The audience is getting younger, and that suits Vandals guitarist Warren Fitzgerald.
"We started this band to have fun," Fitzgerald said during a telephone interview from his home in Southern California. "We like having younger audiences. That's what the music is all about. We're perpetual teens."
Fitzgerald, drummer Josh Freese, bassist Joe Escalante and vocalist Dave Quackenbush — known to punk-rock fans as the Vandals — will play tonight at Bricks.
"When we started off back in 1989, we really wanted to be like the other Southern California punk bands, like Black Flag," Fitzgerald said. "There wasn't anything we really wanted to do but play music and have a ball. Back then, punk rock was an underground thing. The only places we could play were clubs, and the promoters were basically local promoters."
But in 1995, things began to change for the Vandals. The band signed with Nitro Records, the brainchild of the Offspring lead singer Dexter Holland. "The Offspring were getting a lot of attention at that time, and so were Green Day," said Fitzgerald. "And punk was being played in different places rather than just clubs. We began to play in bigger venues but found that our core audience was expanding."
Not that there was anything wrong with gaining new fans. "It was cool seeing the kids understand where we were coming from, even though they were watching 'Tiny Toons' when we were starting out."
Four albums later, the band has released a new album, "Internet Dating Super-Studs," this past fall. "We had a lot of fun doing this album," said Fitzgerald, who writes most of the tunes. "We wanted to do a new album but show we were still the same. And that's what we did."
One of the toughest things in the world of punk rock is to keep a band together. But for nearly 15 years, the Vandals have stayed true to each other. "It has to do with the fact that we're not totally bent on being a band," Fitzgerald said. "We've got a lot of side projects that give us a break from the Vandals." Quackenbush joined Pennywise for a tour; Fitzgerald played with Oingo Boingo and is the lead guitarist for Jack Black's Tenacious D.
Escalante, owner of Kung Fu Records, starred and produced the film "That Darn Punk" and directed his first feature film, "Selwyn's Nuts." He also directs music videos and has worked with the Ataris, Audio Karate, Useless I.D. and Ozma.
Freese was part of the Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy" recording sessions and has been drumming for DEVO and A Perfect Circle.
"We have a lot of distractions that keep us busy," Fitzgerald said. "So when we come back to the Vandals, there's a freshness that helps us focus on the band."
Concert information
What: The Vandals, Tsunami Bomb and Audio Karate
Where: Bricks, 579 W. 200 South
When: Nov. 1, 7 p.m.
How much: $13 at the door
Web site:www.vandals.com
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com