Relentless stickering and guerrilla marketing have made Digital Summer one of the Valley’s hottest bands

"As a kid, if he skateboarded, a week later, I'm gonna be skateboarding. When I was 14, I bought a guitar, and was, like, 'Hey, show me some stuff,'" Ian says. "I think it was second nature, having an older brother to test the waters first for anything."

The pair couldn't stop "jonesing for something more" than saving lives and stopping fires, and got together for jam sessions, from which Digital Summer was born. They'd never collaborated musically before, but Larry Elyea says he was impressed with the results when he first saw the brothers perform in his Scottsdale studio.

"They definitely have a good dynamic and work very well together," he says. "Kyle's definitely the ringleader, and I'm sure it's challenging to have your older brother in your band and watching over your shoulder, but they definitely handle it well."

Elyea, who's worked with such marquee-level talent as Jimmy Eat World and Tech N9ne, was also blown away by the band's music during their first recording session.

"Even on their first demo, they weren't really like some rough band that needed a lot of work," Elyea says. "They already understood the fundamentals of songwriting and they made up their minds that they wanted to sound [like] commercial hard rock and approach it from that aspect. They already know how to write good songs that people want to hear."

Larry McFeely, program director for local radio station 98 KUPD, agrees, which is why Digital Summer's been featured on the hard-rock station more than any other local metal group.

"I think they have a sound that is unique. They have an appeal to them that other bands lack," McFeely says. "Not to sound like Simon Cowell or anything, but you either got it or you don't, and a lot of these bands that are sending out music and trying to get stuff played on our station, they're not able to pull it off."

MySpace is like the unofficial gathering point for Digital Summer's fervent followers, as the social-networking powerhouse is awash with loving shrines by their ever-growing fan base. (Current friend tally: 48,614 — more than the tallies for such Valley supergroups as Meat Puppets, JFA, and Phunk Junkeez combined).

These doting love letters include paeans to Digital Summer's CDs, requests to get drunk with the drummer, and the more insane devotions (the latest trend is getting tattoos of Digital Summer's logos). One 16-year-old Texan named Kimmi extols the virtues of the band's music and lyrics on her MySpace page devoted to the band.

"They DONT sing about sex or drugs or killing, most of all they DONT SUCK, thier [sic] music actually makes sense and have meaning and i love it!" she writes. "The best part is that mostly everyone can relate to it, i know i can."

Kyle considers the accessibility of Digital Summer's music as the band gets in a Saturday-morning nosh on the patio of Einstein Bros. in central Phoenix.

"Most of our songs are about the relationship bullshit that everybody goes through. I think that's a reason why our CDs do as well as they do and why people dig our music: because it's easy to relate to," he says.

Nodding his head while finishing a bite of his bagel sandwich, Ian comments further on the matter.

"What else are we gonna write about? We didn't have a rough childhood. We weren't born in the 'hood. We could be like Vanilla Ice and sing about life in the ghetto, even though we lived in Dallas."

"Although Fish [guitarist Johnmark Cenfield] grew up in Compton," Kyle quips.

"Crenshaw," replies Cenfield. "Get it right."

Another major subject couched between power chords and furious vamps in Digital Summer's dramatic discography is an angstful longing for getting to the next level in life.

"It's never too late and don't ever look back/'Cause there's no future in the past/If you want to change your life, I think you should know/The door is open but it's closing fast," Kyle sings between growling guitar riffs on "Now or Never."

He makes no secret that such yearnings are about getting Digital Summer to the next level, citing English poet Nan Fairbrother to drive the point home. "There's a quote that sticks with me: 'We are perverse creatures and never satisfied,'" Kyle says. "That's us to a T. We're constantly pushing for that next step with the band, whether it's getting signed or bigger crowds."

It's a push that goes on nearly 24/7, according to Cenfield. When band members aren't practicing endlessly, they're busy renting out local venues for gigs, mailing out merch, contacting media, designing flyers, or a hundred other tasks. Getting financial backing from such alt-friendly sponsors as Club Tattoo and Lithium Clothing is also a major focus, since it helps fund their massive live shows.

"There's so much going on that it wouldn't be possible if we didn't formulate it like a business and run it structured," Cenfield says. "There's never a day off, never a time we're sitting idle. If I don't get at least a text message or call from somebody in the band during a day, I feel like they're mad at me or something."