Few bands can say they've been together for decades, so it's impressive that New Jersey punk band the Bouncing Souls are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. It's even more impressive when you consider that they're not exactly rolling in piles of money like other steady punk contemporaries.

That's not to say the band isn't popular -- they've toured around the world, released several respected albums and have a legion of diehard fans. "We are a successful band on one level and in some ways we're barely keeping afloat," frontman Greg Attonito tells Spinner. "We were talking with the Circle Jerks about being in a punk and of them said, 'Yeah, it's a great way to not make a living.' It says it all, really."

To celebrate the milestone, the New Brunswick-based band decided to release a new album in an unconventional way. Beginning in January, they began digitally releasing songs from their '20th Anniversary Series' on a monthly basis, collecting them quarterly on 7" vinyl EPs via their record label, Chunksaah. "It seemed like it would be fun because, without having any money for marketing or advertising, we would be able to expand the awareness of the record coming out," Attonito says. "When a record came out, it used to be an event. Nowadays, when you release one, it's on everyone's iPod mixed up with all the old songs within a week. So this has helped us."

As for the band's ability to stick together, Attonito says it hasn't always been easy -- especially when the band split with original drummer Shal Khichi in 2000 -- but they've figured out how to cope. "There's the drive, the music, the uplifting feeling that we get from performing, creating and sharing the music with the audience," he says. "All the relationships we've developed drive us through all the financial crap and long hours of travel and being uncomfortable and away from people we want to be with. It's what we do. It's what we were born to do. It truly is great."

Beginning Thursday, the Bouncing Souls are playing two shows each in New York and Philadelphia, and are selling posters for the Shirts for a Cure breast cancer charity. The current '20th Anniversary Series' tracks are available here.