Behold, the power of the 'stache.

John Oates' mustache, that is. The singer's upper lip decoration, made famous by numerous Hall & Oates videos that dominated MTV airplay in the 1980s, is so iconic that it's got its own animated web series, "J Stache."

But here's the thing: Oates, who will headline the American Mustache Institute's 'Stache Bash benefit tonight downtown, hasn't had a moustache for almost 20 years. He shaved it off after playing a 1990 John Lennon tribute concert in Japan.

"Without getting too deep, I was going through a lot of changes then," Oates says. "Daryl (Hall) and I had stopped touring, we lost our manager, our whole business structure was falling apart. I was getting divorced. I felt like I needed to shed my skin and start over. The mustache kind of represented the old me, which I didn't want to be anymore. I know it sounds crazy, but maybe it's not."

What does sound crazy is "J Stache," in which Oates and his moustache are reunited to fight crime. Oates plays himself, while his 'stache is voiced by comedian Dave Attell. The series trailer can be seen at jstache.com.

"It's insane," Oates says. "Once I saw what they wanted to do, I jumped onboard."

Last year, Oates released his latest solo album, "1,000 Miles of Life," which features notable guest artists Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Steve Cropper and the Blind Boys of Alabama. This year, he reunited with Hall to promote their new box set, "Do What You Want, Be What You Are."

"We picked the songs; we looked at the various possibilities," Oates says. "It was very difficult to go down from 400 or 500 songs to 75 or whatever it is. I think the casual fan who just knows us from the singles and the hits, they're going to be very surprised, because there are some really adventurous and unique recordings. And the hard-core fans will embrace it."

Once regarded as a something of kitschy '80s artifact, Hall & Oates' music has undergone something of a reassessment in recent years, and more fans and fellow artists are declaring their unabashed devotion.

"There's a new generation of musicians and artists who grew up listening to our music, and (it's) become the roots of a lot of their sensibilities," Oates says.

"They're not afraid to tell their fans and the world that we influenced them and how important we were to them. All of a sudden, our music seems to be much more appreciated."