Alex Kapranos (first from left) with the rest of Franz Ferdinand. (Handout)

TORONTO -- Alex Kapranos is what you might call a well-rounded individual.

When not touring the world as the frontman of Franz Ferdinand, the singer dabbles in carpentry and gardening in his free time, and has a resume that lists stints as a chef, welder, music promoter and even a chainsaw-wielding maniac at a haunted house.

Yes, you read that last one right. It paid him about $5 an hour.

So, it's no surprise that when touring mate and Green Day drummer Tré Cool asked him to attend a Padres-Cubs baseball game in San Diego last summer, the Scotsman wasn't afraid to try something new.

"I knew it was guys with a stick hitting a ball and the other guys trying to catch it... but actually, during the game I realized the emphasis was more on hot dogs and lager. I love both those things, so I was up for it."

This fun, up-for-anything attitude is something the band - comprised of Kapranos, drummer Paul Thomson, bassist Bob Hardy and guitarist Nick McCarthy - has infused into its adrenaline-laced tracks and electric live shows, something the pop punk veterans in Green Day wanted a piece of.

For two weeks in August, the bands toured North America together, with Franz playing the supporting role. While the end result was a lot of fun for both bands, Kapranos admits he had some reservations about playing to a Green Day crowd.

"I kind of thought they were going to make it quite hostile because I thought their audience would be different from ours, and I was quite surprised and quite shocked to realize how into it they were."

It might have been a surprise to them, but the band is no stranger to winning over fans. Back in 2004, Franz Ferdinand was embraced by both club-goers and frat boys alike after the hit "Take Me Out" created a stir on both sides of the Atlantic. The track, like many off the band's eponymous debut album, mixed dance-friendly beats with head-banging guitar riffs.

While the band brought a more rock-focused sound to its sophomore album "You Could Have It So Much Better" in 2005, Kapranos and crew couldn't stay away from the beat for long, and when it came time to record latest album "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand," they found themselves drawn back to the dance floor.

"We've always been into dance music. We've always wanted to kind of mix that together – what we like on the dance floor with being in a rock and roll band," says Kapranos, sporting a blond pencil-thin mustache. "I guess we just kind of went back to the dance floor and that meant giving the lead lines to the bass. I think it's the bass that really moves you on the dance floor. The bass and the beat."

Even with all the extra bass, "Tonight" leaves room for something sweet with the acoustic "Katherine Kiss Me" – a song that was originally the balls-out single "No You Girls" but splintered into the two completely different tracks. Kapranos believes these odd connections between songs are what make the idea of an album more special than downloading one or two tracks from iTunes.

"It's good to have musical themes that return from time to time across the space of an album, which is something that isn't really appreciated as much nowadays. (An album) can be seen as a complete piece of music… It's not just about 2 ½ minute songs."

Currently touring Europe, the quartet will head out to South America in the New Year before capping off the tour in the Dominican Republic. The travelling will hopefully keep the ever-busy Kapranos occupied – one of the reasons life in a rock band keeps him from getting bored.

"If anything is repetitive and doesn’t require much thought, of course, you get bored by it. When the job stays tough and challenging, that's when it stays interesting."