AS THIS ALBUM COMES ACROSS my desk, I feel the need for a disclaimer: The last MxPx album I had was ‘Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo.’ It was their first album on a major label when they got picked up by A&M Records in the late 90’s. It charted on Billboard. It was certified gold. It found its way to me halfway across the country. That record was released 25 years ago. The dudes in the band must’ve been in their late teens, early 20s. I think I was 12. It was awesome. That’s not important.
What’s interesting is that this Bremerton band has sold millions of records worldwide since their inception in 1994. They’ve put out albums with multiple independent labels over the years in addition to that trio of records on the major label.
But their 11th studio album–“Find A Way Home” released last month– was put out completely independent. No record label involved. The band has essentially become their own record label. Thousands of ‘Find A Way Home’ records have already shipped from Bremerton across the world.
The promotion behind this release was impressive. Instead of the conventional tour in support of the record, MxPx toured the world in three days, digitally, without ever leaving home. They billed the live stream release “Actually Live On The Internet.” They played, filmed and livestreamed the album in full, chatting in real time between songs with commenters from social media.
But it wasn’t just the MxPx socials that were broadcasting the premiere. The band was live across multiple social media channels in the music world including Spin and Alternative Press. A novel idea. Then, news came the next day that they were playing an encore. This time across channels of other bands like Less Than Jake and Teenage Bottlerocket. Rad. Then, the next day, they broadcast again through even more partner channels around the world. The next day, they did it again. Twice. Five livestreams in four days.
The digital tour culminated with the release of the album’s second single, “Cautious Optimistic” and an accompanying music video filmed at Bremerton’s Big Apple Diner.
And I found my way home from there. // NICK SLEDGE
CATCH MXPX LIVE at Furnace Fest Sept. 22 in Alabama, When We Were Young Fest Oct. 21 in Las Vegas and at The Hollywood Palladium with Less Than Jake and Reliant K, Jan. 6 in Los Angeles. Find the album, videos, vinyl and more at mxpx.com
And check out Josh Farley with Mike Herrera of MxPx in the first of a new Smokestack video series Conversations w/ Local Legends below…
