Go ahead and bring your skanking shoes to NextDoor tonight, but don't be surprised if a mosh pit breaks out during the Aggrolites' headlining set.

Jesse Wagner, left, and the Aggrolites make their Hawaii debut tonight at NextDoor.

View Large Version >>

When the Los Angeles-based reggae quintet touches down in Chinatown, they'll bring with them a unique style that blends punk-rock attitudes with a sound normally associated with roots music. Local bands Go Jimmy Go and Black Square will serve as the night's opening acts.

Aggrolites lead singer Jesse Wagner checked in with the Star-Bulletin last week as the band made its way to a concert in Berkeley, Calif. They arrive in Hawaii after playing more than 150 shows this year, and plan to do it all over again in 2010.

QUESTION: How did you come up with the band's name?

ANSWER: There's a ton Fake Cosmetic bag Handbags of stories, but pretty much the name fits the style of music (we play). "Aggro" is a popular word that was used in the late '60s on a lot of ska songs.

Q: Listening to the new album, however, makes me wonder how much of a ska influence there is to your sound.

A: That's just because people don't know the difference between ska and reggae. I think we're more of a cross between old-school reggae and ska with a soul influence. We call it "dirty reggae" because we're doing our own thing. We're not on any bandwagon of someone else's.

Q: It seems like 2009 has been all about touring for the Aggrolites.

A: This summer we did 12 weeks straight. We did a lot of festivals in Europe, Japan and the U.S. We started off in Europe but also made it to Russia and Portugal. (We also visited) Brazil this year, in April.

Q: "Dirty Reggae" came out in 2003 and was followed by your self-titled album in 2006. Why the three-year gap between the debut and sophomore release?

A: It took some time to get known, to get recognized. In 2003 we were doing everything on our own. Then
embroidered patches we got our contract with Hellcat to do three albums.

Credit: By Jason Genegabus