MxPx readies new release and on tour- in L.A. Friday

I'm going to be at the Avalon Friday checking out my old friends... will you be there too?? You should be! ~M

MXPX have returned to Tooth & Nail records for their eighth studio album, SECRET WEAPON.

Set for release July 17, the album is full of the highly-charged, infectious anthems that have made the punk/pop trio scene favorites and boasts a smattering of adventurous, classic pop-inspired winners that take MXPX into new territory. Look for MXPX to give fans a taste of the new songs as they headline the Tooth & Nail tour--now in its third year—which began May 1 in Seattle and criss-crosses America before wrapping June 11 in Salt Lake City.
The new album reunites MXPX--MIKE HERRERA (bass/vocals), TOM WISNIEWSKI (guitars) and YURI RULEY (drums)--with Aaron Sprinkle, who produced the band's first album (Pokinatcha) and went on to work with artists such as Pedro The Lion, Anberlin, Eisley, Emery and The Almost.
The incendiary, attention-grabbing first single and album opener “Secret Weapon” features a guitar solo from Bad Religion’s Brian Baker and also finds MxPx wielding its infamous, optimistic tack.
“We’ve always been a band that’s tried to focus on the positive side of life,” acknowledges HERRERA. “But we try to do it in a way that’s real to people and not cheesy. We kind of embrace the dismal and the uplifting at the same time. And ‘Secret Weapon,’ the song and the album, sums up where MXPX is right now.”
MXPX finds the perfect balance of dichotomy and consistency on SECRET WEAPON from “Shut It Down”--a blistering homage to The Clash replete with soaring choruses, thundering drums and a vocal cameo from Sugarcult’s Tim Pagnotta--to the riotous, 90-second circle-pit anthem of “Contention,” as well as the stellar harmonies that elevate the lush, Beach Boys-inspired “Sad Sad Song” with guest John Davis, formerly of Superdrag on piano and backing vocals.
After a decade and a half in operation, MXPX has now sold over 2.4 million records worldwide. Founded in July 1992 by HERRERA and RULEY, the Bremerton, Washington-bred band’s line-up has remained constant since WISNIEWSKI joined in 1995. The band has amassed a series of alternative radio and video favorites like “Punk Rawk Show,” “Chick Magnet,” “Move To Bremerton,” “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” and “Running Out Of Time” over seven extremely popular studio albums, an array of EPs, plus a live disc and a DVD. Returning to Tooth & Nail--a label now running circles around the conglomerates when it comes to getting rock albums on the charts by the likes of Underoath, Anberlin and The Almost--made perfect sense for its glimmering but tenacious eighth album.
“It’s no secret that years ago we had a pretty well-publicized falling out with them but it’s been a long time and things have healed,” TOM says. “We sort of picked up where we left off.”
Fresh off the completion of an amicable deal with respected indie SideOneDummy, MXPX began seriously considering label founder Brandon Ebel’s offer to rejoin the label.
From the explosive closer “Tightly Wound,” which boasts a guest contribution by Benji Madden of Good Charlotte, to the upbeat punch of “Here’s To The Life,” the men in MXPX--who were handed the Keys To The City of Bremerton last year--have delivered the strongest record of its career.

The complete track listing for SECRET WEAPON is:
1) Secret Weapon
2) Shut it down
3) Here's To The Life
4) Top Of The Charts
5) Punk Rock Celebrity
6) Contention
7) Angles
8) Drowning
9) Chop Chop
10) Your On Fire
11) Bass So Low
12) Sad Sad Song
13) Never Better Than Now
14) Biting The Bullet
15) Not Nothing
16) Tightly Wound

MxPx, Hawk Nelson, The Classic Crime, The Fold, Sullivan
Thu 5/3 San Francisco, CA Slim's
Fri 5/4 Los Angeles, CA Avalon
Sat 5/5 San Diego CA House of Blues
Mon 5/7 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
Tue 5/8 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
Wed 5/9 Tucson, AZ Rialto Theatre
Thu 5/10 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theatre
Fri 5/11 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom
Sat 5/12 Dallas, TX Palladium Ballroom
Mon 5/14 Houston, TX Meridian
Thu 5/17 St. Petersburg, FL Jannus Landing
Fri 5/18 Jacksonville, FL Murray Hill Theatre
Sat 5/19 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Mon 5/21 Towson, MD Recher Theatre
Tue 5/22 Boston, MA Axis
Wed 5/23 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero
Fri 5/25 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Sat 5/26 Pittsburgh, PA Mr. Small's Theatre
Sun 5/27 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Mon 5/28 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
Tue 5/29 Louisville, KY Headliner's Music Hall
Wed 5/30 Nashville, TN Rocketown
Thu 5/31 Indianapolis, IN The Irving Theatre
Fri 6/1 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall
Sat 6/2 Cincinnati, OH The Underground
Sun 6/3 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
Tue 6/5 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Wed 6/6 Des Moines, IA Peoples
Thu 6/7 Minneapolis, MN Club 3 Degrees
Fri 6/8 Omaha, NE Sokol Auditorium
Sat 6/9 Lawrence, KS Granada Theatre
Sun 6/10 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre
Mon 6/11 Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue

www.mxpx.com
www.myspace.com/mxpx
www.toothandnail.com