According to the public relations firm that represents the band, California punksters Strung Out are celebrating their 20th anniversary together this year. But drummer Jordan Burns said he’s “not counting.”

While Burns admitted it’s a “long time to be around each other, that’s for sure,” he also acknowledged he and the other Strung Out members are fortunate enough to still be “living the dream” of making music, performing and travelling the world.

“I personally myself still love playing live and feel really fortunate to be able to do what we’re doing,” he said. “When you think about how long we’ve been doing it — we’ve had a major amount of success.”

Burns chalks up Strung Out’s longevity to the fact that the band is still making music that people seem to enjoy. If the music didn’t live up to the band’s reputation, things would have fizzled out.

“I guess we’re doing the right thing,” he said.

Not only does the band boast a legion of loyal fans, new supporters are regularly added to the throng, Burns said. He’s convinced if more people were exposed to the band’s music there would be millions more converts.

“It’s a matter of getting people to hear it,” he said. “Knowing we’ve won someone new over — it’s such a great feeling.”

Strung Out fans old and new can help celebrate 20 years of hard rocking punk/metal when the band returns to Whistler for a show at Garfinkel’s on Friday (Aug. 27).

The band made its first Whistler appearance in May 2009, and Burns said he’s looking forward to playing in town again.

“I thought it was awesome last time,” he said.

Audience members can expect a mix of Strung Out material from across the 20-year spectrum, Burns said.

The band’s most recent album, Agents of the Underground, was released in September 2009 and has been hailed as one of its best offerings. Burns said there’s always a bit of pressure to deliver a better album with each new release, so it’s “pretty positive” to be getting such comments after so many years and more than seven albums.

“This record seems to have taken another bigger step with more positive feedback,” Burns said.

The title of the most recent offering speaks to Strung Out’s long existence and success as an underground band on an independent label. Though not a mainstream household name, the band boasts a worldwide fan base and more than a million records sold.

Strung Out’s pioneering style of blending punk and metal has also found it listed as an influence for other bands.

When asked if fans have another 20 years of Strung Out to look forward to, Burns said it might be a bit more realistic to ask whether there’s another five years ahead for the band.

“I would hope so,” he said. “I don’t have any thoughts or inclinations of giving it up or quitting.

“I’d like to do it for as long… as we can keep making good music and everyone’s having some sort of a good time at least.

“Live it up while we can because it ain’t going to be forever.”

Hear, hear.

Live it up with Strung Out on Friday (Aug. 27) at Garf’s. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the show gets underway at 8:30 p.m. with opening sets by Rufio, We Are the Union and Mute. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at Garf’s, Billabong, Katmandu and online at clubzone.com.