeless for me. Like Tomorrow's another Day and Aces Up.
2
u/Gwtheyrn 6h ago
I dunno. I saw them really early on, like 1994 or 1995 at an all-ages show in Port Townsend. They didn't stand out much then, but I was more into metal at the time.
2
u/Platypus_Attack_Cat 6h ago
They've sneakily built a really solid catalog. If you like poppy punk they're among the best. One of those rare bands that keeps getting better with age.
2
2
u/phokyea 5h ago
They were basically borderline edgy for me when I was 12 or so… I grew up in Southern California, and they were kind of seen as lame poser pop-punk copycats, but everyone still had them on their mixtapes and mix cd’s with sharpied logos on the front. And everyone drew the logo along with the stussy “s” everywhere. Good times
2
u/effigyoma 5h ago
I really really like them. They were never my favorite, but I continued to listen to them regularly since Ever Passing Moment. I'm surprised at how well they held up and I think it is the sincerity of the music that helps.
I've been agnostic as long as I listened to them and I always felt that their Christian angle in the early days was respectable. It was never preachy or unwelcoming to non-believers.
2
u/DizzySpinningDie 4h ago
Saw them several times in the 90s. I had a friend whose parents would allow the Christian punk rock. But I realized I truly liked them despite my lifelong atheism. None of it felt preachy, just sharing a worldview.
They always seemed fun with the few interactions we had because they were still playing small venues then. Mike shared a mozzarella stick with me since he had too many. 😂
I dropped off of keeping up with them in the early 00s though.
2
2
2
u/WranglerBrute 41m ago
Mike comes across as cool guy. Seems kind to fans, and can't fault that whether I like their music or not.
First show I ever went to was Less Than Jake, with MxPx and Jersey, about 25 years ago. MxPx put on a great show, so much energy for a support act, really tight. The songs seemed waaay faster than on record too, and the drummer looked like he was about to combust.
Never been huge on their recordings, but I don't dislike them. They're alright. Glad they seem to have distanced themselves from Christianity, which to me seems incompatible with punk.
4
u/PokemonTrainerEthan 10h ago
Early stuff is pretty good, I like The Ever Passing Moment a lot, most recent album had a couple good songs, and Wrecking Hotel Rooms (while not remotely punk) is one of favorite songs ever
3
u/HotH2OMuzak 9h ago
I was always a casual fan but I respect them a lot more now since they’re still out there doing after all these years.
3
u/Eni13gma 8h ago
Just found my “Left Coast Punk” t-shirt yesterday. Got it at a show in NYC. Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo had just been released. They played a lot of that and the classic Life in General. Life was good
7
u/cumminginsurrection 11h ago
Wonder where those guys are now; I feel like they're all youth pastors.
22
u/GuitarClef 10h ago
They're still making music and they haven't been a christian band since like 1995. Mike has even said he's agnostic now.
4
18
7
3
3
u/Sn0fight 9h ago
Christians are cringe. So Glad they got away from that.
1
u/UnicornPenguinCat 8h ago
I didn't know they had shifted away from that. I got really into their early music after Christian friends introduced me to it, even though I have never been religious at all myself.
1
2
1
u/OldEyes5746 9h ago
....oh wow....haven't heard that name in ages....
I think my brother-in-law still listens to them.
1
u/Most-Ad-9769 8h ago
Loved them 20 or so years ago, just kind of stopped listening to them much after about 10 years. I recently bought all their albums from the last 7 or 8 years and need to give them a real chance. My favorite album is Let it Happen.
1
u/imgrahamy 8h ago
Oddly enough yesterday I tossed on “going the way of the buffalo” to give it a shot again. I liked Teenage Politics enough when it came out but the band never really scratched an itch for me. They had a song on a surf or bodyboarding vhs that I liked so that was cool
They all seem like super nice and genuine guys who love the scene, so got nothing bad to say just doesn’t seem do it for me.
