Tripmaster Monkey is back from the dead.

With the exception of a few special shows — including a performance at Rock Island Brewing Company’s 30th-anniversary fest in the summer — the alt-rock band hasn’t performed much since breaking up in 1997.

“We played [Rock Island Brewing] to 450 people, and it was great,” 39-year-old vocalist Chris Bernat said. He said the group got asked to do the concert in Iowa City because Sam Locke-Ward at the Mill heard they were back together. “He convinced us that there were still people out there who would remember us,” Bernat said.

Tripmaster Monkey will reunite at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Mill, 120 E. Burlington St. Liberty Leg and Samuel Locke-Ward & the Boo Hoos help to kick off the show. Admission is $6.

Locke-Ward, the Mill’s booking agent, said he thought Tripmaster Monkey would still be relevant to local audiences.

“I saw that [the members] were doing some reunion shows, and I thought people would love to see Tripmaster Monkey in Iowa City,” he said.

The group formed in the Quad Cities in 1987 and signed a two-album deal with Sire Records, a division of Warner Brothers, after putting out the 1993 EP Faster Than Dwight. Bernat was just 22 years old.

“It was just a stroke of luck that we … got signed,” he said.

In 1994, Tripmaster Monkey put out its first full-length LP, Goodbye Race. The album contains the catchy pop-rock song “Shutter’s Closed,” which the band released as its first single. The music video for the song consisted of the band performing in a skating rink.

“It’s pretty funny, because the band always looked younger than we actually were,” Bernat said. “We didn’t realize that filming the video in a skating rink would make us look like we were 12.”

The video was soon picked up by MTV. However, he said, having a video on the network didn’t change much for the band.

“I think [MTV] only played it probably like four times,” he said. “It didn’t boost sales or anything that I know.”

In fact, for Tripmaster Monkey, the music video was a sign of impending doom. Warner Brothers CEO Mo Austin soon retired, resulting in a lack of support for the band’s work.

“People were concerned about the new CEO coming in and firing staff and hiring friends,” Bernat said. “Everybody was told to work on things that were already established and making money. It was almost like our first album didn’t really come out.Once that happened, things got tougher, whereas before that, things were getting better. Then all of a sudden, we didn’t get our tour support, and then all of a sudden, the money is not there.”

Tripmaster Monkey broke up in 1997 after releasing the follow-up LP, Practice Changes. The band members went their separate ways, but none left music far behind.

Bernat went on to form Chrash, which recently got a chance to perform two shows with the Meat Puppets in Minneapolis and Chicago.

Ten years later, he said Tripmaster Monkey is excited about performing again. The band will keep playing the occasional show as long as it remains fun, he said, and the members may even consider writing new material.

“We’re in good shape, and we still can kick some ass,” Bernat said. “The upcoming shows should be a great time.”