The Atomic Fireballs, an octet that specializes in eclectic jump and swing, is hotter than jalapenos in August.

The group is currently working on its debut CD, which is expected to be released in May on a major record label. The band is also scheduled to perform on the Midwest leg of the WARP Tour this summer.

Not too bad for a group that has only been together two years.

As vocalist John Bunkley proudly stated in a recent phone interview, “Word of mouth has been very good.”

Indeed. Bunkley recalls playing hundreds of sold-out shows across the country. At all of these shows, word of how good the group is preceded the group’s own publicity.

It’s a rare thing when a group that has only been together for two years can command such attention, especially without a record label deal or an independently released CD.

Yet that is exactly the position that members of The Atomic Fireballs have found themselves in.

Chalk it up to a live performance that is second to none, one that is guaranteed to make you dance so long and so hard that by the end of the group’s set, you might just be forced to sink or swim in your own sweat.

“We’ve been playing out for about a year in the Midwest,” Bunkley said. “I think it’s been going very well. The Midwest seems to really get into the spirit of what is going on. It’s an area that is filled with people who come to the shows to dance and have a good time.

“We’ve played a lot of gigs on the West and East coasts,” he added, “and playing there just doesn’t compare to playing in the Midwest. It’s like the people on the coasts are afraid to start dancing because they might not look cool doing it.”

If Bunkley has learned anything about cool, it’s not how to act cool (he is naturally and effortlessly cool, and it isn’t an act), but how to stay cool in the face of a challenge.

For instance, take the group’s gig at the M-Shop this weekend. The place is going to be packed with major record label suits that are considering signing the group to a multi-million dollar deal. Doesn’t this make Bunkley nervous?

“Not really,” he said. “I’m not intimidated by record labels. I know that a lot of them are looking at us, that they are scouting us out. But that doesn’t make me feel any more nervous than I usually would before a performance. Getting signed by one of those labels may or may not happen. It’s too early to tell. But either way, I’ll still continue to play music because it’s what I like to do.”

Bunkley acquired his love of music by listening to the stuff that his parents and grandparents played when he was a child in Detroit. He was particularly inspired by jazz, blues and soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and, later on in life, John Coltrane.

“Our music basically takes elements from the music that inspired us when we were younger,” he said, “and mixes it up with some of the later forms of music — like ska, reggae and b-bop.”

But although the group’s music is a joyous celebration, things aren’t always as easy as Bunkley would like them to be.

“Organizing practices is the hardest part,” he explained. “We have to revolve around everyone’s schedules, and that can get difficult sometimes. But we all have the same goal, and that is to write and play good music. That’s what it’s all about.”

Bunkley insists that touring with seven other people isn’t nearly as difficult as everybody assumes it is. “It’s just more people to hang out with. It’s a bigger party,” he said.

The Atomic Fireballs will be bringing its scorching performance to the M-Shop Saturday night. Tickets for the 9 p.m. show are $8, $6 for students.