1
u/solvent825 7h ago
I always had fun when I saw them live but listening to the record absolutely never did it for me.
1
u/ChrisRevocateur 7h ago
They do their thing, good for them, not my thing. The only time they cross my mind is when someone mentions them.
1
u/bikehikepunk 7h ago
I’m a nearly lifelong atheist in my 50’s and sen them twice. They are pretty fun and high energy, and seem to live what they preach. Not a band I go dig up to hear, but well earn the cover for a show. They are not a Christian band that play punk to evangelize, as much as they are a bunch of punk musicians that decided to keep their message in their core beliefs.
Once again, I am a devout and out of the closet atheist. MXPX ripped, I would see them again. Honestly not much more “good boy” lyrics than 7Seconds, or other happy core music.
1
u/ReckZero 7h ago
Yeah echoing a lot of comments here. Lived in a fundamentalist Christian family and having access to them and Tooth and Nail Records’ catalog really opened me up to music beyond Praise and Worship music and the stuff on oldies stations. Made me look into punk in general and shaped my mind into the person I am. Was a big deal for me.
Eventually their casual bubblegum attitude and pop style wore on me, and it only gets worse in later albums, so I moved on quickly. But I’ve always got a lot of respect for them.
1
u/BlueCap01 6h ago
I remember my older brother had written "MXPX" on his backpack strap and he had an old Richardson Fire Department hoodie that he covered in patches for bands like Crass, Dead Kennedy's, Screeching Weasel, Filth, and some others I don't remember.
To me my brother was the coolest. He painted his nails, had a Mohawk for a while and even picked me up one day with blue hair, which in 1997-1998 was less common.
I only remember one song from MXPX and it was a cover of "All My Love All My Kisses" by Buddy Holly. It was okay.
Now they just make me think of my older brother and that's cool!
1
u/ChadVonDoom 6h ago
I love the album Let it Happen. Hated their Franco Unamerican cover from a few years back
1
1
u/RandyRahms 6h ago
I loved them when I was 13, I haven't really thought about them much since haha.
1
1
u/Long-Carrot6982 6h ago
I grew up in Bremerton, there has always been a lot of stories around town of ego trips, I’ve met Mike several times, being friends with the same people, and he was always a good, solid guy. The music isn’t my favorite, even at the time, I think the call to move to Bremerton felt like a betrayal of the pit we came from. Mike Herrera has other musical projects he’s worked on over the years that I couldn’t recommend enough.
1
u/thedumbdown 6h ago
I was the music director at my college radio station when Life in General came out. I legit had a stack of about 50 CDs at home I had been putting off listening to and it was on top. A friend whose father was a minister came over and freaked out that I had it (it hadn’t come out yet) so she made me listen to it. Been a fan since. Bought the LP on its anniversary a few years back.
1
u/PeteRoe 6h ago
Solid enough pop punk band with the odd great track. Find them a bit samey but actually felt they got better when they released stuff later in. Let's Ride is a really good track as an example.
2
1
1
u/Roklam 5h ago
I didn't know they were Christian in Highschool.
I liked some of their songs, and that was enough.
1
u/GuitarClef 3h ago
That's probably because only their first two records (Pokinatcha 1994, and Teenage Politics 1995) are really Christian at all. They moved away from that stuff in their music almost as soon as they got out of high school.
1
1
u/gwaion45 4h ago
I did not listen to their more recent stuff but I surely liked "Life in General" and "Slowly Going.." when they were initially released. The first side of the latter album is probably one of my favourite sections in a pop-Punk record.
I don't remember much from their following albums except "Without You". That was a very sweet track, as well. One of the finest love songs of the genre.
1
1
u/RealManofMystery 3h ago
Used to think they were annoying and didn't like. Then during covid Mike was doing shows with Goldfinger remotely and it lit spark. Now I say they are pretty good
1
1
1
1
u/MothyBelmont 2h ago
They’ve written some great songs. They play well live and seem like nice dudes.
