BC News|June 30, 2014 11:17 EDT
5 Punk Rock Bands Every Christian Music Fan Should Know – MxPx, Relient K, FM Static, Dogwood, Slick Shoes (VIDEOS)
The following is a list of five Christian punk bands every music fan should listen to. Punk rock covers a wide scope of styles these days, and the list focuses on the mostly straight up punk rock of these band's origins. Also important to keep in mind is this is not an exhaustive list, and there are many great bands not included here.
MxPx
MxPx, originally Magnified Plaid, have been rocking crowds since 1992 and are not only one of the most consistent bands in Christian music, but in rock music history. In their 22 year career the band has put out nine albums, seven EPs, two cover albums, a Christmas album, a live album, and four compilations with two of them being greatest hits albums.
With so much material, the band is still going strong all of these years later. They are pioneers of west coast punk/pop-punk and have influenced many bands since their start. Their 1996 album Life In General is highly regarded as a classic punk album.
Key Songs: Punk Rawk Show, Chick Magnet, Responsibility, and Everything Sucks When You're Gone.
Relient K
Perhaps the most famous group on the list, Relient K was able to infiltrate mainstream music with their blend of humorous, nostalgic, and sometimes downright silly pop-punk anthems. However, they really hit their stride with the more carefully crafted thought-provoking songs of self-reflection later on.
Discovered and signed by TobyMac, Relient K is definitely up there as one of the biggest crossover Christian bands of all time, and although they have not made as much noise recently, the band is still going strong as they released Collapsible Lung last year. They have seven albums, two compilation albums, eight EPs, and a B-Side.
Key songs: Pressing On, Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry, Be My Escape, and, Who I Am Hates Who I've Been.
Slick Shoes
Slick Shoes is a punk band in the same vein of MxPx as they had that west coast sound and fast pop and skate punk feel to them. The band released their last album in 2003, Far From Nowhere, and have since reunited a few times. Although they might be on an indefinite hiatus right now, they took the underground punk scene by storm in the mid to late 90's.
Slick Shoes has five albums, two EPs, and a greatest hits album.
Key songs: Alone, Friday Night, Angel, and Candy (cover).
Dogwood
If MxPx were pioneers in Christian punk, Dogwood is the founding fathers. These guys play true punk similar to secular bands NOFX and the Offspring. What Dogwood did best as opposed to any other bands on this list was they were definitely the most blatantly Christian.
Most of Dogwood's success came in the late 90s and early 2000s although they were making waves in the underground as early as 1993. The band has not officially broken up, but is on hiatus and has not released an album since 2003's Seismic. The band has seven albums, a live album, and one greatest hits record.
Key songs: Never Die, Building a Better Me, Good Times, and More Than Conquerors.
FM Static
FM Static is the brain child of Thousand Foot Krutch frontman Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine. While this band is the least accomplished on the list in terms of longevity and albums, they are the most recent and had moderate success with the help of Thousand Foot Krutch.
They have been mostly a studio band the last few years as McNevan and Augustine are the only constants. Also, this group takes a back seat to their main band, TFK, which is one of Christian music's biggest bands. FM Static currently has four albums, and the status of the band at this time is kind of up in the air.
Key songs: Definitely Maybe, Crazy Mary, Tonight, and Moment of Truth.
What do you think of the list? Who else do you feel should be on it? Sound off in the comments!
