With punk and pop-punk bands like Sum 41 and Simple Plan blanketing MTV, it’s unlikely to see a ska band breaking into the music scene anytime soon. But for local act Driving While Stupid, ska has been a way of life since high school.

“It seems like there is more punk then ska, due to so many punk bands coming out lately,” says Alex Kelly, the group’s trombonist. “Ska had its time in the spotlight in the mid ’90s, so it’s kind of like its time has passed.”

He says the lack of active ska bands in the area has made it easier for Driving While Stupid to get more exposure in central Iowa.

“There are only three [ska] bands in Iowa that play a lot of concerts,” says Kelly, freshman in liberal arts and sciences. “There may be more, but they just don’t make themselves really known.”

The band was founded by guitarist and vocalist Nick Leo in Des Moines, and originally consisted of three members: Leo, Kelly and bassist Mike Christiansen. After graduating from high school and going separate ways for college, Kelly and Christiansen kept the band going by adding a few extra bandmates.

Now, two years after Driving While Stupid’s formation, the group has grown to include lead vocalist Kenny Knutson, guitarist and vocalist Tony Leo, trombonist and vocalist Erak Brandt, Alec Davis on trumpet, Katie Dougherty on trombone, Reece Olsen-King on alto saxophone, Andrea Gronmeyer on tenor saxophone and Matt Andreini on drums.

With a name like Driving While Stupid, the band members are doing their best to make themselves known — or at least remembered.

“I was bored in class one day, and I just started to randomly write down words,” Andreini says. “The name fits perfectly now, because one of our band members really does drive while stupid.”

Unfortunately, the members of the group don’t live in the same town.

“Some go to [Iowa State], some go to the University of Iowa, and some go to UNI, but most of the members live around Des Moines,” Kelly says.

Leo says having band members spread throughout the state makes practicing as a group difficult.

“It’s really hard to get everybody together,” he says. “But we can usually get five or six members on a Sunday night.”

Even though the members of Driving While Stupid are unable to practice as much as they would like to as a group, they’ve been asked to open for bands that are on tour and are coming through the Iowa area.

Driving While Stupid has opened locally for such national acts as the Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Slackers and Digger. Kelly says such a high level of exposure for a local band might have something to do with the group’s animated on-stage antics.

“Our singer [Kenny] always dresses up in something,” Kelly says. “At our Easter show, he decided to cut out the stomach and butt of a [stuffed] bunny and stick it on his head.”

Kelly says it’s also not unusual to see Andreini with an Italian flag wrapped around him as a tribute to his Italian heritage.

Even though Driving While Stupid has a lot of fun at its concerts, the members are still able to get down to business when it’s recording time.Within the last few weeks, the band finished recording and released a five-song EP.

“This EP seems to be the best overall,” Christiansen says.

The EP is titled “One Size Fits All,” which the band members say is an appropriate title because the band’s music “is easier to listen to for people who don’t like the heavy music they are used to,” Leo says.

Andreini agrees.

“The good thing about the type of music [Driving While Stupid] plays is that anyone can listen to it — even older people, such as parents,” he says.