Poptart Monkeys have been around for a while, and with a new lead singer and a new CD, the band is looking to expand its audience.

While the band's latest disc, Secret Decoder Outfit, sells up and down the East Coast, Poptart Monkeys are staying pretty close to home, playing at 10 p.m. tomorrow at The Last Cowboy, 1521 Martin St.

"People were coming in and asking for them," said Jean Bobeck, coordinator for Localeyez for FYE stores. "That makes me put a band into the store quicker."

Localeyez gives independent bands the opportunity to sell their music in FYE and other Trans World stores like Strawberries and Coconuts across the country. So far, copies of Secret Decoder Outfit have sold in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida --places the Poptart Monkeys play semi-regularly.

"We try to put [the CDs] in areas where they play. They've sold over the minimum in the past two weeks that we've had the CD," Bobeck said.

The minimum for Localeyez bands to stay in stores is selling ten copies each month -- even though that may not seem like a huge number, Bobeck said the band is a relative success.

"They're doing really well for an independent band," she said. "They're now a national band as far as our program is concerned, because they're selling in more than one region."

Poptart Monkeys bassist James Balogach is happy to be part of Localeyez, but said some confusion with the band's distributors and release dates may be keeping sales somewhat low.

"Honestly, we're selling more at shows," Balogach said.

In addition to performing all over Pennsylvania, the Poptart Monkeys have played in places such as Key West, Fla., Little Rock, Ark. and Panama City Beach, Fla. The band was also in the 2001 through 2003 Vans Warped Tours. Poptart Monkeys gets some help in going to new areas from another program for emerging bands, Budweiser True Music Live.

True Music Live sponsors local bands and DJs across the United States much in the same way it sponsors national acts like Limp Bizkit, contributing money for recording sessions, airing radio spots, printing posters and helping to schedule the band in unfamiliar markets.

"It helps a lot, especially when we're performing out of state," Balogach said.

While being sponsored by a beer company grabs some attention for the Poptart Monkeys, the band's name got some attention of its own in the late 1990s. Kellogg's has contacted the band multiple times, trying to get the Poptart Monkeys to change names. The band hired a lawyer and escaped a lawsuit, but still the suggestion of being sued by the huge corporation garnered a lot of attention.

"Someone said it was on the BBC wire, but that didn't seem realistic," Balogach said. "When you get an e-mail from someone in Brazil, you start to believe it."

Name issues aside, Poptart Monkeys have gotten some flak from local fans recently. When the lead singer suddenly left, the band brought in Tyson Clark to fill the opening. Balogach said Poptart Monkeys have not really changed since Clark came into the picture, because most of the songs for Secret Decoder Outfit were already written when he joined. This is just the latest in a series of personnel changes for the band.

In Secret Decoder Outfit, Poptart Monkeys is trying to solidify its style, which has been varied in the past.

"We're trying to get to more of a one-sided style, and this album is the closest we've gotten yet," Balogach said. "Some people simply categorize it as modern rock, some power pop-punk, and one or two tracks are a little heavier."

Regardless of the Poptart Monkeys' newly condensed style, The Last Cowboy owner Fred Sahakian said the band is always popular when it plays.

"They're an excellent band, and people love them," Sahakian said. "They're not just musicians, they're showmen, and they put on a good show."