While rusty’s roots spring forth from punk rock soil, bassist Jim Moore is quick to point out the band is not doing that style anymore.

He said punk rock is not much more than a buzz word used as a selling point, much the same way grunge was used a couple of years back.

If we call ourselves punk rock,’ punk rockers would get really upset, he said. It’s more like we’re playing what we want to play. It’s more faster than rock with melody.

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We’re more into songwriting. That’s what’s taken us this far.

rusty (lowercase for its aesthetic appeal), from Toronto, has gone far enough to rub shoulders with other up-and-comers, playing with Bush, Everclear and Elastica in recent months. The group toured with Collective Soul this summer as it reached number 29 on Billboard magazine’s alternative singles chart for Wake Me, the first single off its Tag/Atlantic debut, Fluke.

Moore earned his punk rock badge in One Free Fall, in which he did an eight-year tenure with with rusty singer Ken MacNeil. Guitarist Scott McCullough played for the relatively famous Doughboys.

Moore said he does not feel any competitiveness with the other bands he plays with who are currently bigger than rusty, even when they are vying for the same CD and T-shirt money from the crowd.

None whatsoever, unless they’re really lousy, he said. Then you’re like, it’s (success is) pretty attainable.’

The bigger the stars, the nicer the guys they are. I guess they don’t feel threatened.

As rusty becomes bigger itself, Moore sets his goals higher.

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I happy, but not content at this level. We’d like to sell more albums.

In order to do this, rusty has been touring constantly since April, playing 85 percent of its shows south of the Canadian border. Moore said this tiring regimen has helped many English bands attain starhood on this side of the Atlantic.

And how big does Moore want to see his band get?

Bigger than Warrant, but not as big as Poison.