You heard it here first. Former Veruca Salt drummer Stacy Jones is taking center stage as the frontman and songwriter for Boston’s latest explosion: American Hi-Fi. The band isn’t nationally releasing its album until Feb. 27, but Columbus get a taste of their music tonight at the Newport Music Hall with SR-71 and Nine Days.Four experienced and stage-saavy friends make up the band. The members of the band are Jones (also of Letters to Cleo fame) as singer/guitarist/songwriter; Jamie Arentzen, formerly of Boston’s Sky Heroes on guitar; Drew Parsons (Tracy Bonham) on bass guitar; and Brian Nolan (ex-Figdish), on drums.Jones gathered his friends together to record their self-titled debut album with 13 tracks of hard-rock, pop-influenced songs on Island Records.Jones wrote every song on the record, and each of the band members added their own influences, which span the years and genres of rock history. Drawing on albums like “Loveless” by My Bloody Valentine, “Tattoo You” by the Rolling Stones, “Weezer” by Weezer and “Doolittle” by the Pixies, AHF has condensed legendary rock influences into the force behind each of their own songs. A diverse mix of hard-rock guitar riffs and emotional lyrics supplies listeners with edgy, meaningful phrases, with just enough pop to keep them bopping their heads if they don’t know the words.American Hi-Fi has just finished shooting the video for their infectious first single, “Flavor of the Weak.” The video is a tribute of sorts to the legendary ’80s cult-rock classic, “Heavy Metal Parking Lot.” The band puts their own spin on the metal theme with a story about a girl who is constantly disrespected by her slacker boyfriend.In “Flavor of the Weak,” Jones sings, “Her boyfriend, he don’t know, anything, about her. He’s too stoned, Nintendo, I wish that I could make her see… she’s just the flavor of the weak.” Eerily, the song can be sung to the tune of Blink-182’s “All the Small Things.””Flavor of the Weak,” is climbing the charts and currently ranks as the fifth most added single to the modern rock format in the United States this week. With typical songs of longing for a girl, drunken nights, jealousy and misunderstanding within relationships, there is nothing on this album that listeners haven’t heard before. American Hi-Fi has just found a new way to say it using different chord arrangements.Expect to see these boys’ faces all over MTV’s “TRL” very soon, doing interviews with Carson Daly and making guest appearances as judges on “Say What? Karaoke.” With their cute smiles, rockstar haircuts and catchy, radio-friendly songs, these boys are soon to be disgustingly wealthy.All in all, “American Hi-Fi” was unexpectedly disappointing given the band members’ list of influences and past involvement in other respectable bands. The album was amazingly average, re-hashed alternative rock for the ages, that will leave people 10 years into the future asking, “American Hi-who?”American Hi-Fi’s sound may please fans of Foo Fighters, Everclear, Marvelous 3, Lit and Blink-182. Catch them tonight at the Newport with SR-71 and 9 Days. Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $14.