Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Mixed Plate

Media Credit: Courtesy of MXPX MXPX makes a quick stop at Pipeline before jetting off to Europe.

When I asked Yuri Ruley, drummer for MxPx, what was the biggest misconception about their band, I had one misconception in mind: Christian punk band?

Ruley knew before I had asked and promptly started what sounded like an explanation he had delivered before. MxPx, a band whose music career spans over close to two decades, has consistently created energetic pop-punk music, churning out hits amongst their problem-ridden youthful audience. However, their Christian religious beliefs created a reason for the band to be pushed into the Christian music genre, at the hands of their labels: a push they weren't ready for.

"We'd play shows with other Christian bands and there'd be like a sermon or something halfway through the set, and we'd think ... this isn't our style," Ruley said. Though the band members are Christian, Ruley feels the band and their music has been pidgeonholed because of terms like "Christian punk band", when really they just want to play the music they create and love.

So Ruley explained what their band really does. The Seattle trio lost their original guitarist (Andy Husted) before gaining another and now MxPx (shortened from Magnified Plaid) currently consists of Mike Herrera (Bass, Keyboard, Lead Vocals), Tom Wisniewski (Guitar, Background Vocals), and Yuri Ruley (Drums, Background Vocals). He says that MxPx is basically a pop-punk band, complete with melodic vocals and instrumentation fiercely loyal to the punk elements, who thrive on playing live shows.

They like to do the albums, but he, personally, gets the most kick out of their live shows, dating back to when they started playing the Seattle music scene. They were late on the trails of Nirvana, who were already playing arenas by that time, but they were doing a different sound. Live shows are where they developed their playing skills and the means to getting their career off the ground.

"It was like a DIY philosophy because there wasn't any other option. It wasn't like now - there's so many bands and labels are hungry to find the youngest, newest thing."

Now, many years since their first show, Ruley combines his love for live shows with an expressed focus on musicianship. He wants to get back to their roots (without the twists and turns of the labels), while at the same time playing the music better. They can't go back to the rough sound they started with because they have grown as musicians, he says.

Ruley feels that the most important thing he's learned in his career as a musicians is - "Concentrate more on being a musician and a member of a group of musicians and trying to make that the focus as opposed to making it, because I think in the long run you'll be more satisfied."

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