For the spunky ska-rock band No Doubt, 1996 has been a great year. And at the same time, a lousy year.

Before No Doubt's show on Halloween at the Bren Events Center, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tom Dumont, guitarist of No Doubt, and ask him some questions.

Despite the O.C. band's recent success, co-founder Eric Stefani says leaving it two years ago was the right thing to do.

No Doubt bass player Tony Kanal is hesitant to describe the off- stage persona of frontwoman Gwen Stefani.

California has a hidden ska ... No Doubt, reports Barry Divola.

The Yanks resdiscovered ska at exactly the same time they discovered No Doubt. A creepy coincidence or what? Stefan Herrick looks into it.

What do you do if you’re called on to play rock, punk, reggae, and ska with only a year and a half of drumming experience to draw on? If you’re Adrian Young, you simply “go with the vibe.”

Tom Dumont sits in the shadow of the Magic Kingdom, talking about Tragic Kingdom, and suddenly things take a turn toward the surreal.

Like many guitarists who first answered the call in the early Eighties, No Doubt's Tom Dumont, 28, was initially drawn to the musician's life by the made-for-adolescence battle cry of heavy metal.

If there was any question whether No Doubt is among the most in-demand acts in the increasingly competitive alternative-rock radio format, just listen to bassist Tony Kanal tick off the Anaheim, Calif., band's itinerary.

Lint asked me to go on-line and talk to my good buddy Tom Dumont and get the latest about what's going on with the band at the moment.

Tony Kanal fainted a few months ago when he went to have his nose pierced. That didn't make headlines. Not so his band. No Doubt are big print.

Playing out for eight years has paid off for No Doubt, the band that has "Just a Girl" for a lead singer and a hit record called Tragic Kingdom. Founded in 1987 in sunny southern California, No Doubt was strongly influenced by Madness, and the ska roots are still in the band’s music.

Based on its Top-40 hit, "Just a Girl," No Doubt is a post-grunge ska-New Wave band. Simple enough, right?

No Doubt is a band that is in demand. That kind of thing happens when you've got a hit single ("I'm Just a Girl"), your video is playing on MTV all the time and you're touring arenas with one of the biggest alternative bands of 1995 (Bush).

Tuesday night, almost nine years to the day since that first gig, No Doubt came home to the big time - playing a sold-out concert at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim.

Tony Kanal, bassist of the band, which also includes guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young, says it took three years for "Tragic Kingdom" to come out, because the band and the label weren't seeing eye to eye.

The guitarist and his ska-infused new wave band No Doubt are enjoying the rising popularity of their first mainstream hit "Just a Girl."