Bobble Tiki gets very little respect — wherever he goes. At the office, Bobble Tiki is the lovable butt of all jokes. Whenever a Weekly Volcano writer wants to make a wise crack about public drunkenness, or boxed wine, or AA, or anything related to alcohol or being old, Bobble Tiki is the natural target. Bobble Tiki assumes it just goes with being the only island-themed souvenir on the Weekly Volcano’s writing staff.

At home, Mrs. Tiki owns Bobble Tiki. While neither Mrs. Tiki or Bobble Tiki wear the pants in the relationship (because we both wear grass skirts), Mrs. Tiki is definitely in charge. When Bobble Tiki spends the weekend on the couch, you better believe he hears about it. When something needs to be fixed, Mrs. Tiki doesn’t even think to ask Bobble — because she knows he wouldn’t know a C clamp if he stubbed his Tiki toe on one. Whenever Mrs. Tiki talks about Bobble with her friends, the conversation always begins with rolled eyes.

But Bobble Tiki has learned to live with all that. He’s an adapter, not a fighter. People have come to expect very little from Bobble Tiki, and Bobble Tiki has decided to embrace it.

Seattle’s Dragstrip Riot, who will play Hell’s Kitchen Tuesday, Aug. 5 with headliners .357 String Band, has chosen a different path. Frontman Knuck, who Bobble Tiki caught up by phone earlier this week, is something like the cowpunk Rodney Dangerfield. Even though his band, who recently went through a drummer change that’s affected Dragstrip Riot’s work schedule, hasn’t put out a record in more than five years, Knuck says fans of his band are “rabid,” and through relentless gigging and hell-raising Dragstrip Riot has managed to stay relevant. Though the music media in Seattle doesn’t pay much attention to Dragstrip Riot, according to Knuck, fans of good old fashion rock and roll do.  Those who don’t take note are forced to.

“Our presence is strong in Seattle. We’re loud. If a door is closed, we’ll knock it down,” says Knuck. “We want to shove it down people’s throats.”

That might sound a bit extreme, but there’s a chance you just might like having Dragstrip Riot shoved down your throat. If guitar licks could smell like gas, so would be the case with this band. Dragstrip Riot is the very definition of high octane rock and roll. A Bo Diddley and Social Distortion-inspired medley of spilled beer and cigarette burns, Knuck, along with bassist Nils Scurvy and new drummer Mooney, are take-no-prisoners type rockers, and their amped-up rockabilly is an offshoot of that approach. It’s also infectious and hits you harder than hundred proof bourbon.

If you’re the type of person who likes hundred proof bourbon (or hundred proof anything), chances are you’re the type of person who will like Dragstrip Riot. You, as they say, are the band’s demographic.

“We’re like rockabilly that got older, pissed off and turned into cowpunk,” says Knuck. “Our core fan base is a little nuts, and they drink a lot — like us.”

While it’s been five-plus years since Dragstrip Riot released an album (2003’s self-titled debut) that’s about to change. The boys have a Jack Endino-aided effort, which Knuck calls a “definite rock and roll album” in the can and ready to press. The band plans to do just that by the end of the year, taking the masses by storm when they do.

“Working with Jack was one of the greatest experiences of my life,” says Knuck. I told him I wanted thunder drums and guitar that will rip your face off. (The new record) is way more go for your throat than the last one.”

“It’s going to be a rebirth for us once this record comes out,” continues Knuck. “We’re still vital and still have a big presence. We can still play.”

Yes Dragstrip Riot can. Hell’s Kitchen, and everyone on hand, will get a chance to see just that on Tuesday, Aug 5.

In case you thought, perhaps, things had changed — they haven’t. Bobble Tiki still doesn’t know you, and still doesn’t care to know you — unless you can tell him why no one around Weekly Volcano World Headquarters was interested in one of the Wapato Lake fish sandwiches he brought for lunch. Unless you can provide answers like that then Bobble Tiki’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to meet you. Check out www.weeklyvolcanospew.com for all your South Sound blogosphere needs, and consider that close enough. If you got any closer you could see Bobble Tiki is crying on the inside.

[Hell’s Kitchen, Dragstrip Riot, .357 String Band, Total Wreck, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 9 p.m., no cover, 3829 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]