The act formed in 1988, and has honed its melodic sense as it has kept tempos furiously fast. Always popular with surfers and skaters, airplay on the influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ and appearances on the Warped tours have made the band more than just a cult-favorite in punk circles.

During the ‘90s, Pennywise stuck with independent label Epitaph, run by Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz. The band sold more than 200,000 copies of its 3rd album, “Unknown Road.”

Founding Pennywise member and bassist Jason Thirsk committed suicide in 1997, but the group has continued, issuing “Straight Ahead” in 1999 and live disc “Live at the Key Club” in 2000.

Chicago.citysearch.com's John Dugan spoke with singer Jim Lindberg about careers in punk, the Beach Boys and the LAPD.

You've been playing punk for over 12 years. Has the audience changed, or has punk changed? What's changed?

This is a huge question. Punk has had its ups and downs in the mainstream. The underground punk scene has been really strong since its started in Southern California. In the late '80s, punk changed when skaters, surfers, snowboarders and extreme sports types adopted it. Rather than crusty punks, bored suburban youth started coming to the shows. It has been a good and bad thing. The ideals still hold true. Punk has been about giving a middle-finger to the establishment, and it still is.

Pennywise has gotten increasingly political lyrically, especially on the new album, "Land of the Free?" But I think the music still comes before the message for you. Is this true?

Fletcher probably thinks so. I think the lyrics do. It's an equal combination of the two. A lot of people relate to it because of what is being said, but an equal number are there for the music. You can break it down the middle. Fletcher will bring a guitar part that sounds very agitated. When I write my own songs, I'll put in something equally angry but resigned to what is going on in the world. For years and years, I was very angry about what goes on in the world.

You did a live album called "Live at the Key Club." Punk bands aren't known for making live albums. What inspired you to do one?

I'm not a huge fan of them. Jawbreaker did one that I liked a lot. We wanted to do a compilation of B-sides and out-takes. But Epitaph didn't want to do it. They said, "You're still recording, it's too soon for a greatest hits."

Fletcher came up with the idea for a live album. It's a way to show that there's a certain energy live. We're not a studio band--I think it sanitizes our music. I would like to do a lot of the tracking live sometime, especially the vocals. To get a real sense of how we are live, you need to hear a bootleg tape because we knew we were being recorded that night. You gotta hear us warts and all.

You've got a song called "F--- Authority" on your new album. Who has been holding you back?

A very direct answer to that: it's written for the corrupt LAPD cops. Just recently, they've thrown out the charges against the indicted Rampart division officers [some of whom were accused of charges ranging from attempted murder to planting false evidence]. The level of graft and corruption is astonishing. The audacity they had to do this should be appalling to any citizen of our country. It's a rallying cry against corrupt authority. In that way, it's a patriotic song.

How come sunny Southern California has always been a hotbed of agitated punk rock activity? It seems pretty nice from here in Chicago.

That's funny. It’s really hot today, definitely a beach day. We are kind of pampered here. I think you have a lot idle time here. And some of the worst kids in the country live in the richest town here. They throw rocks at people at their secret surf spots. It's also the rebelliousness of the skate culture.

But there are also signs of it in the animal world. In ape populations, teenagers talking back to their elders. It's natural, kicking against convention. It happens anywhere. But Southern California is a fertile breeding ground for snotty-nosed punk kids. Hopefully, something positive comes out of it besides just drinking.

What did you grow up listening to?

I started out listening to the Beach Boys. My parents gave it to me for a present, "Endless Summer," their poppy stuff, not "Pet Sounds." Growing up next to the beach, surfing, it was something I could relate to. I never got into Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin. I thought it was crap. I know there are lots of punk rockers that are closet metalheads. I was able to find an appreciation for it later.

Do you like to tour?

It's harder and harder the older you get, especially with a family. It's harder to leave behind your loved ones. It must drive the other guys crazy. We hardly tour at all, and I guess it is my fault. At this stage, we're not trying to break into any new markets, find the Pennywise fans in Greenland or anything. We know where people like us. It's the major cities and anywhere there are surfers and skaters. Otherwise, we would lose our sanity if we were together all the time.