What sets House of Large Sizes apart from most bands that have played the Maintenance Shop over the years is not how many times the band has played there, which is 40-plus at last count.

It is how devoted the band is to their fans.

Saturday night, Cedar Falls’ House of Large Sizes will be bringing their brand of pop-punk back to the M-Shop, one of the band’s favorite venues.

“We love playing the M-Shop. It’s wonderful,” says Barb Schlif, the group’s bass player.

“You don’t know how lucky you are at ISU.”

The feeling is mutual on the M-Shop’s part — even naming a deli menu item after the band.

That’s right — you can get a “House of Large Salad” at the M-Shop. The Shop isn’t not the only club to honor the group through food.

“Believe it or not, there are two other places that have named menu items after us, but we still feel very lucky,” Schlif says. “A big plus for the M-Shop, though, is that it’s a veggie dish. We like that because we’re vegetarians.”

So just who is House of Large Sizes anyway?

House of Large Sizes is a trio with Schlif’s husband Dave Deibler on guitar and vocals and Brent Hanson on drums.

They have been together for a relatively long time — 17 years this month, to be exact. And over the years, the group have built up quite a following in not only the Midwest, but also on the national and international music scenes as well.

To date, the trio has released seven full-length albums, plus numerous EPs and 7-inch vinyl recordings.

House of Large Sizes has also toured all over the United States and the world.

Schlif says one of the best touring experiences the band ever had came two years ago when the band was asked to open for Frank Black, formerly of the Pixies.

“It came at a time when we really hadn’t been an opening act for anybody for awhile,” Schlif says. “[Being an opening act] lets you just go out there and share our own special brand of punk and rock with the crowd. It was a great experience.”

The band’s latest tour began on Sept. 19 in Rock Island, Ill. and will wrap up on Oct. 18 in Des Moines.

The House’s latest tour is in support of its latest releases, two five-song EPs — “I Ate the Painting” and it’s most recent, “Portfolio.”

“I Ate the Painting” was released back in early April 2003. The five songs were written and recorded by House of Large Sizes in two days, mixed by Deibler the next week and released the following week. Schlif says the band was able to do experimental music on this EP it has never done before and definitely couldn’t perform live.

On “Portfolio,” released in mid-September, the band tried a different take on recording, Schlif says. Deibler laid down a basic guitar “sketch” of each song and then Schlif and Hanson added the bass and drum parts. This time production occurred over a period of a few weeks.

Schlif also has more good news for fans of the band.

“Before the end of the year, there will be a third EP,” Schlif says.

“We have absolutely no idea what is going to be on there yet, but have been throwing around a bunch of ideas. We know that we have to start on it— like, now.”

House of Large Sizes has a reputation for being one of the liveliest stage shows around. Fans should have no fear of not being able to see them anytime soon, Schlif says.

“House of Large Sizes is who we are,” Schlif says. “After all, Dave and I have been a couple almost as long there has been a band. We don’t plan on calling it quits anytime soon and neither does the band.”