College rock bands are a dime a dozen. Few ever make it out of the garage, fewer see the opportunity to play live before and audience and still fewer ever get to put their songs down on wax.

Then again, Repertoire isn't your typical frat rock outfit.

The Milwaukee eight-piece has come quite a ways since their initial incarnation back in 2000. What began as little more than a jam session between front man Troy Fanning and guitarist Mike O'Donnell quickly expanded into something greater, and within months Repertoire were slowly making their mark on Milwaukee's industrious club rock scene

"It really amazes us how quickly we've been getting around (Milwaukee)," says O'Donnell, a senior in the College of Communications. "I think it all really started coming together when we began entering battle of the bands competitions in and around the city. We started winning a few, and eventually we took the (Milwaukee School of Engineering) competition, which won us some studio time. That's when things started to pick up a bit."

The well-earned studio time was used towards recording the band's debut effort "Even Sleep." Recorded off and on over a one-year period, the record, released in September 2003, is an eclectic stew of funk, jazz, reggae, and roots rock that has infected college campuses throughout Wisconsin like a virus. "Even Sleep" may stand firmly on its own two feet, but O'Donnell says that incorporating various sounds into the record wasn't a deliberate choice, but arose more out of spontaneity.

"As a band, we have a lot of different influences to draw from, especially since there's six of us," he says. "Guys like Jack Johnson, Dispatch, Coltrane, and Miles Davis inspire us a lot and you can hear that in our sound. But it's a give take process. You take those influences and create something your own out of them. That was our main focus coming into the record."

The band's accomplished rhythmic style isn't at all hard to explain. These boys eat, sleep and breathe music. It's not a hobby, it's in their blood.

"I've been in love with music for as long as I can remember," O'Donnell recalls. "I have memories of going into a Toys R Us and jamming out on the toy guitars in the middle of the aisle. It sounds crazy but I think it explains a lot about our mentality as a band. We've all been playing music for so long and we're just really comfortable with what we do. Add in the fact that we're all friends, it's just easy to play in that kind of environment."

O'Donnell and company will take their groove infused brand of college rock to The Annex this Friday, where the band will be co headlining with the Milwaukee based hip hop group Ill Groove Movement. The band sold out their last show at the venue and are excited to be returning on Friday. O'Donnell says fans should expect a great live show on both ends of the bill.

"When it comes right down to it, we're a live band," he says of Repertoire's stage presence. "The record's good and all, but music is essentially a live medium and that's where we're in our element. Ill Groove Movement is the same way. They're a great live band who ultimately need to been seen and felt, not just heard. It ought to be a good time."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 17 2005.