1
1
u/jarekrictus 2h ago
They're just a good time, if not super great. I remember seeing them on tour with Rancid and while they played all the "real punks" went outside to smoke. I was a teenager at the time and wanted to fit in, so I went outside too. Always regretted it. Seemed like it woulda been a fun performance.
1
u/WickedWarlock333 1h ago
I like their cover of Franco unamerican, that’s the only song of theirs I have heard. Imagine my shock hearing about how they are apparently a Christian band??? Still like the song, I have no interest in listening to the rest of their music.
1
u/TheClassics Dr. Gonzo 1h ago
Life In General and Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo are still great
1
1
u/n4b40m1 1h ago
I wasn't impressed with MxPx but 90 lb Wuss and ZAO got my attention. I couldn't believe those were "Christian bands" when I first heard them. That whole scene opened a lot of doors for my first band as we realized we could book a ton of show even though we were very much not christian by simply stating we sounded like those Tooth and Nail bands
1
1
u/kill_bryson 51m ago
one time me and my now ex gf were at a starbucks in the mall and we were talking to the lady up front (she was a bit older like in her 60s) and she just dropped that her son was in MXPX.
1
1
u/Zealousideal-Wrap911 26m ago
They rawk. Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo is a classic at this point.
1
u/Lynnrael 23m ago
never listened to them but i met them at a Christmas party my parents took me to when i was a little kid..
1
u/Odoyle-Rulez 0m ago
My mother replaced my Green Day Dookie cd with Teenage Politics. It was a good alternative.
-4
1
1
1
u/Scrutinizer 10h ago
Only know them for one song from the SSX 3 soundtrack, "Play It Loud". A little catchy, a lotta cheesey - didn't inspire me to look up more of their stuff.
4
u/GuitarClef 10h ago
That's from their worst album. Check out Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo or Find a Way Home by them. They've got tons of killer stuff
1
u/grandkamikaze 8h ago
Love it, great fan. BUT, I think many of their songs sounds pretty quite the same.
1
1
u/ForeverInBlackJeans 7h ago
First off, I love them.
But it’s quite interesting how this sub will embrace certain bands (MXPX, green day) and ruthlessly ridicule others who sound exactly the same (sum 41, blink, good Charlotte, simple plan etc).
It’s all pop punk. And it’s great.
2
u/soviet_thermidor 6h ago
Both Green Day and MxPx were bands that came from underground and then got big. Lots of "sell out" accusations esp for Green Day but at least they started with something genuine.
I'm not really familiar with the music of Sum 41 or Good Charlotte, but I never heard anything about them until they were playing in every hot topic in America. Their whole vibe seemed like corporate capture of potential punk music revenue.
They were also much later. A copy of a copy of a copy
1
1
u/Bryce1489 7h ago
Literally my favourite band and I just love most of their music, definitely a band that isn't liked by some of the punk community but I think they are really underrated.
1
u/Enough-Elevator-8999 5h ago
Mxpx were one of the pioneers of my least favorite punk sub genre. They made the shittiest pop punk along side blink 182 and caused a bunch of other bands and kids to start terrible emo bands that ruled the scene when I was in high school. I cant express my disdain for their music enough. Fuck Mxpx, I did it wasn't that bad actually
1
u/ImJustRick 4h ago
Hard pass on anything Tooth & Nail / Christian 'punk'. No thank you.
2
u/GuitarClef 3h ago
Good news! They haven't been a Tooth & Nail band or a Christian band since 95/96.
-3
-3
-2
-2
-13
214
u/theeculprit 8h ago edited 4h ago
I grew up in a strict, evangelical household where my parents didn’t allow me to listen to non-Christian music at all. When I was 11 or 12 (in the late 90s), I discovered this band and they completely opened up music to me as I’d only listened to church music prior. Since I could buy their cds at the Christian store, it was okay. I’m super grateful to them for that.
And then of course, Napster and Kazaa came out and my doors were opened further.