What was at first a glow-in-the-dark skull necklace hanging around the rear-view mirror of a car is now a band with a mixture of ska, punk, metal and Latin influences.

The Voodoo Glow Skulls is a band of old and new chapters, starting with its upcoming album, Southern California Street Music, to be released Sept. 18. Long-time fans and new listeners can expect the same unique and original style, said vocalist Frank Casillas, as well as “”more songs and lyrics about what’s going on in the world.””

The album took VGS more than a year to record, as the band took breaks between tours in South American and Europe to gather in guitarist Eddie Casillas’s home studio.

Compared to the band’s first two albums, 1993’s Who Is, This Is? and 1995’s Firme, the upcoming album has a more mature sound and lyrics, Frank said.

“”This album is another chapter in the book,”” he said. “”We aren’t adolescents anymore, and our songwriting has matured.””

When VGS started out in 1988, the band featured a predominantly rock sound. But after being urged to add horns in 1991, the band became a lot more receptive to different forms of music, Frank said.

“”We all had open minds to what our music could be and were open to experimenting with different sounds,”” he said.

Another significant change is that this album is the group’s first to feature no songs in Spanish.

“”There is still a lot of Latin influence in the music,”” Frank said.

The band wrote, recorded and produced the entire album itself, as it did with two other albums, Frank said. He added that after years of touring and recording albums, VGS finally took control, and people paid attention.

“”What’s cool is that we can do mainstream stuff, which hasn’t affected our credibility at all, because everything comes back to the band,”” Frank said. “”We are doing everything on our own and keeping the band alive.””

Voodoo Glow Skulls performs Friday night at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave. Doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $12 at the door.