I Believe in Hotpants could have been any number of things. It could have been the droning chant of a diabolical religious cult, your mother's personal form of non-violent protest during the Cuban Missile Crisis, non-sensical jargon spat out by an internet slang generator, or a short-lived sitcom during the Must See TV years.

Fortunately, for all of us, it culminated in being a band creating music as unique as the band name itself. In other words, it's a delicious cultural exercise of "not judging a book by its cover." Because, I assure you, you'd never think of these fellows, or their music, as being a part of something with a name so seemingly ridiculous.

Mike and Kevin Moritz, guitar/bass/vocals/identical twins, are originally from the suburbs of Chicago. Armed with the secret knowledge of rhythm and melody, acquired by being musically raised upon a solid base of oldies radio, they started penning their own songs in their early teens. Later, they would spend the $4/gal gasoline years on the road with various indie-rock outfits playing to empty clubs with emptier wallets. Jim Benuska, whose nickname changes monthly, became really accustomed to hitting things after spending numerous rush-hours in both Chicago and San Diego. Transferring his ability from dashboard to drumset, he drastically increased the resale value of his car. Once they all converged upon Gnashville, they discovered each other through an extremely desperate Craigslist ad. After thoroughly humiliating their current percussionist (a drum machine), Jim joined the brothers as drummer. He was also good at alleviating the palpable stress of being an indie-rock band in the city of furry cowboy boots and designer flannel.

When a band comes from such DIY backgrounds musically and mentally, it's not really hard to grasp the idea of the music. Whether unplugged, electrified, screaming from the rooftops, or sitting Indian-style in the corner of the young-adult section at the used bookstore with ear-buds, this music wants your attention. By now, you're probably getting some grandiose imagery in your head, but that's a bit of judging a book by its cover, isn't it? The only solution is to actually listen. 10-4.