The last thing Steve Brown wants people to think when they hear his band’s name is that they are clueless.

As frontman of Johnny Clueless, Brown has definitely got a firm grasp on reality.

“We want people to remember what they saw and what they heard. We’re a pretty tight and solid rock band,” Brown said. “Our name goes along with all the Gen-X, MTV-watching, Nintendo-playing Surge-drinkers. It’s a pun on the clueless generation.”

Johnny Clueless has only been moving up since it formed over six years ago. Cranking out praiseworthy albums like a factory and touring practically nonstop has earned the band a reputation for being one of the best bands Minnesota has to offer.

Brown is in tune with why his band has been receiving such attention.

“We have a lot of heart,” he said. “We don’t trash hotel rooms; we don’t get wasted and beat people up. We have a commitment to the audience.”

The commitment shows in the amount of records the indie band has sold. To date, the number tops 28,000, and that figure only includes the first three albums. Brown now has his sights on what it will take for Johnny Clueless to be a platinum-selling band.

“It’s gonna take a serious manager or a big deal to come our way. We just try to play as diligently as we can,” Brown said. “It’s like a lottery. You pay your dues to the big rock lottery in the sky. It’s definitely a gamble.”

Brown is overjoyed with the outcome of Johnny Clueless’ latest album, “What’s Your Flavor,” the band’s fourth.

“By far this is my proudest songwriting, band, studio effort ever, and we haven’t been going that long,” Brown explained. “It’s more rocking, more clear cut. We cut all the fat out.”

Besides the music, Brown is also proud of the cover art. It features a Japanese girl with Japanese writing sprinkled across it that gives directions on how to open it, among other things.

He got the idea from looking at imports in a CD store. He said he was searching for something that wasn’t “Western” looking.

Brown primarily has one thing in mind that inspires his songwriting. He said an interview from the Beatles Anthology sums it up best.

“I thought it was noble and silly at the same time when Paul McCartney said, ‘I can’t think of anything more normal to sing about than love,'” he said.

A lot of his songwriting influences include Elvis Costello, Michael Stipe and Neil Finn. He said he likes the nontraditional style of Stipe and the way Costello has “great melodies and beautiful heart.”

Brown is not the only songwriter in the band. There’s also lead guitarist Scott Miller, who joined Johnny Clueless after the original guitarist left.

Filling in the rest of the sound of the band is Stacy Machula on bass and Eric Guse on drums. According to Brown, the band doesn’t just play instruments.

“I’m the patriarch. I take on the role of leader, doing booking and songwriting,” Brown explained. “Scott (the oldest member) is the guy we go to for wise decisions. Stacy is the accountant/business manager. She does most of the organizational stuff. Eric is there to … make sure he plays the drums.”

The band’s hard work and dedication have earned Johnny Clueless stage time with big name bands like the Goo Goo Dolls, Violent Femmes, the Wallflowers and Letters To Cleo, to name a few. Brown said the band has learned a lot from rubbing shoulders with the heavyweights.

“It’s almost like high school, and we’re the freshmen, and they’re the seniors — like they’re the friendly senior guy trying to help you out a little,” Brown said. “We’ve learned how to act on stage and be a gracious headliner.”

Despite a heavy touring schedule that has the band playing about 200 shows a year, Brown does find time to support his favorite pastimes of reading, watching movies and his latest hobby of building up his CD collection.

“I don’t usually buy the stuff you can listen to on the radio right now. I’m trying to get a lot of the older stuff I wanted but never got yet. I just bought the Crash Test Dummies’ ‘Ghosts That Haunt Me,'” he said. “As far as new albums go, I think Sheryl Crow’s is very good.”

Getting to the point where Johnny Clueless wants to be has Brown and company preparing for a lot of hard work.

“For now we’ll just keep promoting this album,” Brown said. “There’s no straight path to success or stardom. All you can do is just call on all the resources you have, play and write. Work as hard as you can, and you’ll receive something.”

Johnny Clueless will play at The M-Shop Friday at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $6 general admission.