Authority Zero is a band that doesn't give a lot of thought to product placement. Just ask AZ guitarist Bill Marcks. "A lot of bands would ask us, 'Where you gonna put your disc in the record store-is it gonna be punk or reggae or ska?' And that's not what we're about."

  Straight outta Westwood High School-the same Mesa, Arizona, institution responsible for Jimmy Eat World-Authority Zero started kicking out the jams in 1994 when Marcks met vocalist Jason DeVore and quickly learned that the Wyoming native "could write catchy songs in fifteen minutes with really sticky hooks." Next, the pair recruited bassist Jeremy Wood, who had actually taught Marcks how to play guitar (Stone Temple Pilots' "Plush" was his first lesson). A drummer or two later, Los Angeles transplant Jim Wilcox was a fixture behind the kit. "We're all from different musical backgrounds," Marcks offers. "I'm a Chili Peppers, Buddy Guy kind-of-dude; Jason's into SoCal punk; Jeremy's all about Metallica and Slayer, and Jim's into hardcore and Hip Hop." (Read More)