When Mike Britson, more commonly known as “Rug” in the Ames music scene, first met Jim Schloemer, he didn’t like him. Not at all.

“We didn’t hit it off right away,” Schloemer says.

Schloemer, senior in architecture, was trying out for the vocalist slot in Rug’s band at the time, but Rug, junior in journalism and mass communication, thought he was cocky and egotistical.

The second time Rug saw Schloemer, he was on stage playing with the Mediocre Superheroes, a now-defunct ska band, and decided he wasn’t such a bad guy after all, or at least that he could deal with his ego, Rug jokes.

That was about two and a half years ago.

Now they’re not only bandmates in local band Lesser Known Saint, but housemates as well. As they sit in the living room of their house finishing each other’s sentences and jokingly making fun of each other, its hard to imagine the two of them not getting along at one point in time.

“I’ve been dating Jim on and off for a few years now,” Rug jokes.

In all seriousness, Lesser Known Saint has been around for about four months.

The group consists of Schloemer on guitar and vocals; Rug on guitar; Sam Wong, senior in electrical engineering, on drums; and Ronnie Sidharta, graduate student in computer science, on bass.

In the time the members have been together, they’ve only played four shows.

Schloemer has been an important cog in the Ames music scene for more than four years now, and says it’s always hard to find local shows, but even more so for Lesser Known Saint because of the group’s style of music.

“As far as what we have to contribute, there aren’t many places we can play,” he says. “It’s not something where we can stroll into the Boheme where people are drinking coffee.”

Lesser Known Saint is one of the few hard rock, metal-influenced bands in an Ames scene full of punks and indie rockers.

“The actual music we produce is really eclectic,” Schloemer says.

“We pull a lot of our song structure from straight-up hardcore.”

Not conforming to standard song structure, employing many tempo changes and not being afraid to use what sounds right rather than what’s commonly utilized has made Lesser Known Saint a unique Ames entity.

“We try not to put any restrictions on it,” Schloemer says. “We try and keep ourselves on our toes as much as possible.”

Though feedback has been positive, Rug says the band never really expected anyone to like the music at all, but then again, they aren’t in it for the fans.

“When it comes down to it, we make the music for us,” Schloemer says.

“Yeah. We’re selfish,” Rug jokes.

With radio airwaves soaked with songs about heartbreak and girls, Lesser Known Saint has taken on a political role instead, creating music that deals with social issues like affordable housing or homelessness.

“We didn’t want songs about, ‘Oh, you broke my heart,’ ” Schloemer says.

“Sappy songs,” Rug interjects.

“I think we have a lot more to say than ‘That bitch broke my heart,’ ” Schloemer continues.

“He meant that in the nicest way possible,” Rug explains.

Instead, Schloemer hopes people who come see Lesser Known Saint will hear something they might not have been exposed to.

“We’re at least attempting — and this is going to sound clich‚ — to offer something unique,” Schloemer says. “In all honesty, unless you’re familiar with our direct influences, you’ll probably hear something you’ve never heard before.

“We’re taking our influences and channeling them through our music to people who may not otherwise have heard that music.”

Snatch an exclusive MP3 — “Apartoplayourself” — by Lesser Known Saint.