I've had loads of fun interviewing musicians for XMFan for five years now. Frankly, I tend to interview people that I personally admire and whose music I enjoy. While interviewing artists I've followed for many years, I often feel like any other fan who almost beleives they know the members of the band. Let's take Mike Herrera of MxPx, for example. I bought my first MxPx album in 1996 and have been a fan ever since. I'm happy to say that Mike, as well as all the others I've interviewed, were nothing but first-class when it came to donating their time and telling their experiences. Mike and the boys are a little older and wiser these days, but continue to create the same kind of high-energy rock and roll they were playing fifteen years ago -- and to me, that ain't a bad thing.

Here's to celebrating five years of XMFan interviews!

XMFan: So where are you hanging out today?

Mike: I'm calling from Monkey Trench Studios, which is my studio in Bremerton.

XMFan: Are you there recording for yourself, or producing another act?

Mike: I just got back from Chicago, doing a few songs for a band there. Right now I'm working on my solo album, which is with my side-project band called Tumbledown, and finishing up the MxPx On the Cover II album. It's turning out really cool, and I'm really excited about it. (The MxPx website is: www.mxpx.com/home)

XMFan: The first On the Cover album is the first MxPx album I bought... Is it kind of a secret which songs you're putting on the second one?

Mike: Not really... There will be a track listing out soon, if it's not out there already. The whole idea behind this is that they're all ‘80s songs, and from all the genres we like - from punk bands to new wave, to rock to pop. We're doing a U2 song, a Ramones song, Dead Milkmen song, a Descendants song. So it's a combination of some very well known bands and a few smaller bands that are our favorites.

XMFan: So like the first On the Cover, you guys got together and brainstormed a bit to figure out the list?

Mike: Yeah, exactly.

XMFan: Speaking of the other guys, how close together do you actually live?

Mike: We're all in the same area. Tom, our guitarist, lives in Bremerton - probably ten minutes away from me. Yuri lives in Port Orchard, which is the same county... Probably fifteen or twenty minutes away. Some bands live in different states, so you know... We're doing okay.

XMFan: Do you have any guest spots on the new album? I remember on the first one, you guys brought in some friends to play instruments.

Mike: We do actually have a lot of guests, and it's kinda ridiculous how many we have - maybe six or seven off the top of my head? We're holding off on some of the announcements as far as guest spots go, but one of them is Matt Hensley of Flogging Molly. He played what I call a "squeeze box."

XMFan: Any plans to hit the road in support of this album?

Mike: It kinda depends. It's been so long since we've done a cover record, and even though it is actually a full studio album, I don't think we're going to treat it quite the same as the others. The process of making this record was more intense than making a regular record, but as far as touring, I think we're going to play some shows, but not a ton. We would really like to get back in the studio and work on some original material... So we'll see.

XMFan: I know you've recently started to diversify your time and talent. You already mentioned the studio in Bremerton, and you're also part owner in an apparel company.

Mike: Legionnaire Apparel started in 2007, and is really the brainchild of Joe Moxley in Medford, Oregon. I had run into him at some shows, and we started hanging out and talking shirts. Joe was already making them, and would throw stuff my way. I'd give him design ideas and told him I'd wear some of them at my shows. That's what got him thinking about a new clothing line, and he asked me if I wanted to be a partner. I had already been thinking about doing the same thing, but at the same time, don't have the time do this type of thing on my own. So Joe's the perfect person for that - being the day-to-day guy - and is definitely the driving force behind Legionnaire. I'm more on the side to tell people about it and give my two cents about things.

When it really comes down to it, we make clothes we like to wear - that's the most important thing, and the main reason why I wanted to be a part of it. What could be cooler than being your own clothing designer? (Laughs) It's cool to spread the word and see how people react to the designs. And to make people happy too - Joe is really great at giving deals to the loyal customers, he sends shirts to the troops in Iraq, and has really done his part to spread the word about what we're doing. (Legionnaire's website is: www.legionnairearmy.com)

XMFan: It sounds like Legionnaire is run the same way you run the band.

Mike: MxPx has always done lots of benefit shows. We just did one on January 31 for a friend who recently passed away from brain cancer. I think it's a myth how most bands are in it for the money... Maybe some bands start out being in it for the money, but I think most of them just want to be a part of something bigger than themselves - and I think that's where Legionnaire comes in, and MxPx has been going with that idea for a long time.

