Third Eye Blind Bandmates Paddle to the Rescue

Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins and drummer Brad Hargreaves are "Baywatch" certified after saving 4 kids off the Carolina coast.

Stephan and Brad were surfing Wednesday on Carolina Beach when they heard the boys -- ages 12 to 15 -- screaming for help and struggling to get out of a rip current that had sucked them about 100 yards out to sea.

We're told the bandmates paddled to the boys, then let them rest on their surfboards ... before padding safely back to shore.

The band's manager, Luke McNees, tells us ... other than being winded and really scared, the boys were fine and grateful. Look out, Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson.