The band had a good run in the 1980s, with several acclaimed albums and Zaremba even hosted MTV's "The Cutting Edge." And the band's song "American Beat" graced the soundtrack to the 1984 movie "Bachelor Party," which starred Tom Hanks. "That song was considered the theme song of the movie, and if we had only known what a good moment that could've been," Zaremba said. "We had such a madcap attitude in those days, like we were the Marx brothers from Queens set loose on Hollywood. "The movie producers loved our music, and so we did everything we could to insult them. We were sitting behind Tom Hanks at the premiere, and Keith fell asleep during the screening, and the rest of us just made remarks about how bad the movie was. We were not asked back, which was entirely our own fault." After a tumultous decade during the '90s, the Fleshtones went to the Yep Roc label and released "Do You Swing" in 2003.

"I happen to think 'Only Skin Deep' ('98) has some of our best work on it, which no one has heard. But it's all been a learning process, and now that I'm 50 years old, I finally know how to make a rock 'n' roll record," Zaremba said. That record was a neglected masterpiece, mixing punk abandon with self-deprecating humor. The title track, with '60s rock guitars and silly falsetto whoops, was a delectable self-parody. "Destination Greenpoint," an ode to relocating to their funky but affordable Brooklyn neighborhood, is blue collar rock at its best. And if there's a more concise love song than the pulverizing "(You Got A) Headlock on My Heart," I haven't heard it. Top that off with an over-the-top, musically precise-but-unchained cover of Led Zeppelin's "Communication Breakdown" and you have a 13-cut album that injects fun back into rock 'n' roll. The new record is as invigorating as the previous album, but more focused. The torrid opener, "Bigger and Better" is a paean to the sort of real, gutbucket rock these boys specialize in. "Serious" begins addressing topical concerns, but soon becomes a plea to get serious "about not getting serious." Another song, "Do Something For Me" is raunchy, fuzz-toned garage rockin' bliss. Zaremba and band member Streng get single writing credits for most of the band's tunes, although bassist Fox has a pair of numbers on the new disc. "We actually interfere with each other's songs a lot," said Zaremba. "Many are actually co-written, but we credit them to one or the other. "Ken's (Fox) songs have brought a new feel - they're not as stupid as our usual songs. 'Late September Moon' is so pensive, it's a real change of pace for us. "Our songs build on each other, it's nothing new but it's totally professional, but done with the hearts of amateurs," Zaremba said. On stage, the Fleshtones live shows are wild and woolly. "We've called it The Fleshtones doing The Hives doing The Fleshtones," Zaremba said, laughing. "It is always fun, and you never get just a run-through."