by richard abrahamson kabrahamson1@aol.com
EU: I listened to the new album and I’ve got to say it’s pretty good. Do you have any favorite songs from the record?
Yuri Ruley: Well, I’m glad you liked it. I like the whole album… It’s fun a record from front to back. But I think one of my favorite aspects of the album is the one-two punch you get right at the beginning, with ‘Secret Weapon’ and ‘Shut it Down.’
EU: Who comes up with most of the lyrics?
YR: Mike does. I think, generally speaking, he’ll sit there with the guitar and come up with the words and melody all at the same time, but I’ve also seen him write words in a little notebook.
EU: Did the recording process for this one go smoother than earlier albums?
YR: Yeah. The recording process only took 15 days just BAM, BAM, BAM. We had a lot of stuff to do and we were kinda jammed so it wasn’t our choice to do it like that.
EU: I see that you are back with Tooth & Nail records. Are you back for good or just for this album?
YR: We’re going to be with them for a bit… We had this big falling out with them, so it’s kind of crazy to be back with T&N. We would’ve never thought in a million years that we would do that. I mean, we didn’t have a bigger enemy for a decade, practically.
EU: You guys left T&N for A&M records on really bad terms?
YR: Absolutely, really, really bad terms. And, looking back, things could’ve been done differently. The people that we had in place at that time, like our manager and stuff, probably made things a lot worse than they needed to be. So, it’s unfortunate that that kind of stuff happened. You know, you put people in charge and you trust them and they don’t always come through for you.
EU: How did this reunion happen?
YR: Well, about seven years ago we put out Ten Years and Running on T&N and we actually worked together with them on that. And that was really the first time we had talked to them in like five or seven years. It was like five years of us hating each other. So that was the first thing that went better. Then last year we decided to re-release Let It Happen. We released a deluxe edition and there were a few new songs, so we worked together on that. [Then] they asked us if it was ok if they offered us a deal. We said “yeah, sure, we’ll check it out.” We were a little hesitant at the time, but a little less (than before). When the deal came we were like “That’s good. That’s a great deal.” I mean, we thought about it and talked about it and decided we’re not going to get a better deal somewhere else. They really wanted us and wanted to do good by us and we were like “Heck yeah.”
EU: Should we expect to hear some new and old songs at the show?
YR: Yeah, totally. We’re playing Secret Weapon. But, other than that, basically we’re going to try to give them as much as possible. We can’t do every song on every record. We have a lot of songs and we have an hour set, so you can only do like 18 songs. But, I think the set is pretty rocking.
For our complete interview with MxPx, go to eujacksonville.com. MxPx will be performing at the Murray Hill Theater on May 18th. Tickets are $16 in advance and $18 at the door. For more information visit murrayhilltheatre.com or call (904) 388-7807.
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