Look out, Rhode Island: Here come the Me-Thinks.

Confronted with the Me-Thinks' second e.p., Rock and Roll Another, back in 2002, it was hard to figure what to make of the Haltom City-based power trio. The c.d.'s cover art is modeled after -- no, make that stolen from -- Kiss' Rock and Roll Over. The band's publishing company is called Me Thinks It Sucks Music. A live track at the end of the disc ends with the sound of a surly crowd booing the band (which the band says was overdubbed later). And, according to the bio on the band's web site (www.me-thinks.com), the musicians are "lame, lazy, and unmotivated" and "extremely loud" to mask the fact that they "aren't very good players," and "one of the worst all around bands you could have stumbled across."

But don't believe the, uh, hype. What these guys are: masters of self-deprecating bullshit. Having recently completed their "Escape from Haltom City Tour," which consisted of two dates -- one at the Wreck Room and the other at a metal festival in Coppell -- they're planning a summer tour of (no shit) Rhode Island and working on a "double e.p.," which will be released on a single disc to "keep costs down." Like all of the Me-Thinks' merchandise (except for the t-shirts), the new disc will be given away, although the boys in the band have considered packaging a two-dollar bill with every c.d. and charging two bucks. So far, the band's most successful promotional gambit has been their "inaction figures" -- wooden cutouts with the Me-Thinks' faces glued on.

If all of this sounds absurd, that's because it's supposed to be. But the Me-Thinks' music, surprisingly, is anything but silly. Opening for Goodwin earlier this month, they were focused and powerful, roaring out of the gate with a cover of Turbonegro's "Back to Dungaree High" and playing a set with no dead time that was half full-on trashing punk and half grinding stoner metal -- sometimes within the same song. (Later, the Me-Thinks played the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer"; these two cover tunes give a good indication of the band's range of influences.)

Sure, they make liberal use of a smoke machine "to mask the fact we are old, bald, and overweight." But guitarist Sir Marlin Von Bungy wrestles Iommi-esque heavy rifferama and squealing harmonics from his Les Paul while looking like a shy rabbinical student. Bassist-vocalist Ray (they aren't all on a last-name basis with their audience) has strong pipes and the most imposing four-string tone heard in the Fort since the Who's John Entwistle played a Caravan of Dreams set that was loud enough to be heard in Dallas. And drummer Wilbur drives the music with a muscular, no-frills style, his bass drum head adorned with a drawing of Henry Winkler as the Fonz from the cover of a local compilation c.d. that included two Me-Thinks tracks.

On a recent weekday evening, the three musicians were enjoying a cold beverage at their rehearsal space, which really is a tin shack (in a secret Haltom City location) where they've practiced for 10 years with different bands. Also in attendance were Rat and Calvin, a pair of Haltom City Filipinos who make up the band's white-jumpsuited "Asian media crew," responsible for audio and video taping of shows, and members of the metal cover band Mullet Malicia. "We'll be here from eight until two, and we might practice for half an hour," said Marlin. They take their drinking seriously, at least. A page on their website lists recipes for their favorite libations, some of which are laced with over-the-counter cold remedies, but they generally favor Forty Creek whiskey and Mexican beer.

As much a social club as a band, the Me-Thinks musicians coalesced out of "an incestuous group of friends." All three attended Boswell High School, where jazzer Joey Carter was the star of the school band, and they rubbed shoulders with future members of Pimpadelic. (Later Boswell classes would produce the recently disbanded Phleshpipe and up-and-coming funkateers Confus-a-tron; there must be something in the water north of the city.) At 14, Ray was going to punk shows in Deep Ellum with Carl Pack, future Gideons frontman and Wreck Room bartender. A 1986 performance by D.C. hardcore punks the Bad Brains made a particular impression on the budding muso.

The band that evolved into the Me-Thinks began its existence as the Pine Barrens, but a name change was required because "a barbershop quartet had it first." Re-dubbed Hasslehorse, they were the first band to play the Wreck Room when it opened in 1997, but once had a gig there canceled because "there was a Tyson fight on tv." A Fort Worth Weekly reviewer once blasted their former singer's "septic Prince Albert" vocals.

More recently, Ray was in the club when soundman Andre Edmondson introduced him to the road manager for a touring band, who also works as a personal assistant to Gene Simmons of Kiss. Visions of lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders for the Rock and Roll Another cover art danced in the bassist's head, but Simmons' employee assured Ray that his boss was simply "a big collector of all things Kiss-like" and asked if he could buy some Me-Thinks t-shirts.

So far, the band has recorded two tracks for the projected "double e.p." The unmixed tracks provide a better representation of the band's live fury than earlier recordings. Ex-Hasslehorse singer John Frum plans to release the disc on his Seattle-based label, but the Me-Thinks have no unrealistic expectations of fame or success. Instead, they plan to keep doing what they've always done -- hanging out with their friends in Haltom City, playing the occasional show, and continuing to promote themselves as "Fort Worth's shittiest band." "Punk rock's not dead," said Ray. "It's just fat and old and has a mortgage."