Jukebox heroes

A new band came through L.A. this weekend with a name that caught my eye: Comic Book Heroes played their very first West Coast gig at a showcase last night at the Knitting Factory. The band is four young Philly guys (all 14 or 15 years old, in fact — geez, I’m getting old; I have concert T-shirts with more years than that). They’ve built quite the following back home and they’ve caught the ear of Nickelodeon with a music video they did for “Jack’s Big Music Show.”

I dropped by their website and their MySpace page and they sound pretty good. And Fall Out Boy has already shown that using a cape-inspired name can lead to big things, right?

Anyway, I called up Dana Gordon, the publicist for Comic Book Heroes, and put the question to her: Are these guys true comic-book geeks? And if so, who are their favorites? The answer came back quick. And, if these guys become the Next Big Thing, please remember you read about them here first:
Ned (lead singer): “Batman because he's an ordinary guy that does amazing things.”
Collin (drums): “Ghost Rider is my new favorite, definitely! Skulls, flames, motorcycles … that rocks!”
Sam (lead guitar): “Captain America because he represented the spirit of America and good morals.”
Steve (bass): “I'd have to say Aquaman because I've always had a connection with sea creatures.”

I heard Led Zeppelin once had an unusual connection to a sea creature — a mud shark to be specific — but these guys are way too young to hear that story....
-- Geoff Boucher