It has been 30 years since California punk veterans The Vandals started tearing up the Orange County scene.

But even though most of the band, consisting of vocalist Dave Quackenbush, bassist Joe Escalante, drummer Josh Freeze and guitarist Warren Fitzgerald, are now well into their forties, with marriages, children and day jobs that range from studio drumming to alcohol distributing, The Vandals still find time to come together to rehash old hits like “Oi to the World,” “Anarchy Burger (Hold the Government)” and “My Girlfriend’s Dead” for generations of fans.

“We do about 15 shows a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes way more,” said Fitzgerald in a sit-down interview with Hilltop Views at last weekend’s Fun Fun Fun Fest. “It’s like fishing buddies. We all have other things going on, [but] we get along, so that’s what it is. We’ve all known each other for so long, and there’s no real artistic tension because we’re not really artists.”

Fitzgerald said that while playing the old songs together is sort of like riding a bicycle, he also noted that riding a bicycle is much more difficult without practice.

“The bar is very low with punk rock,” he said jokingly. “Fortunately, we can play incredibly terribly and as long as something interesting happened, or it’s loud, then it’s fine.”

Fans who discovered the band in the 90s, when they really started to come into prominence on a national level, probably heard of them for one of two reasons.

The first reason was because of their drummer. Freese is one of the most well-known drummers in the industry. Beyond being a member of The Vandals, A Perfect Circle and Devo, he’s played as a studio drummer for everyone from Rob Zombie to Miley Cyrus.

The second, Fitzgerald, along with Escalante, is known for founding Kung Fu Records. The seminole nineties independent label is responsible for launching the careers of bands like The Ataris, Ozma and Tsunami Bomb.

Recently, the record label put out an album for the reggae-punk band Knock-Out, but Fitzgerald acknowledges that as the music industry changes, so does Kung Fu Records’ roll in it.

“It’s so expensive to manufacture a physical product when you don’t need to,” he said, adding that the way bands break has changed too.

Fitzgerald said that 12 years ago, The Vandals would take up-and-coming Kung Fu Records acts on tour to gain exposure.

“Well, now you could teach your cat to do something really stupid, and four million people could see it in no time,” he said. “So, it’s kind of changed the dynamic. We’re not as active with new acts; it’s [about] keeping the catalog out there.”

Even with a sporadic tour schedule, The Vandals have maintained a steady fan base, and it was evident all weekend at Fun Fun Fun Fest as dozens of people scurried around Waterloo Park donning T-shirts with the “Peace Thru Vandalism” album art, even if they weren’t yet born when the album was released.

The fandom reflects an ongoing effort on behalf of Fun Fun Fun Fest to keep the punk lineup solid, mixing contemporary acts with more seasoned ones. This year’s Festival saw The Vandals joining with other heavyweights like Bad Religion, The Dwarves, The Descendents, and the Casualties, on the black stage, which is traditionally reserved for punk and hardcore acts.

“They should call it ‘guess-what-decade-this-is’ stage.,” Fitzgerald said. “If you were to just read the list of bands that are performing, it could very well have been one of three, maybe four decades for some bands.

“We’ve played every type of venue and every type of scenario with The Dwarves and Bad Religion, especially,” he said, adding that what he was looking forward to most at Fun Fun Fun Fest was a chance to hang out with these old friends.