Rufio, with Senses Fail, Don't Look Down and Autopilot Off

While stuck-for-an-angle rock writers proclaimed that pop-punk had run its course in 2003, the kids are proving them wrong, again. Case in point: Rufio. Yet another barely-out-of-high-school quartet from California, the band steadily sells out its high-energy gigs, fueled by the 2003 album MCMLXXXV. Rufio's members -- including drummer Michael Jiminez, who has more talent than the rest combined -- are already grizzled road veterans, despite being barely old enough to shave. Rufio just finished a U.K. tour with the Offspring that included a broken-down van and blood-spurting injuries (bassist Jon Berry needed stitches after clobbering himself in the head with his guitar). As for their music, Rufio plays songs with titles like "Dipshit," complete with typically contradictory emo lyrics; e.g., some suggest suicide might be okay, while others urge kids to quit whining about their mall-rat existences. They might be talking about one of their fans, who had this to say on one of several fan sites: "I love Rufio. I have a boyfriend, I'm 14 and, um, I'm a loser." You go, girl.