They may hail from the Beatles' birthplace, but Liverpool's the Dead 60s have declared a moratorium on classic-rock recycling. The foursome -- singer-guitarist Matt McManamon, 22; bassist Charlie Turner, 22; guitarist-organist Ben Gordon, 24; and drummer Bryan Johnson, 23 -- is working overtime to turn 1979 into your favorite year, busting out old-school ska-inflected punk that'll make you dust off your porkpie hat. "Liverpool's a bit obsessed with the Sixties, what with the Beatles and Merseybeat," says Turner. "We didn't want to do that."

Apparently their kill-your-idols attitude has paid off: After a spot opening for Garbage on their U.S. tour, the band will join the Warped Tour this summer. Formed from the rubble of two feuding high school rock bands that they're quick to dismiss ("Everyone's got to be in some kind of a dodgy band the first time round," says McManamon), the Dead 60s met up in senior year to pursue their mutual interests: underage drinking and the dub-reggae stylings of King Tubby. "We were into the Clash, who had a reggae influence," says Turner. "We got into it through them."

Last summer, the 60s hit the studio with producer Central Nervous System, whom McManamon describes as "a mad character -- like a white Lee Perry," and began recording their debut, a rough-and-ready mix of jittery guitars, echoey horror-show organ and city-wise lyrics documenting life in Liverpool: girls, pub-crawling and rebelling against the Man. "They do ska and punk on the West Coast of America, but that comes from living in California, where it's hot, happy and nice," says Turner. "We're from Liverpool, where it pisses down half the time."

Their twitchy, foot-stomping single "Riot Radio" is currently causing a ruckus on alternative radio stations nationwide and recently premiered on MTV2 and Fuse. Just don't confuse it with the similarly titled "I Predict a Riot," by fellow English rockers the Kaiser Chiefs. "They ripped us off!" yells Gordon. Adds Johnson, "Our single was released first in the U.K., so there."