It has been a time of change for Californian ska-punk band Voodoo Glow Skulls.
Founded by the three Casillas brothers (Frank, Eddie and Jorge) in Riverside in 1988, lead singer Frank announced he was leaving the band in June after almost 30 years together.
Voodoo Glow Skulls is known as a hardworking, hard-touring band and with this news, the remaining five members have pulled together, replacing him with Efrem Schulz, lead singer of Death By Stereo and Manic Hispanic.
In an interview ahead of Voodoo Glow Skulls' show at Garfinkel's on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 9 p.m., Eddie Casillas says bringing in Schulz was the best possible decision.
"The band is doing great at the moment, Efrem is kicking ass — he has proved to be the logical fill-in or replacement and gives 200 per cent on stage," Casillas says.
"The music and the show still has the same energy and it hasn't changed, other than the fact that Efrem is his own person and has his own style, obviously.
"He comes from the hardcore scene, so that energy has been brought to the table a little more with him performing with us. He isn't afraid to confront an audience and get in their faces.
"That fits with the Voodoo Glow Skulls because it has totally been our style from the beginning."
The other members of Voodoo Glow Skulls are A.J. Condosta, Mark Bush and Dan Albert.
"It was Frank's choice to 'retire from this band and its music,' not our choice, so we had to do what we had to do to fulfill our commitments as a band," explains Casillas.
"Thanks to anyone who understands where we may be coming from and gets why we would rather continue than cancel everything because of one person."
Schulz was described in an earlier interview as not a permanent member of the band, and Casillas says while he has been a great addition to the tour, decisions still need to be made.
"The band is taking everything one day, and one commitment, at a time. First we plan on getting through this tour then we will regroup and decide if there will be any future plans. We have had plenty of interest worldwide for our future," Casillas says.
"The band is as hardworking as ever, otherwise we would have cancelled everything and stayed home. Instead, we decided to rehearse for two months straight and make it happen. "
And it hasn't stopped musical output either.
"We have 16 new songs, mostly recorded and not too far from completion, vocals being the part that is unfinished. The plan is to release it on Stomp Records whether the band decides to continue touring or not," Casillas says.
This output will join a back catalogue of nine full-length albums (the most recent being Break the Spell in 2012), five EPs, and many more compilations. The band's version of the Guns N' Roses song "Used To Love Her" was featured on the Mr. & Mrs. Smith soundtrack.
Casillas says that they are very happy to be on the road.
"The shows and fans have been great and really supportive," he says.
"We feel lucky that Canada was the tour that happened to be the next thing on the list. It has always been a stand-out place for the band and where we seem to get some extra love and support."
They haven't been to Whistler for almost two decades, not since 1998.
"We toured many of the snow resort towns across the U.S. and Canada on that one, I remember snow everywhere and cold everywhere," Casillas says.
He adds that fans can expect "a new energy that the band hasn't had in years, if ever."
Voodoo Glow Skulls performs at Garfinkel's with K-Man & the 45s, and Whistler band PeteCatastropheLives! opening the show. Tickets are 19-plus and $15 and available online at www.ticketzone.ca.
