Mike Herrera's Tumbledown
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Mike Herrera's Tumbledown

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"Artist of the week, Mike Herrera"

After our 2 week hiatus from “Artist Of The Week” we decided what better way to bring it back then with Mike Herrera along with a candid interview regarding his new band Tumbledown, you can read that below and I encourage everyone to hit him up on his myspace page right here

Mike when did you first start considering starting this project?
I started writing these styled tunes in 1999, but didn’t give serious thought to it until 2005.
What are some of your influences for Tumbledown?
Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Hank Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, The Who, Kasey Chambers, Elvis Costello, the Beatles, Black Flag, Otis Redding, Whiskeytown, Wilco, Superdrag, Alison Krauss, Bill Monroe, George and Tammy, Bob Wills, Big Sandy and the Fly Right Boys, Junior Brown, Neko Case, George Strait, Don Williams, Carl Perkins, John Denver, Robert Earl Keene, Pat Green and Johnny Cash, the list could go on and on.
Have you been happy thus far with the reaction of the self-titled album?
I have been really happy, it was a conscious decision to streamline and strip down the instrumentation on the first album. I didn’t want people to get lost in a thousand different instruments, which is common today. The album sounds exactly like we do live.
How did the tour with John Nolan come about, are you a fan?
I like John a lot. I’m looking forward to seeing him every night on the tour! We were both planning a tour at the same time and it worked out to do it together. Two is better than one!
Have the other guys in MXPX been supportive of Tumbledown?
They don’t come to every show we do…it would be like a full time job if they did! But, they’re cool with me doing other bands. It makes MxPx fresher when I come back to it.
Are you still going to make MXPX your full time gig?
I’m going to split my time evenly with MxPx and Tumbledown. Tumbledown isn’t a side project anymore, it’s my new band, it’s the other band I play and sing in.
What are some bands that you think deserve some press?
Limbeck is out there touring right now, and they are really good.
Any certain dates your looking forward to playing more than others on the upcoming tour?
We always love Texas, and we’re looking forward to the new places, like Tennessee and Chicago…
Will you be releasing an vinyl?
We have plans to release the album on vinyl but it’s taking its sweet time!! - My Ears Bleed


"Tumbledown Review from Allmusic.com"

Mike Herrera, frontman of MxPx takes a side trip with Tumbledown, a band that plays the honky tonk country and folk tunes. Herrera's been writing of late with the blistering punk energy of MxPx, although none of his cohorts from that band play in this side project. The band comes roaring out of the gate with "Let's Drink" a furious celebration of drunken revelry pushed into overdrive by the rhythms of the Trotland brothers and the fat power chords of Jack Parker. Other pedal-to-the-metal tunes include "Break Out of History," a protest song that skewers the dark heart of capitalism while celebrating those who fight for change with a song and a smile; "I'm Still Here," a she-done-me-wrong-so-I'm-drinkin'-myself-to-death-song with a bleary sense of humor, "Came Here to Fight," an ode to booze, boredom and testosterone with energy to spare; "My Sweet Darling Dear," an energetic apology to a gal who had to deal with her Romeo's drunken shenanigans; and the album closer "Homeward Bound" (not the Paul Simon song), a salute to the town of Kitsap, WA, full of hometown pride. The band's blazing energy and Herrera's energetic singing make the uptempo numbers sizzle with barely contained chaos. They play just as fiercely, but with more subtlety, on the folk- and blues-flavored tracks. "Movin' On" is a jaunty, ramblin' ballad about the dream of quitting your meaningless day job and hitting the road with great country harmonies from the band, and Herrera's snappy acoustic country picking. "State Line" is the tale of a homeless man drinking himself to death, delivered with a jaunty tune and Herrera's insouciant vocals. "Secondhand High" is a country blues that rides a down-and-dirty Creedence-style rhythm driven by Parker's electric guitar, while "Son of a Gun" is a straightforward love song built around a neat turn of phrase; "My daddy was a pistol, but I'm just a son of a gun." The album's rock-edged energy will probably keep country music radio from ever playing anything on this album, which is too bad. Herrera can write rings around most Nashville songwriters currently polluting the airwaves with their brand of watered down country music. - Allmusic.com


"Mike Herrera's Tumbledown"


Rockabilly Magazine

Issue #46, Summer 2009.
Mike Herrera's Tumbledown
Some people might be surprised to hear that MXPX front man and veteran punk rocker Mike Herrera has spent the past ten years composing and compiling a wide selection of rockabilly-influenced songs, but most fans are enjoying the departure into previously unexplored music. From what may seem like a slow start, Mike Herrera’s Tumbledown has accelerated through an EP, a tour, and now a brand new full-length album. Like many bands, Tumbledown makes use of inspirations from every genre, but unlike most bands he has created something entirely unique based on his personal skills and style. - Rockabilly Magazine


"Review by Country Standard Time"

Those familiar with Mike Herrera's work with punk band MxPx may be a little surprised by Tumbledown's country sounds, while those who mostly know the man for his Christian songs might be shocked by all the drinking numbers. But just like Mike Ness (Social Distortion) has done with his solo outings, Herrera has called upon the rebel side of Johnny Cash for his newfound inspiration.
With Butcher Of San Antone, Herrera pulls off a good old murder song, which more than solidifies his Cash-ly inspiration. He also sounds like a younger Jerry Lee Lewis when he resorts to fisticuffs with Came Here to Fight. Although Herrera's pastor may not approve of his motives, Let's Drink resorts to alcohol as a solution for boredom when Herrera admits, "There's nothing else to do here in this town." And while this self-titled work rocks a bit, Tumbledown proves it knows how to handle an acoustic country workout with < I>. I'm Still Here is also mostly acoustic, yet it picks up the pace to hoedown speed.
Herrera will never pass for a country singer, but he at least sings a whole lot better than Ness' semi-melodic croak, which makes Herrera's Miller time a good time all around.
By Dan MacIntosh
- Country Standard Time.com


Discography

Atlantic City EP
Tumbledown Self Titled LP
Atlantic City Single
Ballad of a Factory Man Single
Homeward Bound Single
Butcher of San Antone Single

Photos

Bio

Under the influence of great American songwriters and countless punk rock shows, forged from love songs and heartbreak, Mike Herrera's Tumbledown was born. Miles and miles of landscape, experience, and the lonely open road have been crafted into these songs of love and heartbreak. While the world-traveling Bremerton musician may be most well-known as the dynamic bassist and lead singer of the Left Coast three-piece MxPx, beneath all the tattoos and piercings, the ranting and stage wrecking, Herrera has long been an acoustic-wielding songsmith. His alt/country/pop-punk-a-billy solo project Tumbledown is at the root and on the flipside of all that (distinctive) punk rock.

“It's all about the songs,” Herrera says. “What it sounds like depends on who you are.”

The music carries an old-school country-western swagger, reminiscent of Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, with Herrera strumming a big dreadnaught acoustic over a chugging snare drum and stand-up bass. Guitarist Jack Parker adds to the Americana, with swiftly meandering, mean lead work.

“I don't claim that we're a country band... we're just a band...I just like the fact that it's a different sound,” Herrera says. “Different than a country band, different than a punk rock band, different than a rockabilly band -- we're somewhere there in the ether, somewhere in between it all.”