After three years of playing 250-300 sold-out shows a year and developing their live act into one of the best in the business, the Boston ska-punk band the Mighty Mighty Bosstones may finally find a place in the mainstream. Chalk it up to good timing. Just as a lighter ska sound has entered popular consciousness (thanks to No Doubt's multi-platinum success), the Bosstones are releasing "Let's Face It," their first full-length album since 1994's "Question the Answers."

On the new album, the Bosstones synthesize their rock-ska heart and bad-boy antics with the politics of dancing -- something the band has gradually developed since its appearance on 1995's Lollapalooza tour. Rolling Stone.com recently caught up with the band's plaid-clad vocalist Dicky Barrett and bassist Joe Gittleman on the eve of the album's release to discuss road rules, live shows and how the band tailors its music and message.

RS.com: You're known primarily as a touring group. After three straight years on the road, has the band developed any traveling habits or rituals?

Dicky Barrett: Well, certain things we have to do are different from other bands, most of which involve our suits and cleaner things, but mostly it's just move, move, move. We've leaned how to do it and we definitely get into routines when we tour, but we try to keep it fresh. We try to make every night an experience.

You performed most of the songs on "Let's Face It" for some time while on tour before heading into a studio. Did this material need to be fleshed out on the road?

Barrett: Well, the way we made the last two or three records was that we would only get into the studio on the few days that we'd have off -- it was more of a hit and run kind of thing. We're a really good live band, which might sound conceited, but that's where our efforts are directed. It's tough to record, and say that this is gonna be like our live show. You can't. There are other senses involved, things you've got to see. You can't see Ben [Carr] on the record, you can't see a guy completely going off with the trombone. That's live.

This album is sprinkled with little nuggets of wisdom like "A dime for a dozen if that's what you're after." Was there someone you knew when you were younger who would drop those sort of sayings into conversations?

Barrett: [laughs] I had so many. But I remember my brother, who is funny in so many ways that it's almost scary sometimes ... He would make up these expressions that would sound like they were the oldest things in the world, something that people had been saying forever, but they would just come right out of his mouth. And that's the way I like to write ... If I say something that's cliche, like "you can't get blood from a stone" in a lyric, then he'll be like, "No, no, no, come on, come up with some Dicky-ism." And that makes me go back and twist it into "you can't get any plasma from the brick," which he seems to like a little better.

Does the band call those lyrics Dicky-isms?

Barrett: No, I think that may be the first time I've ever called it that.

The band has been involved with a lot of charity and action groups, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the "Safe and Sound" benefit album and the Anti-Racist Action group. How did you get involved with those kinds of issues?

Barrett: I certainly don't know. It's not a flag we wave so we can say, "Look at us, we're extremely socially conscious." For example, we met ARA on Lollapalooza. They had a booth at the Columbus, Ohio, show and I talked to the people there and thought that they were really nice and really smart. They were doing things like confronting hate groups where they live, going to their alleys and hangouts. To me, that seemed really great. So the band decided to welcome the ARA to our shows because of that.

How does the band feel about being considered the elder statesmen of the current wave of ska music while upstart bands like No Doubt and Goldfinger are reaping the benefits?

Joe Gittleman: Young whippersnappers.

Barrett: Goldfinger actually are a great group of guys. When I met Goldfinger, which wasn't that long ago -- we played a show with them in Boston -- they kind of acted that way towards us ....

Gittleman: Yeah, they came up to us and were like, "'Devil's Night Out' is one of the greatest rock & roll records we've ever heard, blah blah blah." So, they were cool.

Barrett: And No Doubt has actually been around for quite a while. I don't know-- if it's true, then it's nice. We are elder and statesman h