Back in the late summer of 1997, if you would have told the members of Ames punk band Grubby Ernie they would be around for three-and-a-half years, put out records and sell out shows at venues such as the M-Shop, they probably would have laughed in your face.

“I think that right when we first started, our main goal was just to play a show,” singer/guitarist Brad Thoen says. “Our first show was when one of our friends had an art opening in the design center and a lot of our friends showed up.”

But everything has to come to an end, and that’s exactly what will happen this Saturday as the punk/pop foursome will take the stage at the M-Shop, the group’s favorite place to play, one last time together.

In preparation for graduation, Brad will be leaving second semester for an internship in Minnesota, signaling the end for the Ames band. But it’s something all of the members knew would be on the horizon sometime or another.

“We knew that Brad was going to leave for quite a while,” drummer Joel Nott says. “Nothing we can do; it kind of sucks.”

“We had fun, and Brad’s leaving, so that’s a good ending point,” bass player Yuta Naganuma adds.

When talking to Grubby Ernie or listening to their music, it’s obvious that fun is the No. 1 agenda. Their songs are based on things like friends, eating habits, and beer. Song titles range from “Donuts for Dinner” to “The Reagal Has Landed,” and their live shows feature appearances onstage by buddies, 40 ounce bottles of Milwaukee’s Best and punk rock covers of AC/DC.

“A lot of bands try to make money and don’t really focus on playing music or having fun,” Thoen says. “We’ll play a show one night at Supertoad for 600 people and then someone’s basement party the next night for four people. It doesn’t really matter as long as you’re having fun.

“Some bands will only play certain bars and won’t play others because they are too small or they don’t have a good enough sound system or don’t get paid enough money,” he adds. “But when it comes down to it, we’ll pretty much play anywhere.”

“We just wanted to have fun and play gigs for beer and all of that,” Naganuma says.

“If we can’t get paid, we might as well get beer,” guitarist/singer Matt McClurg says.

When the band first started, there really wasn’t a punk scene in central Iowa. So instead of playing with fellow punk rockers, Grubby played with metal bands such as 35″ Mudder. They released a split seven-inch single with Mudder and another one with Deadront.

Sometimes hardcore metal fans and punk/pop music can be a recipe for disaster. But more times than not Grubby Ernie was able to pull it off quite nicely. Looking back, Nott still can’t quite figure out how the band was able to do it.

“I’m not real sure how we used to do that,” Nott says. “I guess we didn’t really care. Maybe that was it.”

“The people that are there and actually appreciate music are going to like a lot of styles of music,” Thoen adds. “If it’s people there that just want to beat the crap out of their football buddies, then we don’t really care if they like us or not.”

Thanks in part to Grubby Ernie, central Iowa has indeed started to develop a punk/ska scene over the last couple years. Groups such as the Mediocre Superheroes and the PE AllStars are starting to make big names for themselves around Des Moines and Ames.

“We all think the world of Grubby Ernie when it comes to music, a show, partying or just having cool guys to hang out with,” says Greg Tratchel of Oogies Boys.

Oogies Boys and Shiloh Church will be opening Saturday’s show. “If it wasn’t for the guys from Grubby Ernie, Oogies Boys wouldn’t have gotten where they are today,” Tratchel adds.

The final show will also feature a couple special treats for fans. First, the band will have a new record for sale the night of the show that was recorded in September. Unfortunately, the money being spent for the cover art of the record sucked up the money that the band was going to use to buy beer for the fans. Second, Grubby Ernie will pull out all the stops by pumping out two 45 minute sets of punk rock.

“We’re going to play pretty much everything we have ever written,” Thoen says.

So what’s next for Matt, Yuta, Joel and Brad? Each would like to continue to somehow stay in the fold of music. Don’t count out the chance that the remaining three members might do something together, but it’s not set in stone right now.

So with the last show only two short days away, a mixture of feelings runs through the minds of a band who didn’t even expect to make it this far in the first place. One thing is for certain though, with their onstage antics, colorful personalities and the desire to have fun no matter what the venue or crowd size is, Grubby Ernie has left a mark on the central Iowa music scene that won’t soon be forgotten.

“We didn’t give a shit about anything else besides playing and having fun,” Naganuma says.

“A fun band, out to have fun,” Nott adds. “That’s all it ever was.”