Scan through the clippings in Triple Fast Action’s press kit and it would appear the Chicago foursome is trying to market its songwriting ability.

Quotes like “Not since Cobain have we seen such an unassuming songwriting genius as Wes Kidd” and “Deceptively hooky power-pop songs that often extend into escapades of battling power-chord guitars” stand out like a milk mustache on Dennis Rodman.

But after talking with Kidd about his heavily-hyped ability to write irresistible pop-punk tunes, it is clear the band is more concerned with playing music than marketing it.

“To be honest with you — writing music is a mystery to me,” Kidd said Monday from his “shitty” apartment in Chicago. “I don’t know how it happens. Sometimes it’s by mistake — I’ll play a bad chord and it sounds good.”

Kidd even admitted to writing many of his songs after long nights of drinking. “I record them on a cheap cassette and listen to it the next morning,” he said. “Most of the time it’s crap, but sometimes there’s a gem.”

One of Kidd’s gems came out of a fight he was having with his girlfriend a few years ago when the singer/guitarist was in L.A. producing a record for Jimmy Eat World.

“She was feeling really lonely and giving me tons of shit,” Kidd explained. “But she was forgetting that I was alone too. So it’s almost a love story, but I do a pretty good job disguising it.”

The tune eventually became “Cattlemen Don’t,” the title track off Triple Fast Action’s sophomore release.

Kidd began his musical adventure when he learned to play the drums in grade school. In junior high, Kidd hooked up with Brian St. Clair, who was also a drummer, changed over to guitar and formed Political Justice? (“with a question mark,” Kidd insisted.)

It was then when Kidd began writing music.

“I have been doing rock ‘n’ roll forever,” he said.

Kidd and St. Clair have been in bands together since and were the founding members of Triple Fast Action.

“[Our experience together] makes it so easy,” Kidd said. “He knows exactly what I am thinking — there’s never lost time.”

Triple Fast Action formed entirely in January of 1993, when Kidd and St. Clair invited the bass player and guitarist from the Chicago band Wood to join them.

While Kevin Tihista is still pounding away on his bass with the band, guitarist Ronnie Schneider left late last year when he decided he no longer wanted to tour.

Triple Fast Action immediately looked to Chicago native and tourmate Scott Lucas, one half of Local H, to fill the vacancy.

“It is empowering to have him with us,” Kidd said. “He is a road warrior — I don’t know how he does it. He was touring eight or nine months before Local H’s record broke and then went another year and a half once it did. He’s going to lose his mind.”

Kidd said Lucas also brings a lot of laughs to Triple Fast Action road trips. “He is a lot of fun,” Kidd said. “He just wants to play, he doesn’t care about anything else.”

Although Lucas has been an added attraction, Kidd insisted the band has been drawing decent crowds since it first formed, much to do with his many years in the Chicago music scene.

“Our fans are showing up at our shows with kids,” Kidd joked.

Although he laughs about it now, there was a time when Kidd worried about losing his fanbase in Chicago.

During the great Chicago band breakout of a few years ago, when Veruca Salt, Fig Dish, Hum and Local H were signing contracts with major labels, Triple Fast Action was offered a deal from Capitol Records to release the band’s debut.

“We had the record done a year and a few months before Capitol decided to release it,” Kidd explained. “They put out a single and it didn’t fly. So they wanted us to just sit back and wait another six months before they would put out the next single.”

But Kidd and his cohorts were eager to tour and requested to leave the label. After getting denied once, the band and the label were able to work it out.

“After we left Capitol, we were worried all of our fans would say ‘who gives a shit about them — they failed,'” Kidd said. “But they were even more supportive of us. It made me feel kind of glad that we stood up for ourselves.”

Triple Fast Action is currently shopping for labels for its second record, but Kidd insists the band won’t be back with Capitol and he won’t be moving away from Chicago.

“I love it here,” he said. “And we’ve been very happy with Deep Elm (the indie label which released “Cattlemen Don’t”). We’re still gaining a bunch of new fans so it proves you don’t need a big label to make it.”

Triple Fast Action will be playing at The M-Shop tonight at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5, $4 for students. The band will also be playing live on Lazer 103.3 at 3 p.m. today.