Well-adjusted: MxPx adapt to mainstream success
John McKay
Issue date: 11/7/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment
After more than a decade of keeping a low profile in the national music spotlight, it has been nearly impossible to avoid MxPx as of late.
With appearances ranging from the Scooby Doo movie soundtrack to a popular soft drink commercial, one seemingly cannot get enough of this Washington-bred pop-punk trio.
With Before Everything & After, the band's sixth full-length album (not counting the band's live album, hits compilations and countless EPs), MxPx find themselves in the center of the punk rock spotlight, alongside peers Blink-182, The Ataris and Good Charlotte.
"[This album] is probably more accessible than anything we have ever done," states guitarist Tom Wisniewski. "People seem to be liking it. Everyone who I've talked to has said that it is different, but it's better. At least it's not, 'It's different, and you suck now. Bye.' That would be terrible."
With a lengthy wait since 2000's The Ever Passing Moment, MxPx were able to enter the studio with a fresh set of ideas for this album, which is led by the radio single, "Everything Sucks (When You're Gone)".
"We wanted to make the [best] record we could, we didn't want to just play around. When you put out the same record too many times in a row, people start to get sick of you," said Wisniewski.
"We wanted to have more diversity this time around. We wanted to have ups and downs throughout the record, we could start a little slower, then go crazy. We didn't want to have the same sound through the entire album."
Leading up to the release of Before Everything & After, the band had an extra promotional push through a few unexpected outlets. During the 2003 Super Bowl, one of the band's new songs, "Well Adjusted," was featured in a Pepsi commercial depicting a teenager watching in horror as his parents participated in a mosh pit at an MxPx concert.
Sporting a solid album backed by solid promotion and a surefire hit single, the stage is set for MxPx to have a share of the highly coveted punk rock crown. After keeping such a low profile for so long, this couldn't come any sooner for MxPx.
With appearances ranging from the Scooby Doo movie soundtrack to a popular soft drink commercial, one seemingly cannot get enough of this Washington-bred pop-punk trio.
With Before Everything & After, the band's sixth full-length album (not counting the band's live album, hits compilations and countless EPs), MxPx find themselves in the center of the punk rock spotlight, alongside peers Blink-182, The Ataris and Good Charlotte.
"[This album] is probably more accessible than anything we have ever done," states guitarist Tom Wisniewski. "People seem to be liking it. Everyone who I've talked to has said that it is different, but it's better. At least it's not, 'It's different, and you suck now. Bye.' That would be terrible."
With a lengthy wait since 2000's The Ever Passing Moment, MxPx were able to enter the studio with a fresh set of ideas for this album, which is led by the radio single, "Everything Sucks (When You're Gone)".
"We wanted to make the [best] record we could, we didn't want to just play around. When you put out the same record too many times in a row, people start to get sick of you," said Wisniewski.
"We wanted to have more diversity this time around. We wanted to have ups and downs throughout the record, we could start a little slower, then go crazy. We didn't want to have the same sound through the entire album."
Leading up to the release of Before Everything & After, the band had an extra promotional push through a few unexpected outlets. During the 2003 Super Bowl, one of the band's new songs, "Well Adjusted," was featured in a Pepsi commercial depicting a teenager watching in horror as his parents participated in a mosh pit at an MxPx concert.
Sporting a solid album backed by solid promotion and a surefire hit single, the stage is set for MxPx to have a share of the highly coveted punk rock crown. After keeping such a low profile for so long, this couldn't come any sooner for MxPx.
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