MX-80 Sound to Release Fungible Tokens

 “We Took the ‘Non’ out of NFT”

MX-80 Sound, the legendary American rock band, is excited to announce the release of their new line of fungible tokens.. Unlike non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are digital and speculative in nature, fungible tokens offer a unique and exciting way for fans to show their support for the band without worrying about the value of their investment.

‘We took the “non” out of NFTs,” said vocalist Rich Stim. “There are no blockchain protocols, no regenerative AI, no digital retrieval problems, and no need for SEC approval. Fungible tokens offer a level of accessibility that NFTs simply can’t match.”

The initial offering features the band’s distinctive radar symbol on the front and the band’s moniker embossed on the back. Each gold-plated token is made of soft Chinese porcelain and includes a butterfly clutch and a protective velvet bag.

MX-80 SOUND’s fungible tokens are initially available to buyers of MX-80 SOUND’s Deluxe single package, “When Tully Flew the Coop.” Available on eBay

Bruce Anderson (1949 – 2022)

MX-80 guitarist and founder Bruce Lane Anderson, 72, died on January 11, 2022, at his San Francisco home, where he lived with his wife, Meredith Clark.
Considered by Guitar Player Magazine as one of the most “expressive, intense, and technically gifted rock guitar players,” Bruce spent his early years in Oolitic, Indiana. After trading in his trumpet for an electric guitar, he entertained schoolmates by imitating the sounds of jet planes and drag racing. Admitted to Indiana University’s fine arts program in 1967, Bruce quickly became the showcase guitarist for several regional bands, including Mrs. Seamon’s Sound Band and The Screaming Gypsy Bandits. In 1974, Bruce formed MX-80 Sound, merging players from IU’s music school with self-taught musicians. The result was a double-drum quintet with influences ranging from Morton Feldman and Ornette Coleman to Jeff Beck and Henry Mancini. In 1976, Bruce’s guitar work (described as “ferocious and nimble” by producer Steve Albini) was captured on MX-80’s first recording, Big Hits. The EP rode the coat-tails of 1970s DIY punk sensibility, though the band never fit comfortably on the new wave spectrum. MX-80 Sounds’ prescient approach was to mix high-speed metallic guitar, dense, poly-rhythmic percussion, atonal chords, and intelligent though often dispassionate vocals. Island Records signed the group for an LP, Hard Attack, which author Chuck Eddy (Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums) called “a distorted free for all that set some eternal noisecore standard.” Glenn O’Brien (Interview Magazine) said MX-80 Sound was “either the most Heavy Metal Art Band or the most Arty Heavy Metal Band.” Kyle Long (Nuvo.com) called MX-80 Sound “one the most influential underground rock bands to emerge during the mid-’70s.”  Seeking a broader audience in 1978, Bruce moved the band to San Francisco, where they signed to Ralph Records. Two albums resulted: Out of the Tunnel, of which Ira Robbins (Trouser Press) said, “may well be MX-80’s high-tide-mark, featuring convoluted breakneck melodies, cross-fed musical genres and Anderson’s white-hot soloing,”; and Crowd Control, which when reissued in 2015, Modern Vinyl wrote, “My God, this came out in 1981, what were they thinking?!?”
Although Bruce’s unconventional approach lost him record company support, he continued to record with MX-80 issuing recordings in 1986 (Existential Lover), 1995 (I’ve Seen Enough), 2005 (We’re An American Band), 2015 (So Funny), and 2021 (Hougher House). Bruce was employed for many years at Ameoba Records, and he recorded with Bay Area artists ranging from Henry Kaiser to Angel Corpus Christi. His close collaboration with MX-80’s Dale Sophiea formed the nexus for a series of experimental groups, including O-Type, The Gizzards, Brutality, Half-Life, Lazyboy, and Grale. His friendship with MX-80 vocalist, Rich Stim, led to three Bar Stool Walker recordings. In recent years, Bruce worked with the group Rattletrap and composed and performed a final MX-80 LP, Better Than Life, to be released in 2022.
Besides his wife, Bruce is survived by brothers Brent Anderson and Gary Anderson.

MX Does MUBI: “Why Are We Here?”

If you subscribe to the MUBI streaming service, you can catch MX’s first video (“Why Are We Here”) created at Ralph Records by Graeme Whifler. We appear at about 19:50 in the film, “Ears, Eyes, and Throats: Restored Classic and Lost Punk Films 1976-1981.” (The film disappears from Mubi’s carousel at the end of September). The classy restoration is by our friend Peter Conheim. The video was filmed in one day in 1981 at the Ralph Records offices on 444 Grove Street. There wasn’t much to it. Someone told us where to walk and what to do. The smoke machines were old school — some petroleum derivative that ruined everybody’s clothes. But the quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

MX-80 Reclaims “SOUND”

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before the change: MX-80 SOUND circa 1981

A 30-year legal dispute over the MX-80 SOUND name came to an end when a settlement was quietly reached with the estate of the band’s former business manager. As of August 1, 2015, the band known as MX-80 has re-acquired the rights to MX-80 SOUND. The dispute arose from the band’s termination of manager Morley Sappelstein in 1986. At the time, Sappelstein invoked a post-termination provision that entitled the ex-manager to, among other things, half of the band’s trademark rights. As 50% owner, Sappelstein demanded that the band stop using half of its name, severing the “SOUND” from the “MX-80” and for the past thirty years the band has operated as MX-80. In May of 2015, Sappelstein passed away on a tour of Port Everglades. The band contacted Sappelstein’s estate with whom a confidential settlement was reached in August, 2015. The first new release to again feature the band’s full moniker is the soon-to-be-released, “So Funny” produced by MX-80 Sound and Peter Conheim.