Deep in California's Inland Empire, the ska-punk outfit Voodoo Glow Skulls coalesced during the late '80s as a Hispanic-tinged quartet rooted in hardcore. The founding lineup featured the Casillas brothers—Frank handling vocals, Eddie on guitar, and Jorge on bass—alongside drummer Jerry O'Neill. After several years of garage rehearsals, the group broadened its roster and sonic palette by adding a horn section that included saxophonist Joey Hernandez, trumpeter Joe McNally, and trombonist Brodie Johnson. By the early '90s the expanded ensemble had established itself as one of the West Coast's most distinctive ska-punk acts.
The band issued a pair of 7" singles before delivering its first full-length, Who Is? This Is?, on Dr. Strange Records in 1993. Extensive national touring followed, both independently and alongside the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, leading to a 1995 contract with Epitaph Records. That same year the group released Firme, issued in both Spanish- and English-language editions—a distinction that set Voodoo Glow Skulls apart from the swelling ranks of regional ska-punk ensembles. Baile de los Locos arrived two years afterward, succeeded in 1998 by The Band Geek Mafia. Following a main-stage appearance on the Warped Tour, the band returned with Exitos al Cabron in 1999 and Symbolic the next year.
Voodoo Glow Skulls then moved from Epitaph to Chicago-based Victory Records for the 2002 album Steady as She Goes, whose murky production—overseen by the members themselves—drew criticism from reviewers and listeners. October 2004 brought Adicción, Tradición, Revolución, another self-produced effort whose crisp sonics and skacore approach were welcomed as a welcome return to form. Retaining its core roster aside from Joe McNally, who departed in 1999 for a day job, the band delivered its eighth studio album, Southern California Street Music, in September 2007.
