Zebrahead is definitely an Orange County success story. The band has survived the local music scene – from ska-pop to emo-rock – but never compromised itself, staying true to its original sound. Zebrahead gained popularity during the peak of the pop-punk-ska movement of the mid-’90s. With so many of the other bands that didn’t make it through the ’90s, who would have thought that these five dudes from La Habra would still be rockin’ today and be more solid than ever.

Zebrahead is off from touring for the rest of this year and is playing its annual hometown show this Saturday at the House of Blues in Anaheim, with fellow Orange County band, Bullets and Octane. “I absolutely love playing the House of Blues because it’s the hometown crowd and it’s like a giant party for us,” bassist Ben Osmundson said.

“One thing about Zebrahead is that we like to drink and party and that entire second floor of that venue is like a bar so it’s perfect to grab a drink after the show and hang out with old and new friends.” The guys in the band met while attending Sonora High School in La Habra. The guys were all in different bands that shared the same rehearsal space. They got tired of every other band trying to sound like the Offspring, left their respective bands and formed Zebrahead in 1996.

They needed a band name in a hurry and since one of the guys had just watched the 1992 Oliver Stone flick, “Zebrahead,” the name stuck. “I didn’t expect us to still be around,” Osmundson said. “We came up with the stupid band name because we didn’t think it would matter. Looking back now, I think we could have thought of something a little better than Zebrahead.” Zebrahead’s music isn’t rocket science.