Batman, Superman, and policeman: these are the nouns that pass through a kid’s head when hearing the phrase, “schoolyard heroes.” Schoolyard heroes might be teachers who retrieve basketballs stuck between rims and backboards, but for all of our intents and purposes, they are four misfits who listen to – well – the Misfits. Ryann Donnelly (vocals), Jonah Bergman (bass), Steve Bonnell (guitar), and Brian Turner (drums) make up the Seattle-based Schoolyard Heroes, a band that shreds too much to be punk, yet plays too fast to be emo. Their debut album, The Funeral Sciences, was released by The Control Group and is a testament to that very statement. With a mix of powerful guitar riffs and interesting female/male vocal play, it’s a wonder why emotive chart toppers such as the Killers exist.

Though the members of the band were not fighting crime on the playing fields, Schoolyard Heroes did begin in high school. “I wanted to start a band,” said afro-ed Bergman. “I saw Steve playing guitar one day, so we talked and started playing together. We played a school dance kind of thing, [and] had early versions of songs like, ‘I Hate Your Fucking Boyfriend’.”

“It pissed a lot of people off. It was horrible,” added the equally afro-ed Bonnell.

High school wasn’t the only place they weren’t wanted. They also found themselves in the midst of controversy at the Christian all-ages venue in Tacoma, Club Impact.

“We played a Christian battle of the bands,” said Bergman. “We got cut off because we played ‘Boyfriend,’ and songs about STDs and murder.”

“This was when I was singing, believe it or not,” said Bonnell.

“This was before either Brian or I was in the band,” added Donnelly.

Following their Christian club debacle, the band’s line up was solidified with the addition of Donnelly. “Ryann obviously could sing,” commented Bergman on Donnelly’s vocal prowess. Of course, this is an understatement. If you saw the band live, you’d know she belts. With a solid crew in place, the band slaughtered shows around the northwest, playing everywhere from the now defunct 2nd Avenue Pizza to the Experience Music Project (EMP), where they caught the attention of the people involved with Seattle’s label du jour, The Control Group.

“When we played Sound Off (EMP’s all-ages band competition), this lanky, red-headed dude wearing a coat with a fur collar and some Adidas came up to me and conveyed that he liked our band,” said Donnelly. “I was like, ‘Thanks,’ and he just kept repeating that he liked our band. Eventually, it came to be found out that this was Joe Reineke from Alien Crime Syndicate...”

“And he owns Orbit Audio,” added Bergman.

“And for Joe, what ‘I like your band means’ is that ‘I would like to record your band and not only that, but you guys are so good that my friend has this record label, and I think he could help put it out,’” said Donnelly.

“If we are the Jacksons, Joe’s our Diana Ross,” said Bergman. That being said, if they are the Jacksons, then Control Group honcho Nabil Ayers is their Berry Gordy. “We met at an ice cream shop and made it official,” said Donnelly of the beginning of the relationship with their label. After meeting with Ayers, the Heroes saw the release of their Reineke-produced album, The Funeral Sciences, in 2004, which is knee-deep in references to the macabre, karate flicks, and horrifying imagery - all of which were sugarcoated by Donnelly’s powerful vocals.

Playing relentlessly for the next year, they would ride the coast and share the stage with bands like Kane Hodder, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and the Supersuckers, making Donnelly one of indie rock’s premiere leaders, as well as an inspiration to female fans in a male-dominated scene – a notion which is agreed upon by her bandmates.

“When I look at footage from any given show, the girls are nothing less than caged tigers staring at Ryann. Their eyes look like gumballs,” said Bergman.

“I just want everybody to have a good time,” said Donnelly, “and if any girls decide that because there’s this other girl doing something they think is cool and that makes it easier for them as girls to do something, then that’s awesome.”

What the band won’t have trouble with, however, is their next record, Fantastic Wounds. It is planned as a summer release and will be an audio blast of what the Heroes know best -- rock and roll. The record is larger-sounding; the songs would translate just as well in an arena of 80,000 as they would in a club full of 80. Vocally, it’s more Debbie Harry and less Andrea Zollo. Musically, it has more rock than a crack-filled neighborhood.

“There was talk of calling it Blood, Bath and Beyond, although we thought it was a little silly,” said Bonnell.

“The theme is still the same, but we’re trying to do the same things. I think we’ve gotten better at what we do,” said Bergman. “I think Sciences is more of a collection of songs because it spans from the earliest stuff we did, and then we got into more fun songs. Now, we’re finding our niche.”

Finding their niche is one thing, but it’s apparent that the band can add saving audiences from obscene corporate rock to their rapidly-growing resume of superhero duties. Now, since they already come equipped with their own heroic theme songs, all we need to do is find them capes to go along with their clothing...