by Lauren Gitlin

Los Angeles band Rooney (Robert Carmine, Taylor Locke, Matthew Winter, Louis Stephens, and Ned Brower) may be young, but they kick out the jams like rock & roll vets. Their bouncy, quirky pop songs cover territory as vast and varied as nervous breakdowns ("I'm Shakin'"), true love ("If It Were Up To Me"), and fortune-telling ("Sorry Sorry"). But while their guitar-driven retro-rock may inspire pogo-ing around your bedroom-and maybe even some embarrassing air-instrument usage-their lyrics are clever beyond their years. Says lead guitarist Locke, "We wanted to put something out there that could potentially be mainstream, but also had a sophistication that was lacking on the radio and on MTV. We were basically disappointed in modern rock."

So in 2000, in classic DIY form, the high school chums began making sweet music of their own. Rooney succeeded in filling the void they saw in pop music, merging imminently likeable melodies with cheeky, smart lyrical content. (They even managed to take a playful jab at some of the very pop icons they deemed less than stellar-check the aptly titled "Pop Stars"). Three years later, they saw the release of their critically acclaimed debut album, and soon found themselves touring with indie-rock heavyweights the Vines and Weezer.

Rooney are musicians first and foremost, but they wouldn't be true to their L.A. roots without a smidge of Hollywood glamour. Frontman Carmine not only happens to be the younger brother of actor (and former Phantom Planet drummer) Jason Schwartzman, he also appeared in 2001's "The Princess Diaries." And all five members landed on "The O.C." during its first season, performing two songs from their self-titled record. A week after their TV appearance, Rooney's already popular album sold 10,000 copies-an almost 300% increase. Plus the album rebounded back onto the Billboard Top 200 chart, holding its spot for sixteen weeks. Talk about star power!