New York-based buzz band Cute is What We Aim For is getting back on a tour bus and hitting the St. Louis area on Wednesday.

The band previously played here in November, a night lead vocalist Shaant Hacikyan remembers well.

“Two of our crew members ended up spending $700 at a strip club,” he said.

The band, which also includes guitarist Jeff Czum and bassist Dave Melillo, has had a string of good fortune lately. The band’s second album, Rotation, entered the Billboard 200 at No. 21 earlier this year, and the band’s been steadily touring in support of the album ever since.

“It’s gotten to the point that when we’re home, we’re not home,” Hacikyan said. “One morning, you’ve got palm trees. The next morning, you’ve got snow.”

Hacikyan said he is happy with the reaction past tours have gotten from fans.

“We’ve been extremely lucky,” Hacikyan said. “[The last tour] was everything we could’ve hoped for. Audiences are really responding.”

Their current headlining tour, the 2009 Take Action Tour!, is a benefit tour raising funds for www.dosomething.org.

“We were looking to do a tour, and the Take Action one just screamed at us,” Hacikyan said. “They are encouraging kids to actually do something for their community.”

What appealed to the band about the tour, more than anything, was the unique opportunity to raise awareness about social causes.

“We’re on tour about nine months out of the year,” Hacikyan said. “Why wouldn’t we want to go on tour, make money and raise awareness? It was just a no-brainer.”

To prepare for the road, the band has been steadily rehearsing for the last few weeks.

“We’re doing a lot of rehearsals of old songs,” Hacikyan said. “We’re also playing around with old and new songs to give them a little twist.”

Hacikyan is quick to add, however, that Cute is What We Aim For isn’t interested in having every minute of the show scripted or thoroughly planned out.

In fact, they would just prefer to play it by ear.

“We just like to wing it,” he said. “We like to talk to crowds. We don’t want to be too polished a product. We just want to get up there and be the band you went to see with your friends in high school or college.”

The band has been just as influenced by the message of the tour as they hope audiences will be.

“[The idea behind this tour] prompted us to start our own charity, Cure is What We Aim For,” Hacikyan said.

Though the details haven’t been finalized, the band hopes to have the charity set up by next spring.

“It would kind of be, like, stabbing this tour in the back if we started talking about our charity right now,” Hacikyan said. “So, we’re waiting to pull it all together until the tour is over.”

Cute is What We Aim For will be playing at Pop’s Nightclub on Wednesday. The show starts at 8 p.m.

For more information about Cute is What We Aim For, including tour dates and merchandise, visit www.myspace.com/cuteiswhatweaimfor or wwwcuteiswhatweaimfor.com.