Chicago’s Lucky Boys Confusion has been around since the year Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy is Mine” was at the top of the Billboard music charts, all the way back in 1998. Now, after eight years of touring tirelessly and putting out three studio albums, Lucky Boys Confusion is still touring like the day it started. The band is arriving at the Freeman Spring Concert on Saturday for a free show the entire campus is invited to. Pulse had a chance to speak with Adam Krier, co-vocalist/guitarist for the band, about the band’s plans for the future and their stop at the concert.

Rob Lombardi: The band has been described as electric blues, power pop, even metal. How did you develop your sound?

Adam Krier: We’ve been around for eight years now, and we started when we were still really young – I was 17, I think – that’s when I first started, too. At that age, it’s like, there is so much music going on, and you’re still developing style and your sound. All five of us came from different backgrounds in music. When we started writing, we didn’t have a set sound – like if we wanted to be a punk rock band or reggae. So when we went to jam, it kind of sounded like all of those things. Nowadays, as we’ve grown older, it’s been simplified a little bit – more focused, a little more directed, more rock ‘n’ roll.

RL: How has it been coming back to Chicago, being more developed as a band?

AK: Chicago has been – and still is – great to us, we play a couple sold-out shows in a row every time we play Chicago. Now I think we see some different kids coming, but we’ve been playing for eight years, and somehow they’re all staying the same age.

RL: Like the famous quote?

AK: (laughs) Yeah, like “Dazed and Confused.” But it’s great though, the fans around here are really loyal. If they grow out of it, then they have a little brother or sister that finds the CD in their room and we’ve got them. It’s a big city, so there’s definitely a lot going on, like the whole Fall Out Boy/Academy Is . thing. So if you have your own style, there’s something here for you.

RL: People call you a ska/punk outfit. Have you felt the effects of the ups and downs of ska’s popularity?

AK: Not really. We never really were a ska band. We’ve toured with ska bands like Catch 22 and Reel Big Fish. I don’t [think] anyone really considered us a part of that. I have seen the backlash, though, but the big ska shows are still selling out the Metro [in Chicago]. And the kids are 15, 16, 17 years old. So it’s either coming around again, or they’re holding on by the seat of their pants.

RL: Have you seen the ska bands’ fans you’ve toured with warming up to your sound?

AK: I think so. I guess you compare to groups like the Matches or Goldfinger that can tour with Reel Big Fish and pull it off. Because there are elements of reggae in ska and there is definitely pop punk, too. There’s a connection, and I think people get it.

RL: Has there been a particular part of the United States from which you’ve gotten the most responses?

AK: It’s odd, there’s definitely pockets here and there – some places that we’re reaching had radio from us two years ago, and there are traces of that left over still. Then there’s other places that we’ve always been fine – none of us are really sure why. It’s kind of hit-or-miss, though. There’s definitely a handful that could kick a— one week, or suck and vice versa.

RL: Have there been a lot of headaches with the hot and cold thing?

AK: It keeps us kind of grounded. We can play 600 or 700 people far away and the next night, 80. It keeps your egos in check, for sure.

RL: Since you have been touring for so long, are there any highs or lows you can think of offhand?

AK: We’ve done small tours, we’ve done big tours. We’ve headlined and we’ve opened. If there’s slow nights, we’re creative enough to entertain ourselves, so it’s still a good time.

RL: Anything in particular you do to circumvent boredom?

AK: I don’t know, I mean, anything that’s not nailed down .

RL: What are your thoughts on the concert here in Ames? Have you ever played a free concert?

AK: Yeah, we’ve done them. Should be fun. We haven’t been in Ames for a little while. Is that going to be outdoor stage?

RL: Yep.

AK: Any idea what the weather is going to be out there this weekend?

RL: Probably cold. I remember last year the guys from Motion City Soundtrack said they couldn’t feel their fingers.

AK: I’m sure it will be interesting. These days, that’s something that will just keep things entertaining for us.