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"It's just a silly song, but it's one people always want to hear," says guitarist/singer Dan Lukacinsky. "We're probably not going to be playing it every day."
The Detroit quartet included the tune in their 1996 debut, Destruction by Definition, and since appeared on four editions of the Vans Warped Tour. Now with two more albums to their credit, it isn't often they can fit The Vans Song into a 30-minute set like the one today at Race City Motorsport Park.
"Half-hour sets are great because you can get out there and destroy yourself without worrying about the pace too much," Lukacinsky says.
"Just go nuts and have fun. If you're playing an hour, you have to worry about keeping your energy level up. With a half an hour, you can just play your best songs."
Choosing the Suicide Machines' best material is a contentious issue these days.
"I've seen kids being all like, 'Oh, we don't like this song, so we're not going to dance to it,' when we play something off the new record," Lukacinsky reports.
"Then we play something off Battle Hymns and they're going crazy!"
Fans have been treated to a remarkable progression through The Suicide Machines' three albums. Destruction By Definition introduced the Machines as a ska-punk outfit in 1996; 1998's Battle Hymns turned the tide toward punk more than ska, and their third, self-titled disc is -- dare we say it? -- a complete departure.
A casual listener would be forgiven for thinking Battle Hymns and The Suicide Machines were recorded by two separate bands. It cannot be attributed to the addition of drummer Ryan Vandeberghe alone.
"Jay (Navarro, vocalist) and Royce (Nunley, bassist) have started writing a lot more and that's a good thing," Lukacinsky says. "You can definitely tell stylistic differences between songs by who wrote them."
The Suicide Machines contains a pop single Sometimes I Don't Mind, which has joined Blink 182 on U.S. radio charts; features strings on Extraordinary; and echoes The Ramones during Permanent Holiday.
"A lot of people who dug Destruction By Definition didn't like Battle Hymns because it was too hard. That's going to happen with this record," Lukacinsky admits.
"A lot of people who were into Battle Hymns won't like (Suicide Machines) because it's not hard enough. But, whatever.
"If somebody's going to stop coming out to see us because we make a record that's a little different then, hell, what are you going to do?"