Michael Arthur Herrera is an American singer, songwriter and musician best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and songwriter for the punk rock band

MxPx MxPx () is an American pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington, founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead g ...

. He is also the frontman of Tumbledown and the bassist of Goldfinger.

Early life

Herrera was born in

Bremerton, Washington Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

to Art and Michele Herrera and is of Mexican and English / Welsh descent. He is the middle of three children and has an older sister and a younger sister. His parents live in Bremerton in the house he grew up in. He grew up playing guitar, inspired by listening to country and punk rock music. Herrera started

while he was in high school with friends Andy Husted and Yuri Ruley with the band's first performance in his back yard.

Career

MxPx

Herrera is the primary songwriter, vocalist and bassist in

. Herrera started the band with Andy Husted and Yuri Ruley in mid-1992, just before starting high school.

Mike Herrera solo

As MxPx became less active in the late 2000s, Herrera increasingly appeared as a solo act. These performances include both MxPx and Tumbledown songs, and are generally performed with only vocals and acoustic guitar, though Herrera is occasionally joined by one or two others, including at times Kris Roe of the Ataris. In Herrera's own Monkey Trench Studio, he recorded ''Live In the Basement'', consisting of six Tumbledown songs, five MxPx songs, and a cover of the Beatles' "

I've Just Seen a Face "I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released in August 1965 on their album ''Help!'', except in North America, where it appeared as the opening track on the December 1965 release ''Rubber Soul''. Writ ...

". The album was released digitally with a limited CD pressing. Live online performances are also available as digital albums, ''Live&Raw on StageIT.com'' and ''Live.Web.Feb.4.2013''. ''Live in Southampton'' was released to MxPx fanclub members only.

Tumbledown

Herrera started the band

Mike Herrera's Tumbledown Mike Herrera's Tumbledown is an alternative country band from Bremerton, Washington consisting of MxPx guitarist/vocalist Mike Herrera and Rocky Point All Stars (Jack Parker, Marshall Trotland, and Harley Trotland).Gilmartin, Alexa (2009)Tumbledo ...

with guitarist Jack Parker, bassist Marshall Trotland, and drummer Harley Trotland. The band draws influences from being on tour as well as from "great American songwriters" such as

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...

and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

. The sound of Tumbledown differs greatly from MxPx, taking a lighter, more

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

inspired sound.

Side projects and production

Herrera has produced albums such as ''At Any Rate'' by Too Bad Eugene and ''Future Plans Undecided'' by Element (101). He sang backing vocals on "Radio #2" from

the Ataris The Ataris are an American punk rock band from Anderson, Indiana. Formed in 1996, they released five studio albums between 1997 and 2007. Their best-selling album is ''So Long, Astoria'' (2003), which was certified gold. Their high-charting s ...

' album ''

So Long, Astoria ''So Long, Astoria'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Ataris, released on March 4, 2003. The album's title song alludes to the 1985 film ''The Goonies'', which is set in Astoria, Oregon. Background In February 2001, The Atar ...

'' and "Runaway" by

Amber Pacific Amber Pacific is an American pop-punk band that formed in 2002 in Federal Way, Washington. The band has released four full-length albums, '' The Possibility and the Promise'' in 2005, '' Truth in Sincerity'' in 2007, ''Virtues'' in 2010 and ''Th ...

, on the group's album '' Truth in Sincerity'' and shared lead vocals Stephen Egerton's album, ''The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton''. In addition to Tumbledown, Herrera was the frontman of Arthur (MxPx with the band's former bass tech Neil Hundt), having released a six-song EP and a full length album before disbanding, as well as the Cootees (Mike Herrera, Jiles Brandon, Tom Wisniewski, and Dale Yob), a Tooth & Nail side project in the mid-1990s. Herrera opened Monkey Trench studio in Bremerton in 2008. In 2016, Herrera was recruited by John Feldmann to join ska punk band Goldfinger as the group's new bassist. His first single with the band is "Put The Knife Away", which was released on May 24, 2017.

Equipment

Herrera endorses

Music Man StingRay Music Man StingRay is an electric bass by Music Man, introduced in 1976. History In 1971, Fender employees Forrest White and Tom Walker, unhappy with the way CBS was managing the company, left their positions with Fender to start their own v ...

basses and

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an inte ...

strings and has used them on almost every MxPx recording. For amplification he uses a Hartke LH1000 head and a Hartke 8x10 cabinet. Herrera is also endorsed by Takamine acoustic guitars, Sparrow guitars,

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a ...

amps, Samson Tech, Hartke and Latin percussion. In March 2020

announced a new Mike Herrera signature

bass featuring an

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

body,

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...

neck, Schaller tuners, and a unique electronics configuration, being the pickups are wired directly to the input jack with three "dummy" knobs for aesthetic purposes.

Personal life

Herrera married his wife Holli in 2001 and together they have two children. In 2017 the Herreras moved from Washington to Waco, Texas (Holli's home state) and appeared in Season 5, Episode 13 of the

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, app ...

series '' Fixer Upper'' in which their new home was renovated and decorated for the show. As of 2015, Herrera has said he is no longer Christian and identifies as an agnostic.

Discography

With MxPx * ''

Pokinatcha Pokinatcha is the debut studio album by punk rock band MxPx released on October 4, 1994, through Tooth & Nail Records. The album reflects influence from skate/surf punk, and underground punk generally. The album's name came from a Snicker's candy ...

'' (1994) * ''

Teenage Politics This is a comprehensive listing of official releases by MxPx, a three-piece American punk rock band, formed in 1992 in Bremerton, Washington. The band has released twelve studio albums, twenty singles, two cover albums, two live albums, an acoust ...

'' (1995) * '' Life in General'' (1996) * '' Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo'' (1998) * '' The Ever Passing Moment'' (2000) * '' Before Everything & After'' (2003) * ''

Panic Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking, replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-flight reac ...

'' (2005) * '' Secret Weapon'' (2007) * ''

On the Cover II ''On the Cover II'' is the ninth studio album by American punk rock band MxPx. Songs The album is a sequel to the ''On the Cover'' (1995) EP and features covers of various 1980s songs. Craig Owens of Chiodos features on the cover of Poison's "Fa ...

'' (2009) * '' Punk Rawk Christmas'' (2009) * '' Plans Within Plans'' (2012) * ''

'' (2018) As a producer * Marine View Drive – ''Five Days Down EP'' (2010), producer and engineer, vocals on "Let's Go Out" * The Water Tower Bucket Boys – ''Sole Kitchen'' (2010), producer and engineer, vocals on "Blackbird Pickin' At a Squirrel"

References

External links

Mike Herrera on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Mike 20th-century American bass guitarists American people of English descent American musicians of Mexican descent American people of Welsh descent American punk rock guitarists Pop punk singers Living people American punk rock singers People from Bremerton, Washington Singers from Washington (state) American performers of Christian music American former Christians American agnostics Guitarists from Washington (state) 21st-century American singers 21st-century American bass guitarists Date of birth missing (living people) 1976 births