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The alternative rock quartet Jimmy Eat World are the golden little indie rock band that could. The Mesa, Arizona band are more comfortable in sweaters and thick-rimmed glasses than flashy leather jackets, and their tuneful approach to loud guitar music has won them a devoted fan-base that they built from the ground up. The band-Jim Adkins on vocals and rhythm guitar, Tom Linton on lead guitar, Rick Burch on bass and Zach Lind on drums-took their outlandish name not, as one might assume, from lead singer Jim Adkins but rather from Tom Linton's younger brother Jimmy, who often fought Tom for last helpings at dinner when they were little. The childhood friends were inspired by the local indie rock community and bands like Fugazi and Sunny Deal Real Estate who were blending punk's ferocity with a more traditional singer/songwriter's sincere, thoughtful lyrics. The genre eventually became known as "emocore" or just "emo." After touring small venues across the country, Jimmy Eat World caught the attention of Capital Record exec and key rock scenester Gary Gersh, who'd formerly worked with Nirvana. He signed the band and they recorded their debut album, Static Prevails. The introspective debut was a solid effort but had limited pure pop appeal. Rather than demand the impossible, the savvy Gersh allowed the band to release a series of lo-fi singles through various indie labels and keep building support by touring. Their 1998 album Clarity was a textured set of fast jams mixed with droning sonic epics. The single "Denver Mint" did surprisingly well on rock radio but Gersh was fired and support for the band was pulled. But on 2001's Bleed American, Jimmy Eat World tightened up the production and hit a home run with the catchy singles "The Middle" and "The Authority Song."

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