Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins met at a birthday party when they were four years old. They decided then-and-there, they would start a band. Not a hip-hop band or a pop act, mind you. A metal band. "I don't like doing the same thing everyone else is doing," says Malcolm. "I want to do my own thing." Jadad explains, "We're picking our own genre, something that we will be known for." School days are not always easy for these two sixth grade metalhead iconoclasts. Their talent and thoughtfulness does not always allow them to steer easily clear of the doubters and bullies. But their confidence, introspection, and creativity carry them through. Jarad is writing a book in which a pair of sometimes awkward, somewhat misfit musicians prevail in life while the mean-spirited who once preyed upon them are outcast. "It's based on a true story," he confides.