Gordon Gano is no stranger to a stage.

Whether it's playing acoustic guitar on the streets of Milwaukee, Wis., for curious onlookers, or playing it in front of 500,000 people at Woodstock, the lead singer of the Violent Femmes said he still feels comfortable performing anywhere for fans.

And at 1:30 a.m. Sunday on the HUB Lawn, Gano will bring the band famous for its rock anthems -- including "Blister In The Sun" and "Kiss Off" -- to play at Penn State.

"Very few people get to have the experience of performing on stage," Gano said. "It's kind of humbling in a way."

It's been 20 years since the release of Violent Femmes, the only album ever to achieve platinum status without ever appearing on Billboard's Top 200 chart, and people who were not even born before 1982 still know and sing the songs made popular by college radio.

"The popularity of that record has definitely gone from one generation to another," Gano said. "People still like to hear those songs. [The songs have] sounds that really grab people."

After the album's release, the Violent Femmes continued to make music while riding a roller coaster of popularity, especially during the alternative music scene of the early 1990s.

Although many people wouldn't be able to pull Gano out of a lineup, few fail to recognize the name of a band some believe to be a group of radical feminists (ask a parent or grandparent about the band).

"We thought we were going to be either a lot more popular or a lot less popular, not this very strange middle ground," Gano said. "We thought we would be like the next Beatles and be acknowledged like them."

Created at a time when punk music and new wave was making its way out of the New York club CBGB's to the rest of the United States, the Violent Femmes were a small group from Milwaukee consisting of Gano on guitar, Brian Ritchie on bass and Victor DeLorenzo on drums.

Drawing inspiration from bands such as Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers and Television, the Violent Femmes went about trying to create a simple sound of acoustic guitar with a punk edge.

Even though Gano and the rest of the band grew up at a time when music was changing its pace and sound, he said growing up in middle America was not the driving force behind the music.

"What differences there were in Wisconsin are very minimal to other places in the United States," Gano said. "I always thought the kind of music we play would have been exactly the same in any other place in the country. It would have been the same if we would have met or lived anywhere else in America."

But the sound the Violent Femmes did create resonated among certain circles of music connoisseurs, especially students in college.

When they released their first album in 1982 it received almost immediate play on college radio and spawned songs many people still sing by heart.

"I have a sense that the first few times I heard people singing our songs at concerts it was amazing," Gano said. "When you go into a small town with a college, especially a town you never heard of and there's people who know your songs, it's kind of like a miracle."

Songs like "Blister In The Sun," "Kiss Off," "American Music" and "Dance, M.F., Dance!" remain favorite tunes people attending a show yell out and request.

Despite creating some of the songs two decades ago, Gano said he feels privileged to play them for excited fans and even looks forward to them. When he's not on stage he said he blocks the songs from his thoughts."

"Even though we play certain songs we've easily played 2,000 times, it still feels fresh to play them because of the energy in the crowd," Gano said. "The audience makes the music feel very alive."

And perhaps it is the live show the Violent Femmes perform that has garnered its loyal following of fans. Gano said much of the unusual instrumentation used in concerts comes from Ritchie. It was Ritchie who came up with the idea to play the digeridoo after touring through Australia.

Fusing together a high-energy show coupled with humor and a unique sound, the band continues to tour and perform in unique venues.

Perhaps the most unique venue the Violent Femmes ever played was Woodstock '94 in front of an estimated 500,000 fans.

Gano said it was amazing to look over a crowd and see a sea of people, but it didn't make the band any more nervous.

The Violent Femmes happened to be a late addition to the concert billing, which turned out to be a seminal concert for early 90s music.

"With a lot of our best gigs we weren't originally invited," Gano said. "Then we get the call at the last minute."

Even though the Violent Femmes have not released a new album since 1999, the band members continue to play and record music.

Gano is releasing a solo album in August called Hitting the Ground, featuring other artists such as Lou Reed, P.J. Harvey, Frank Black and They Might Be Giants.

He's been working on the album for the past few years, playing most of the instruments on the album and doing vocals along with the other artists.

"I don't think I've ever done anything I've been more proud of," Gano said.

With the Violent Femmes going into its fourth decade of existence, the band remains a popular icon in music, something Gano is happy he could accomplish.

"I'm glad music is something I can make a living from," Gano said. "It's really an amazing thing to do."