“No Intention has existed as an entity since 1995,” says band guitarist and vocalist Jed Dion.

Despite the longevity of its name, the Western Mass. punk group—which also features Craig Rivest (drums), Josh Thomson (bass, vocals) and Wayne Versace (guitar, vocals)—didn’t settle on its current lineup until 2002. That was the year that Versace joined the band, after Dion wanted to hear what No Intention’s material would sound like with two guitars.

Prior to Versace’s inclusion, the band had gone through several incarnations, beginning initially as a cover act featuring Dion’s brother on drums before progressing to a punk- and ska-influenced unit that strove, according to Dion, to create “two-minute songs, played at a blistering pace, about love, politics, and mundane things that I could relate to, which I never heard on the radio.”

Mission accomplished. Tracks like “Olivia,” “Get Off My Lawn,” and “Youth vs. The Town” speak to the above credo with catchy choruses and lyrics that seem like the distilled words of a bored young man who likes to goof off and rage against the machine in equal measure. And this apparent duality is no accident. In fact, if you ask Dion, the urge to have fun while making music has been there from the start.

“When No Intention first formed in 1995, we went through the lengthy process of trying to come up with a name,” he says. “After trying out a few that didn’t quite fit, we came up with No Intention. The name was supposed to express the playful nature of the band. We were playing for fun. We didn’t have a plan laid out about what we were going to do, or how we were going to do it. We were just looking forward to the next time we could play our songs for people. It sounds rather simple, but I think it’s why we still continue to play. It’s still fun.”

And crowds who get to see No Intention live also get to see this freewheeling spirit in action. The group has become known for performing energetic shows that include a lot of jumping around, making silly faces, and plenty of jokes.

“You won’t get a lot of swearing while we’re on stage, or any audience abuse,” says Thomson. “We’re a very polite band. And we’re always on time. We’re very punctual. I guess that’s not very punk rock.”

As for future plans, No Intention hopes to play a few shows here and there. But the group’s main focus will be recording a new album, which it hopes to have out by this summer.

Versace says, “We are about to head into the Yucky Studios in Springfield to record our latest full-length album. The album is currently untitled. I guess we are just waiting for inspiration to hit us. We hope to have it out sometime this summer accompanied with a big CD release show.”•

For more information on No Intention please visit www.nointention.net.