Years after their first backyard gig, live shows still drive band

Exactly 16 years ago on July 6, Washington's MxPx played their first show at the only place that made sense for circa-Green Day punks to lay groundwork for seven-album careers: in singer Mike Herrera's backyard. Back then, the burgeoning teen-punk trio was still two years away from releasing its debut album, "Pokinatcha," with Tooth & Nail Records and 14 years before their Bremerton hometown presented them with keys to the city (Herrera keeps his on a shelf in his office). But none of that crystal-ball stuff mattered on July 6, 1992, over the immediacy of fast guitars and faster lyrics being shouted into MxPx's first crowd that first night.

Herrera, of course, remembers the day well. He puts that show in a category with much of MxPx's first year, deemed a whirlwind of DIY efforts meant to land as many gigs as possible at rented community halls and friends' houses. In the early '90s, Herrera says, playing shows was as easy as renting a PA for 25 bucks, plugging in and playing as hard and furious as your fingers would let you.

"You can call them shows, because we played them in front of people," Herrera laughs.

It's 16 years later, and MxPx (Herrera, guitarist Tom Wisniewski and drummer Yuri Ruley) are on their way to the airport, headed to Alaska to make their Anchorage debut with scene pals Rancid. It's just one of something like 40 stops scheduled through October, including back-to-back dates at The House Cafe and Chicago's House of Blues this week. It's an admittedly tough touring schedule that Herrera mostly shrugs off, saying he'd rather be traveling than not, but then ultimately admits how necessary whirlwind tours are to attracting MySpace generation fans. "There's so much out there," Herrera says. "There are so many distractions; it's hard to get so many heads turned."

It's even harder to compete with MP3s. "I'll be hanging out with friends in bands that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars recording their albums, and (fans) are listening to them through these small speakers."

Still, MxPx is still in album-promotion mode these days, backing last summer's "Secret Weapon" (i.e. their first Tooth & Nail release after splitting for A&M Records and SideOneDummy) and quietly plugging their next project, a follow-up album to their 1995 covers disc, "On the Cover." Herrera notes that MxPx could've opted for some time off this summer, but, "Well, we love Rancid." Besides, he says, they try to visit places they've never been and meet fans they haven't yet properly introduced punk rock to.

Much like their first year, MxPx's 16th birthday is full of firsts, not the least of which includes a trip to Alaska. Debuts in Moscow, Russia and even Israel top the band's first-time destination roster, and this summer lands them at the Pukkelpop Festival in Hasselt, Belgium, The Barby in Tel Aviv and The Reading Festival in England before heading back to Metro in Chicago this fall.

"We've never tried to market ourselves to any one market," Herrera says. "We're just all about people who like us and our fans. And that's all you can ask for."

Even people who don't keep track of MxPx and their crazy tour schedule might remember how they made news a year and a half ago after returning to Tooth & Nail Records to reunite with their Christian-based fans. Herrera upholds that aiming for "Christian markets" doesn't alter his writing style, but "Secret Weapon" definitely saw the band's return to punk form, reminiscent of their first years with the label. "I tried to listen to punk rock, so I didn't stray too far from MxPx style," he says.

Herrera describes the album as one that he hoped would be self-motivating for listeners. "I got that spark back for this new record."

Next up for the three punk friends is studio time to flesh out and record their cover songs album, set for release ("hopefully") by the end of the year. Herrera says they're going for an '80s theme, which he says is ultimately "very misleading," seeing as they just want to record stuff that they listened to as teenagers (read: not your typical Madonna-mingling-with-Guns 'N Roses stuff).

Expect your typical, extraordinary punk fair, he says, and maybe a few B-sides that draw from MxPx influences and 16 years of experience. You know, typical MxPx stuff, like songs stemming from back yard rock shows. The show is what matters most anyway, Herrera says.

"Our live shows are a positive experience where you can get your aggressions out at."