This iPod Shuffle has eight legs, and it's called Whole Wheat Bread.
At least that's how Aaron Abraham describes his genre-bending Jacksonville band, which will make an appearance at 1982 Bar tonight.
Whole Wheat Bread, which released its first album in 2005, blends punk, rock, reggae, rap, dance and crunk to create what they call "dirty south punk rock" music.
According to Abraham, Whole Wheat Bread's singer and guitarist, the band gets its eclectic sound from a barrage of influences from Wu-Tang Clan to Green Day.
"We try to be anything-everything," Abraham said, referring to the inability to peg the band into one genre.
The band's early 2009 album Hearts for Hoodlums opens with "Bombs Away," a rap-punk hybrid track with a heavy political message.
"Their guns are firing/Bombs away," the chorus says. "The shrapnel falls like stars/ It washes away who we are."
But with just one track as a buffer, the chorus of the upbeat party tune "Girlfriend Like This" professes, "I don't care if it burns when I piss/ I ain't never had no girlfriend like this."
The mix, Abraham said, is what makes it easy for fans to connect with Whole Wheat Bread.
"One day a person could want to party," he said, "and they next day have a political discussion."
Abraham said the atmosphere at the shows can get a little wild, earning the band "high-security" status at some venues.
"We've got some crazy stories," he said.
But Abraham said no one should feel shy about coming to a Whole Wheat Bread show.
"We're not racist. We're not sexist. Everybody just does their thing," he said.
"Everybody from hardcore hood rappers who've never been to a rock show to typical beach kids," Abraham said to describe his audience. "Even senior citizens will be out there sometimes."
Gainesville is nothing new for Whole Wheat Bread-Abraham said the band has been stopping in Gainesville for years on its tours, which have included big-name artists like Rancid and the Bouncing Souls.
"We were playing in Gainesville before we were any type of band with a name or a reputation," he said.
For Hearts for Hoodlums, the band collaborated with rappers MURS and Lil Jon, as well as Dropkick Murphys frontman Mike McColgan.
The album has been on the shelf since January, and Abraham said the band is already working on a new record.
"It'll be the same kind of style but more mature," he said, adding that Whole Wheat Bread has gathered a solid fan base in its nearly 7 years as a band.
"There's still people who haven't seen us or heard of us," he said. "But we use the opportunity to bring them in."
The show will be at 1982 Bar at 8 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $10 at the door.
