All that's the warm-up for the band's ambitious 20-shows-in-20-nights tour of the West in support of their most recent CD, "Destroys All Monsters!"

"We're not expecting to get signed or get famous from one tour, but it's something that I've wanted to do since I was 14 or 15," guitarist and lead singer Dave Conway said. "It's going to be like punk rock summer camp."

The day after the VFW show, Conway and bass player Ryan Sotomayor fly to Seattle to pick up their Econoline rental van. Drummer Walker Janelle and guitarist Nick Parmentier show up on July 16.

The band has wanted to tour since last summer, and began preliminary research once it was clear "Destroys All Monsters" would be complete by Christmas.

Bass player Ryan Sotomayor used to live in Portland and Idaho and did much of the work researching venues and connections through MySpace.

They've also sent out 60 press kits, hoping to attract the attention of a small label or perhaps even someone with CD distribution connections.

Most of the shows are at all-ages punk houses. They haven't asked for any money at the venues, outside of a couple of bucks at the door for gas. The only thing they want from each town is a working PA.

They haven't heard any of the bands with which they're sharing bills.

"People write us back and say, 'Are you sure you want to play with these guys? They're a metal band,' or 'They're a hardcore band,'" Conway said. "Well, whatever. Who wants to go to a show and see three bands that all sound the same?

"We're going to be playing to kids that want to see this kind of music, that are hungry for it," he said. "We want to play for the same kind of kids that come out for our shows here. If they like what you do, they tell everyone they know about it."

The band plays its first show on the night of July 16 at The Green House in Seattle. The next night there's a show in East Vancouver at the Alf House, a punk house with a barbed-wire fence separating it from the neighbors.

From there, they head through Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Idaho, before returning to Oregon.

"We've got it to where I don't think we're driving for more than six to eight hours," Conway said.

The band has 21 songs on its set list, just two of which are covers. They play "Dream Lover" by Bobby Darin; and "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," not the Ramones song but the 1978 track by The Rubinoos (www.myspace.com/rubinoos).

The response to "Destroys All Monsters!" has been mostly positive, with the exception of a review in the legendary punk zine "Maximum Rock'n'Roll."

"Only buy this if you don't have anything from an Alaskan label and you are trying to collect things from all 50 states," the review said. It also credits the band for making the pop-punk band Lagwagon sound like the gutter-punk band Poison Idea.

"(MRR) they kind of have their niche. You know what to expect," he said. "I definitely didn't expect a good review from them."

"We're not the Minutemen, and we're not trying to be," Conway added. "If you come to the shows or you see us, we're doing exactly what we want.

After the tour, who knows what's next?"

Conway is moving to Phoenix to work with his brother in the mortgage business. Sotomayor plans to relocate to Portland. Janelle will be living in Idaho. Parmentier will be teaching in Juneau.

Conway plans to build a studio in Arizona, and the band hopes to keep things rolling by sending each other tracks and getting together whenever possible.

"I'm not concerned about getting rich, but if you have money you just have a little bit more freedom to do your hobbies," Conway said. "My goal is to be able to play music for as much of my life as I can.

• Korry Keeker can be reached at 523-2268 or korry.keeker@juneauempire.com