Yuri Retires From MxPx

On July 8th 2010, after 18 years behind the kit of the legendary punk band MxPx, Yuri Ruley announced that he will be retiring from the band. The decision of his retirement is due to the heavy demand of touring and the need to spend more time with his family. The band will be playing their last show as a unit on July 18th at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas. Besides the fact that this will be their last show before Yuri's retirement, this show will feature the band playing their highly acclaimed album and one of my personal favorites, Life In General in it's entirety. Everything from "Move To Bremerton" to "Chick Magnet" will be played that night. For those in the Las Vegas area or die-hard fans of the band, this show is not be missed out for this night is to honor Yuri for all of his hard work, dedication and committment to everything that is MxPx. Heck, if it wasn't for Yuri and his handwriting, they would still probably be referred to as Magnified Plaid.

I was fortunate enough to have met the guys when they came down here to Hawaii two years ago. Not only was the show awesome and I got to hear some of my favorite songs live ("Responsibility", "Punk Rawk Show" and "Chick Magnet" to name a few), but they happen to be a great group of guys. On that night, I was one of the lucky few to have caught one of Yuri's drumsticks. When I caught it the first thing I noticed was the MxPx logo on it. It felt like I was holding the holy grail in the palm of my hands. After the show, I caught up with Yuri and asked him if he could do the honor of signing it. The classy guy that he is, gladly took the drumstick and signed it with his marker. After taking a picture with the legendary drummer, I shook his hand and thanked him for playing an awesome show.

When I found out about the news, it saddened me that he will no longer be in the band. However, I do understand and respect his decision of wanting to spend more time with his family. Therefore, I want to wish Yuri and his family all the best in the near future. I won't be able to fly out to Las Vegas this weekend for the show, but on that day you can bet that I will be playing Life In General with the volume on high.