XBXRX.

THE FACT THAT XBXRX was banned from entering the nation of Canada for a year ought to, in and of itself, be enough to at least spark a twinkle of interest in the mind of even the haughtiest musical aesthete. Even if bedlam and debauchery isn't your cup of tea, it's got to at least get the wheels of wonder turning: What does one have to do to deserve being booted from an entire country?

Listening to the band's records, the answer might not be so obvious. See them live, however, and the picture starts to come into focus. What XBXRX does onstage is art. Not the kind of art you'd hang in a gallery, mind you, but something a homeless man might scribble on a pizza box or scream at a pigeon just before taking a piss in the sheet. Both can be mesmerizing or repellent.

Originally formed in Mobile, Alabama in 1998, when several of the members of the band were still too young to smoke, drink or even drive a car, XBXRX quickly became known around the United States and beyond as a venerable force of manic, noisy madness. The band outgrew its southern surroundings almost immediately, getting banned at nearly every club in its hometown, and set nut to record some records, none of which truly harnessed the power of its live performances.

In person, the frenetic, incendiary and sometimes psychotic trail is known as much for its explosive force as the music it makes. XBXRX don't play, they go off like a Claymore, sometimes catching a little shrapnel themselves.

"We get hurt all the time," says XBXRX, which prefers to be referred to as an entity, not individual members. "We are there to help incite and participate in the release of positive energy. So is the audience. The band isn't the only thing that makes a night great. The whole room is a part of the energy. Everyone has a part in making it happen."

An XBXRX show is not unlike a natural disaster. People get hurt, but it's over relatively quick. A "typical" performance can last as long as 30 minutes or wrap up in a matter of seconds. What's the quickest show the band ever played?

"About 30 seconds in Austin," says XBXRX. "It was followed by a hospital emergency room visit."

There's a certain amount of give and take involved in operating a beast like XBXRX The traditional "write song, record song, play song live" pattern followed by most bands, for instance, is at an end of the musical spectrum XBXRX clearly cannot see.

"We have actual songs, but if you just saw us live you probably wouldn't guess that," says XBXRX "A recording can never represent what goes on when you have hundreds of people around you. You're sweating, screaming and the sound is in real time, in your face. Nothing will ever be able to give you that feeling on a recording, ever."

XBXRX says it views the two forms as completely disparate entities.

"We like to look at it in a simple form: We go to see bands perform live. We go get their record to hear it recorded. I think that's a simple way to look at it." That unorthodox approach is something the band also carries over into its view of membership. After forming together in 1998, the band has blown apart and reformed in several different evolutions, with over 20 different past and current members hailing from Alabama, Indiana, Washington, Louisiana and Hawaii.

"The band is an open collective," says XBXRX. "We started off as a three piece. From there we morphed into many different lineups, more than you can count on your hands."

The band's extensive touring and generally chaotic behavior have taken their toll though, fracturing the band for about a year.

"When the hiatus began, we thought it was likely that the band would never play again," says XBXRX. "It turns out that we just needed a long break, not to kill the band."

Nursing the wounds of the split, the group has reformed and settled in Oakland, California, a place a little more welcoming to artsy-fartsy oddball bands than, say, Alabama.

"It was crazy being from Mobile," says XBXRX, "In both good and bad ways. The Bay Area is a completely amazing place. I love it. I feel more at home out here than in Alabama. Good people, good food, good weather, good art, good scenery nearby, no need for a car--so much good vibes. One thing that I noticed being different since the move is that I actually miss the place I am leaving behind when I go on tour"

That doesn't mean things are necessarily going too smoothly for XBXRX. All of its current members are in other bands, and plans are already being laid to morph the group again, including old members in the new mix. A new record is also on the horizon.

It may have just about killed them a couple of times, but XBXRX have gained age and maturity on the highways and stages of the world.

"You learn what not to do," says XBXRX. "In the past we have had lot more issues with mental illness and assholes. I think those are more what we have to look out for and learn to deal with properly."