To say that Ames is familiar with rap-rock quintet Pomeroy is like saying Michael Jackson has had a little plastic surgery done — it’s a gross understatement.

Since the band first played in Ames about three years ago, it has logged more than 20 shows at People’s Bar & Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way, and has become a permanent fixture on the Ames music scene.

The band will come to Ames on Monday fresh off a concert run in the Southeast, which took the group to such musical hot spots as Austin, Texas, and Atlanta.

Tom Zmolek, owner of People’s, says the Pomeroy wildfire was lit the first time the band played in his bar.

“When Pomeroy started playing, there was a small crowd in here, and everybody started calling their friends,” Zmolek says.

“The street corner out at Welch and Lincoln Way was packed with people on cell phones going, ‘You’ve got to get down here to see these guys, they’re phenomenal.’ Pomeroy ended up playing two shows that night, and the second one was crazy packed.”

Nowadays, People’s is “crazy packed” every time Pomeroy plays, which is the main reason Zmolek chose the band to kick off the fall semester on Monday.

Zmolek equates the snowballing success of Pomeroy to that of 311, which was also once a People’s regular and also played at People’s on the first day of classes for a few years straight until it outgrew the venue.

But Zmolek thinks Pomeroy will be bigger.

“They pretty much have a line every time they play here, and they’re really a great band,” Zmolek says.

“They’re just ready to explode nationally.”

Emcee, lead vocalist and percussionist David Fairbanks says he never wants to outgrow People’s, but he hopes his band will eventually attract larger crowds than People’s can accommodate. After six years of Pomeroy, Fairbanks is ready to take the band one step further.

“We have been constantly progressing, but we’re at the point now where we’d like to see a little more money out of it, a little bigger touring schedule,” Fairbanks says.

“We want to keep doing what we’re doing, but we want to put a lot of effort into taking it to the next level.”

Pomeroy has shared the stage with a plethora of popular music heavyweights, including the Dave Matthews Band, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, Nelly, and yes, 311.

After playing at new, unfamiliar venues across the country, the Kansas City-based band doesn’t mind coming back to Ames. Fairbanks says he’s always excited to return.

“It helps that we’ve played there a few times because people know you,” Fairbanks says. “We see [coming back] as more of a chance to hang out with the people we’ve gotten to know.”