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| The Mr. T Experience came out of the same Berkeley/East Bay Gilman Street punk rock scene that eventually spawned Green Day, but they are often left out of the history of this scene, or at least, they rarely fit prominently into the punk rock genealogy. The Mr. T Experience (or MTX for short) have been playing the same Ramones/Buzzcocks/Descendents-inspired pop-punk for years without gaining any of the commercial success of Gilman Street peers Green Day and Rancid. Perhaps this is a result of the perception that MTX are generic purveyors of a style that has been played multiple times by multiple bands that preceded them, but this is an unfair judgment. MTX breathe fresh life into punk-pop with their goofy pop culture references and catchy melodies. Sure, they're not that original, but some of the best bands in the world have been totally derivative. Formed in the mid-1980s, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dr. Frank was the only original member of the group left by the time they released Revenge Is Sweet, and So Are You in 1997, leading Frank to jokingly refer to his group as MTX "Starship." After releasing two albums on obscure labels, MTX signed to Lookout! (the original home of Green Day); they have remained on that label for five full-length albums, three EPs and a few singles. After recording 1992's Milk, Milk Lemonade, the group broke up, only to regroup the following year to record the Gun Crazy EP and Our Bodies, Our Selves LP. After this brief period of activity, they broke up again and then re-formed as a trio, recording the ...And the Women Who Love Them EP and two excellent bubblegum-punk albums, Love is Dead and Revenge Is Sweet, and So Are You. Alcatraz followed in 1999 and the Miracle of Shame EP was issued a year later. ~ Kembrew McLeod, All Music Guide |
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