When Chad Curtis founded The Saltshakers back in 2002, the result was a power pop band perfectly represented by its debut album, "Poptastic," a pithy piece written around girls, booze and the love of rock and roll.

Seven years later, as Curtis and company release their fifth album, "Lights Out," not all that much has changed (save the lineup) -- and that's a good thing. The Saltshakers is still a pop band. A damn good pop band.

OnMilwaukee.com caught up with frontman Curtis to talk about his band's relationship with Milwaukee, which has lasted the better part of the last decade, and how his definition of fame has altered over the years.

Plus, find out why he's calling himself the worst musician in his own band -- and is happy about it.

Then again, that's just his opinion. You can decide for yourself at The Saltshakers' record release party at the BBC, 2022 E. North Ave., this Saturday, Oct. 3.

OnMilwaukee.com: It's been seven years now since the world first heard you sing with The Saltshakers. What do you see when looking back over the years playing music here in Milwaukee?

Chad Curtis: I miss a lot of the bands that were around when we first started in 2002. There's a lot of talented bands in Milwaukee right now, though, so I think a lot of it is just nostalgia. I guess I'm just really happy that I've been able to continue playing music this whole time. We've had some lineup changes but it really hasn't been all that difficult to keep moving forward and I'm thankful for that. I miss Carolina and The Obsoletes but The Nice Outfit and Heathrow are still going strong. I miss The Globe but Turner Hall is now having great shows that would've been at The Rave until recently. My only hope for improvement is to somehow strengthen the all ages scene here. The Miramar is a great venue but it's just too expensive for a lot of bands to rent out.

OMC: If there were an award for "Most Consistently Pleasant" Milwaukee band, we think you guys would be high on the nomination list. What's your secret to keeping simple pop melodies fresh as you navigate through life and its influences?

CC: Ha, thank you for saying that! I try to write honest music that isn't contrived and that's about it. I don't think too hard about it. I used to sit down and say, "I want to write a hard rock song" and then I would struggle. I have tried to learn to relax and just let the music I'm going to write come naturally, and I think it's working. I realize that everyone is not going to be into our sound, so I don't try to write a certain type of song to please a certain audience. I write songs for myself now.

OMC: Two years ago I interviewed you about your latest release at the time, "Up All Night," an album you described as "pop music with guts." How do you describe "Lights Out"?

CC: "Pop music with more guts." I think "Lights Out" has more of an edge to it than "Up All Night" did. The songs rock a little harder but I think the hooks are still there. I also think the musicianship on this album is better than anything we've ever recorded thanks to the addition of Nick (Woods) and Jamie (Owart). They're both really great musicians and I'm very happy to now be the worst musician in my own band. They helped make these new songs a lot more interesting.

OMC: On that note, you said in that interview, "I think it's gutsy just to embrace the fact that you're a pop band. It's not exactly the trendiest sound to have when you're a band from the East Side of Milwaukee." Would you still say that -- even if the "popular" musical landscape has arguably shifted over the years from something much edgier to a full on embrace of the mellow country twang?

CC: It's very interesting to me how much things have changed since we started in 2002. When we started our band I think the hip thing was being in a dance or emo band and we never really fit in with those crowds. Now the kids are into the mellow twang and we don't exactly fit in with that scene either, even though I love twang as much as the next guy.

I still stand by what I said about being in a pop band, because I don't know if playing pop will ever be cool to some people. It may be because I started playing music when I was older (21) and didn't have musician friends until I made them later on... but I've never felt like we were a part of any type of clique or scene in Milwaukee even though we play a style of music that has been around for at least 50 years. We've never claimed to reinvent the wheel, we're just playing what we like to play and if anyone likes it, that's just icing on the cake.

OMC: What can you tell us about your label, Unreal Records?

CC: Unreal Records is just a new label I plan to release all future Saltshakers albums on, as well as anything solo that I decide to release. I might use the label to release some friends' music too if they ever became interested in that ... but it would be a very do-it-yourself situation.

Now that the Internet has changed everything, "getting signed" is not the answer. We didn't shop our new album around this time because I don't think a label can do anything for us that we can't do ourselves. I'm over trying to "make it." As far as I'm concerned, we've made it, and as long as this continues to be fun, I don't see why we'd change anything we're doing.

OMC: Where can Milwaukeeans -- and people all over the world -- buy your new album?

CC: You can go to our Web site -- thesaltshakers.com -- and buy the album through CDBaby.com for just $10. Everyone attending the CD release show this Saturday will receive a free copy.

You can catch The Saltshakers on the radio Wednesday, Sept. 30 on 91.7 WMSE at 1 p.m., and on Friday, Oct. 2 on WLUM 102.1 with Kramp & Adler at 9:30 a.m.