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MxPx Friday: Concert Photos of the Week

Happy Friday everyone! And welcome to the second installment of MxPx Fridays! In case you missed last week let us explain what this is all about. MxPx Fridays are weekly installments of videos, trivia, pictures and music picks of the week. This week is Concert Photos of the Week!

Mike Talks About Performing Solo in The Phoenix New Times

Mike Herrera of Tumbledown Talks About His Upcoming All-MxPx Solo Show at The UndergroundBy Nicki Escudero, Monday, Mar. 22 2010

Phoenix New Times LINK

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When Mike Herrera takes The Underground stage tomorrow night for an acoustic solo show, the performance will be a quieter one than his past shows at the Mesa club. He's hoping the vibe he remembers from his band MxPx's past performances there isn't muted, too.

"I remember the first few times I played in Phoenix (at the former Nile Basement), the shows were great," Herrera says. "They were insane, hot sweaty punk shows, and people went crazy. That was the heyday of the punk scene in Arizona. Every place we played after that didn't seem quite right."

The show will be a special one for Arizona -- Herrera says he's only done a few solo shows, and this one will be the only one on this tour to feature a set full of MxPx songs. Herrera says to expect an intimate affair, with lots of crowd interactions and possibly some songs by-request.

"The main challenge is not screwing up because it's really obvious when you do," Herrera says. "You really have to concentrate and relax. I feel like I get better every time I do it."

Since achieving commercial success with his popular punk band that has played Valley stages numerous times, Hererra's currently working on another project, the impossible-to-categorize Tumbledown. The new band, which had its first release in 2007, is a mix of country, rock-a-billy and punk with the same infectious melodies MxPx fans are used to, with some twang. The band plays Yucca Tap Room on Wednesday, March 24.

"The (Tumbledown) shows have been noticeably better, and more people are coming out, and more people are kind of getting it," Herrera says.

Don't worry, though--MxPx hasn't broken up. The band is just taking a break and has plans to release a behind-the-scenes DVD and book.

Meanwhile, Tumbledown released their self-titled debut last year and also have a limited-edition live album, Live in Tulsa, out. There were only 500 copies of the disc pressed, and the band will have some available this week. They just got done playing South by Southwest and are working on a new album, and even though the band is still considered indie, Herrera says the guys enjoy the creative freedom that comes along with being on an independent label.

"With the way the music industry is, you can really go your own way, and the fans that love that type of music will find you," Herrera says. "We're on an indie label, so we can pretty much do whatever we want."

And don't think Herrera's change in sound has changed his lifestyle as a band member--Tumbledown shows can be just as sweaty and insane as MxPx performances.

"We're a party band," Herrera says. "That's kind of what we're known for. Hopefully we don't get arrested in El Paso on the way to Arizona."

MxPx Fridays!

Mike Herrera Solo Show, Descendents tribute band and SXSW!

Mike Herrera's Tumbledown is currently on tour! They are starting in the Pacific Northwest, heading all the way down to Texarkana, hitting up the Austin, TX music festival South by South West and then traveling back up the west coast on their way home to Bremerton. Along the way Mike is doing a solo show, appearing in the Descendents tribute HOPE and Tumbledown is playing at SXSW.

Come check out the following shows:

HOPE (Descendents tribute band) Red 7 in Austin, TX on March 16th, 7pm

Tumbledown at Plush in Austin, TX on March 19th Noon

Tumbledown at Thunderbird Coffee in Austin, TX 1pm FREE!

Mike Herrera Solo Show at the Underground in Phoenix, AZ on March 23rd, 7pm

For a full list of shows and more information about Tumbledown, visit their myspace..