Chris Daley says the members of Mace Ballard have been in various bands that haven't really gone anywhere.

This one, he says, is "having fun and making progress and we're not really used to that, to be honest."

They can add a win in the third annual Citizens Bank/Post-Gazette Pittsburgh Rocks online contest to their list of accomplishments. Out of thousands of votes cast, the pop-punk band came out on top, just 25 votes ahead of second-place finisher Rising Regina. The other finalists were Bear Cub, Cry Fire and Identity X.

Formed in April 2009, the South Side-based Mace Ballard is made up of two former members of Kid Durango -- singer Daley and drummer Mike Duncan -- with guitarist Brandon Lehman and bassist TJ Angelo.

The singer describes the band as "pop punk with a dash of hardcore." He realizes that Mace Ballard is not alone in that endeavor.

"I do think it's hard to stand out, especially in Pittsburgh where there's a ton of awesome pop-punk bands -- even famous ones like Punchline. But there's also a lot of inspiration you can get from that, and we do try to bring a different element with some of the screams."

He admits, "We're not like virtuosos," but adds, "we don't want to be three-chord pop-punk. We try to take the writing seriously. I hate empty rhymes."

The song Mace Ballard won with, "Goodbye Waves," has clever, self-deprecating lyrics (starting with "Woke up on the wrong side of my head/don't know what it is she said/just lay back down"), along with multiple hooks and instrumental breakdowns.

The band goes with gang vocals on the choruses and wants to grow its audience to "try to make it more of a participation sport."

"I don't even care if we make it outside Pittsburgh," Mr. Daley says, "if someone sings along at a show that's really what we want."

As part of the contest prize, PG videographers Steve Mellon and Matt Freed will shoot a video for "Goodbye Waves." The premiere of the video, on post-gazette.com, should coincide with Mace Ballard's July 18 headline performance at SouthSide Works Exposed. The band also wins $2,500, which it plans to use for a short tour this summer.

Having won Pittsburgh Rocks, the band has further conquests in mind. Says the singer, "Can you mention that our favorite pastime other than music is Foosball? We're genuinely obsessed with it and will challenge anyone to a game."

Critics Andrew Druckenbrod and Scott Mervis talk about music on "The Beat," available exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.