First of all, the definitions of “we” and “the office” tends to mean Joe the news editor sent out a link for a band to a couple coworkers. Some write back saying “they rock!” while others elect to disagree in silence and delete the message.

Anyway, we (*cough*) were first tipped to the band through a podcast called the “40 Year Old Boy,” where comedian Mike Schmidt gushed about Rock Sugar for a good 20 minutes. Who the heck are these guys?

It’s a mashup thing, and there are great mashup bands out there (The Bee Gees heavy metal cover band Tragedy comes to mind). But Rock Sugar has two unique things going for it – one, a singer named Jess Harnell who can mimic James Hetfield and Steve Perry in the same song and, two, a surprisingly professional music video and Web site.

Most of the time, these equal major label backing. Yet, their record is sold only through the Web site (it’s not even on iTunes) and there is no publicist to be found, and we don’t have any representation for agency or management in our system. And they only have one date on the books – in Elgin, Ill. And it appears their biggest press date was an interview with a reporter in Boise, Idaho.

What we DO know is the band is basically an L.A. outfit called Loud & Clear going in a new direction.

Hey, maybe they’ll call in and we can straighten it out.

Click here for the podcast where Mike Schmidt talks about Rock Sugar.

Click here for the Rock Sugar Web site.