MxPx & Their Ever Passing Warped Tour Dates ~ an Interview
with
Tom Wisniewski
Sabrina Soto and Samantha Franklin
MxPx is back and ready to reinvigorate the punk scene with
its signature, fast-paced
gritty pop. MxPx's The Ever Passing Moment is the band's second
full-length release
on A&M Records. MxPx stirred up national recognition with
successful tunes like "I'm
OK, You're OK," and the high-profile MTV hit "Chick
Magnet." MxPx is going to be
tearing up this summer's Warped Tour. amuZnet.com had the exclusive
opportunity to
sit down with the band on July 30th, in the midst of its participation
at the Southern
California Warped Tour date. Here's what Tom Wisniewski from
the band had to say.
amuZnet: What is it like to be on the Warped Tour this year,
are you excited about it?
You've done the Warped tour before, right?
Tom: Yeah. We did in '97 for, like, ten days, we did it in
'98 for the whole thing
and the whole thing in 2000. It's great, you know, we wouldn't
keep coming back if it wasn't just awesome!
amuZnet: And how do you feel about being away from home for so long?
Tom: Doesn't bother me anymore. You know, we've been away
from home since the summer of '95. Off and on. You
know, we get home for a couple months here and there, but for
the most part we've been gone since '95.
amuZnet: How does it affect your relationships at home?
Tom: Our friends, you know, they knew this is what we were
going to do so on the tour it was like, "Alright. See
you when you get back." And now it's like, when we get back,
we hang out, you know. Take them to shows when we
can, but you know, it's not like, we're lost friends or anything.
We still have the same friends we've had in high school,
you know, we also hang out whenever we can.
amuZnet: You don't have any romantic ties?
Tom: No, not at home.
amuZnet: How long have you guys been together, and how did MxPx come together?
Tom: The band will be eight years old in, like, a week. And uh just high school friends. Yep.
amuZnet: How did you guys last for so long? You know most of these bands today
Tom: I don't know. You know, we just went out on tour, and
justlikeit seemed like a really fun thing, and we kept
going on tour, and it kept being fun. Things started to grow,
we started playing at bigger places, and it was just yeah- we
could do this for a while. It's awesome. It's like, I couldn't
think of a better job to have.
amuZnet: What is the best part of being a musician?
Tom: Um for me it's just getting out there and playing. Not
having to have a real job. Like, in the terms of flipping
burgers, like, filing, you knowworking on the computer all day
or calling people all day, "Hi, would you like to
subscribe to all this.." you know.
amuZnet: what as the job you had before MxPx?
Tom: Um I dug ditches and uhmowed lawns for the summer.
amuZnet: You dug ditches? Really! How was that?
Tom: Sucked, we mowed lawns. Like, there were forty-five degree
angle hills. And we dug ditches for irrigation. It was
for a housing complex, a medium-housing complex. And basically
we'd go through, we started at the bottom (it was on a
big hill) we start at the bottom, all the way down, and by the
time we got the bottom we'd have to go back up to the top
and we had to come back down, did that all summer. I mean, it
was a good experience to have, you know, me and the
other guys, we were together, and we were like, "alright.
Boss is gone. Okay, sit. Chill in the shade. Oh no, here he
comes " You know... good time.
amuZnet: Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Tom: Hopefully still doing music, you know. In one form or another.
amuZnet: Do you ever worry that it might all go away, and what you're going to do at that point?
Tom: Okay. I'm not worried. But I also don't think it's going
to last forever. When it goes away, you know, I'll do
something else.
amuZnet: Do you have any idea what you want to do?
Tom: I kind of wanted to be a chef for a while, and I'd cook
food from my girlfriend and some of my friends. They're
like, "This is re-eally good. You should do this. And like,
I'd like to go to culinary schools and that will be kind of cool.
amuZnet: What's the best thing you could cook?
Tom: Um I know this is going to sound cheesy, but, I made
pizzabut this isn't pepperoni cheese pizza. It's like,
super garlic, and I make a bunch of Chinese food too. I like
Asian food a lot. Like, stir-fry, and all sorts of stuff put
together. I'm not a super-chef or anything- so don't get any
ideas. But I've made some things for my friends and they're
like, "oh this is really good."
amuZnet: What other stuff do you do at home? What other hobbies do you have?
Tom: Umnot much. We practice all the time. We're always doing
interviews. Always practicing. Obviously I get a lot
of tattoos.
amuZnet: What's the last one you got?
Tom: A tiger.
amuZnet: Any other part of your body that's tattooed?
Tom: Yeah. A couple on my chest, and a couple on my legs. I gotta get more on my legs.
amuZnet: Tell me about the new record.
Tom: New record's called the "Ever Passing Moment."
It's out now on Interscope. We spent more time this time.
Usually we rushed it and we were just like, all rushed, and had
to record from noon till 6 AM. And then go to bed for a
couple of hours and get right back up and do it again. So this
time, we took a little extra time in writing and practicing and
recording and mixing. Overall, we just said, "you know,
let's make it right this time." Because on the last record
there
were some things we were unhappy with. But we just went back
in and tried to do it better than that. And I think it
really the thing came out.
amuZnet: And where can fans get information about you online?
Tom: www.mxpx.com
amuZnet: Cool. Thank you very much.