LOS ANGELES -- For every artist paralyzed with fear and frustration as to how to "make it" in today's terrifying marketplace, the story behind Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American provides both inspiration and a lesson in Perseverance 101.

Circa August 1999, things couldn't look much more dire for the Mesa AZ foursome. Jim Adkins, Rick Burch, Zach Lind and Tom Linton had seen their two major label full lengths, Static Prevails and Clarity, ignored by mainstream media, radio and their label Capitol Records, who had just unceremoniously dropped them.

However, this same turn of events that has broken the will -- and the bank -- of many a lesser artist found Jimmy Eat World celebrating its newfound independence with a self-promoted five-week tour of Europe. That their label had never released Jimmy Eat World material overseas was hardly an obstacle: The band began buying its own records from the label's distributor and shipping them to Europe independently. Within a year, Jimmy Eat World was playing Europe's biggest festivals as Clarity hit the German charts, self-releasing and independently releasing compilations and EPs, doing Japanese licensing deals, and touring touring touring ... ultimately channeling everything back into the recording of Bleed American.

Having recorded it on their own dime as a dedication to the fans that had kept them alive during the lean times, the members of Jimmy Eat World couldn't possibly have predicted that Bleed American would become a platinum-plus, MTV VMA-nominated bona fide career breakthrough smash. Released in July 2001, in a world with no iTunes store, no MySpace, no Facebook, and charts still utterly dominated by the Britneys, N Syncs and Limp Bizkits, four down to earth guys from Arizona who'd just been dropped by a major label improbably rode this self-funded album to platinum status, their biggest tours to date and an appearance on Saturday Night Live.

For anyone looking to do the same, the path is simple: Just create songs as heartfelt, tuneful and instantly indelible as Bleed American’s title track, "The Middle," "Sweetness," "A Praise Chorus" or "The Authority Song," all of which remain staples of the band's live set to this day. And for those who crave something other than the perfect upbeat and optimistic pop anthem, the minor key whisper-to-a-scream "Get It Faster," the five and a half minute "Cautioners" and the somber "My Sundown" all stand as proof of Jimmy Eat World's daring and depth.