XMFan: I heard that your clothing designs took off pretty well from the start, and several bands and celebrities wear your stuff?

Mike: We've actually spent a minimal amount of marketing money, and things just kinda spread using word of mouth. What kind of better advertising can you get than that? If your friend tells you to check something out, you're going to listen to that more than if you heard the same thing from an infomercial or magazine ad. So we've really tried to use our money wisely, and mainly focus on investing in the products - I know Joe is constantly focusing on making a better product.

XMFan: It certainly seems like you've got several things on the burner.

Mike: My new band Tumbledown is picking up any slack time that I have. You know, Yuri has a kid now, and MxPx isn't touring a ton. So I'm kinda doing the Tumbledown thing, and we're doing things like food drive benefits and other things for the community here in Bremerton.

XMFan: I know it's tricky in the musical sense for a band to still be around after so many years, because it seems like you're damned if you change your sound and damned if you don't. But MxPX has never really changed their sound much, as personally as a longtime fan, I'm glad you haven't.

Mike: A friend of mine works in the music business and is a big fan of lots of the newer bands. He told me that one of the cool things about MxPx is how the sound can really just be modern, and regardless of the album, it just sounds timeless - simple music with an edge to it. If you strip down the cords, melodies and layers, there's not a whole lot there that dates it. It could be from the early nineties or 2009. I think it's maybe the sound of the record that dates it - you know, our first album of course being really sloppy and pre auto-tune, as well as a style of production where everyone's just faking it. Nowadays, just from the fact that we've been playing so long, we really don't have to fake it - we'll say, "Alright, let's play this again and make sure that its right" - and that's our whole idea behind recording now.

XMFan: What are a few random bands we'd find on your MP3 player?

Mike: Well, they're all bands we don't sound like. (Laughs) Black Flag, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty. When I listen to music, I like to get into the band, you know? If it's not happening, I don't force it. I guess I'm a "traditional-style" music fan, because when I get into a band, I get into everything they do - or quite a bit of what they do - and listen to them constantly.

XMFan: You're a band that became popular before the internet was really a household item, so can you tell us if anything really changed for MxPx as the internet and other technologies became more popular - both as a group and you personally as a musician?

Mike: The internet is definitely a tool, and what it comes down to is convenience. There's good and bad with everything, of course, and I definitely think things would be different for us if the internet hadn't gone over so big. When we started out, most bands didn't have websites; I think most labels didn't have websites. The reason we wound up with one is because one of our fans was a total computer geek, and was in on the ground floor with the internet. I think it was probably also true for other bands with early internet sites—it wasn't the bands doing it as much as it was the fans.

Everyone has GPS satellites now, instead of calling on the pay phones to get directions... The first half of our careers we literally had these large books filled with faxed or mailed directions and phone numbers. When we first started out, a few people were using those big ‘80s cell phones.

There's no doubt that technology has hurt album sales, but at the same time you try to utilize the good things - so it's a give and take. It's easier to market yourself and you don't have to spend as much money, because the internet is almost free. If you don't change along with progress and technology, you're not going to be around for long in this business.

XMFan: When is On the Cover II going to be released, by the way?

Mike: I think it's coming out in late March, and it'll be from Tooth and Nail Records.

XMFan: Before I let you go, would you tell me a little more about Tumbledown?

Mike: Tumbledown is my side project that I've been doing for a while, but we haven't released a full record yet. We have one single release, a picture disc on vinyl. We're also dong a split-7 inch on Anchorless Records, and ten percent of all the proceeds is going to charity. The full-length record will hopefully be out before summer. Lots of MxPx fans already know about the band, and we're excited because it's something completely different from MxPx, but it has the same energy - it's more of a fast, acoustic style rockabilly. You can hear several of our songs and see some videos on our site. (Tumbledown's website is: www.myspace.com/tumbledowncountry)

XMFan: Speaking as a longtime fan of MxPx, I have to say it seems like you're pretty content with the way things have gone.

Mike: There are always things you wish were different about the band, or wishing you could've changed the past, but overall I'm really happy with the style of music we've done with our straight-forward rock and roll... And it's been fun.