Yeah, that’s right. The name of the group is FatKid Dodgeball! Hilarious yet just weird enough to hint at a deeper meaning. But besides ambiguous and catchy names, rock bands have a few other things in common:

1. Rock music is making one hell of a comeback right now.
2. Despite the overwhelming abundance of rock bands in the Glass City, I’ve never once reviewed any act such as this.

Don’t sip that haterade just yet though. Even though I write for the best African American Newspaper in Toledo, I don’t think it’s written in stone that I only review Hip Hop & R&B. You know? Why even front, I know plenty of ya’ll out there love ya’ll some Green Day, Foo Fighters and Kelly Clarkson (the “Breakaway” Kelly Clarkson, not the post-idol Kelly Clarkson).

Before Jay Z and Linkin Park collaborated on their multi-platinum mash-up, urban artists have always defied being held to one audience. Mos Def, Public Enemy, and De La Soul (peep the Gorillaz “Feel Good Inc.” video) have made no bones about showing the world how Hip Hop and Rock make perfect mates. But beyond the commercial or experimental reasons some of find when it’s time to venture outside of Hip Hop & R&B, sometimes all you need is good music to sway you. And just like in our world, much of the most compelling rock music can be found in the underground/independent scene where tons of hungry bands build massive followings while gaining the momentum needed to get them to the next level. Fat Kid Dodgeball gets my attention first and foremost because they’re an Ohio act. Straight outta Columbus (a.k.a. the place Toledoans go to find jobs), FatKid Dodgeball have much more than a buzz. Brian Frank, Brian Turnball, Casey Potts and Jon Lawrence might just be the next big thing. When they perform at the Columbus Block Party later this month, you can rest assured that fans they’ve earned in Cleveland and smaller Ohio cities will come from far away to hear them. I checked out their website and these guys seem to have all the necessary ingredients for getting to that proverbial “next level”. But one thing counts more than all I’ve said so far, the music.

As much as I like shaking things up in my column by throwing ya’ll a curve ball, it won’t mean anything if the music isn’t good. I’m not a metalhead or anything, but I do get a jones for some loud guitars once in a while. Besides yo, how much Webbie and Ying Yang Twins does it take before you eventually just ignore radio altogether for a few weeks – feel me? So with that said, lets’ see what this little 5 song sampler has to offer.

The first joint is “Ohio Skies” and ya’ll know I’m loving the title already. It has breakout hit written all over it. If you don’t usually listen to this type of music, the grungy guitars and frenzied pace might just sound like a bunch of noise…but anyone who knows good rock when they hear it will notice that the lyrics are actually just as sweet as the music is hard-edged. Remember how Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8ter Boi” had the dope story line that just tied it all together? Well keep that in mind when listening to this brilliantly written tale of how pursuing dreams in the music biz leaves an estranged lover crying alone. “Do you ever think of me, just to pass the time? Praying it would last forever, underneath Ohio Skies. I hope that you’re happy now. I hope all your dreams come true. Do you ever think of me now, cuz I’m thinking about you” – that’s the chorus. And if the lyrics don’t get you, the music certainly will.

Brian Frank is the lead vocalist and he truly makes you feel the emotion in the words. But if you just wanna feel the music, check out how Jon Lawrence puts it down on the drums. He’s a beast, for real.

“X Mas Lights” starts out just as endearing lyrically as it becomes clear that FatKid Dodgeball are some rockers who are very comfortable dealing with matters of the heart in their material. If “Ohio Skies” is the high-energy break-out single, then “X Mas Lights” would definitely be the mid-tempo ballad and possible 2nd or 3rd single. The slower tempo doesn’t decrease the group’s intensity one bit, it just involves you more in the mood of the song. Seriously ya’ll, all of the blues fans reading this might wanna check this group out just for this song. “Your Heart” is a masterpiece. This track will make you wonder how much longer it will be before Fatkid Dodgeball are standing shoulder to shoulder with Maroon 5 and Bowling For Soup. This is some of the best independent material I’ve ever heard, in any genre. I won’t even waste any more time in telling ya’ll that you should find a way to cop this. I mean it yo, “Your Heart” already had two great songs before it and when most locally/regionally released E.P./sampler’s start to go wrong – they make the 3rd joint their most convincing evidence of their impending stardom.

I can hear this on a soundtrack or something, this is much bigger than garage band rock but when you look at the members of Fatkid Dodgeball they seem like down to earth cats who might rock out in somebody’s garage if they felt the urge.