So-Cal ska-punk heroes Reel Big Fish [ tickets ] have assembled a world tour to coincide with their forthcoming album, which is due early next year.

The band, which held a mainstage slot on this summer's Warped Tour, will finish off 2008 with a brief trek through South America and gigs in Mexico City, Pennsylvania and Florida. On New Year's Day, Reel Big Fish is set to launch a 20-city US outing that covers clubs and theaters from coast to coast and includes special guests Streetlight Manifesto, One Pin Short and Tip the Van. RBF will then segue into a major European tour. North American performances are listed below and international dates can be found at the group's website.

On the road, Reel Big Fish will preview material from its new covers album, "Fame, Fortune and Fornication," which is due Jan. 20. The 10-track set includes the band's signature ska take on songs including Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me," The Eagles' "The Long Run," John Mellencamp's "Authority Song" and Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down." It also pays tribute to RBF's early ska/reggae forefathers with a version of Desmond Dekker's "Keep A Cool Head."

"It's just covers on this one; we'll have a proper new album of original songs out late 2009!" Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Barrett said in a statement. "This is the best covers album ever though! We're very happy with how it came out!"

The record, produced by Barrett, will also be available in a limited-edition vinyl package.

Reel Big Fish is still riding high on its freedom and independence after (happily) being cut from its major-label deal in 2006. The band spent nearly 15 years lamenting its time in the music-industry machine, as was evidenced in its 1997 hit, "Sell Out."

A renewed and excited RBF celebrated in 2006 with the double CD/DVD "Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album," and followed that the next year with its first indie studio set, "Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free."