Friday, Michael O'Donnell, a 2005 Marquette graduate, and his band Repertoire will take the stage at 9 p.m. for a CD release party.
Friday Michael O'Donnell, a 2005 Marquette graduate, and his band Repertoire will take the stage 9 p.,”Marquette alumni are swarming to play shows at the Annex this month. Two weeks ago, the venue showcased indie pop band The Blackberries featuring alumna Jess Cushion.
Friday, Michael O'Donnell, a 2005 Marquette graduate, and his band Repertoire will take the stage at 9 p.m. for a CD release party.
O'Donnell, lead guitarist of Repertoire, has assembled an entirely different band for its latest album, Moving On.
"The old band kind of disseminated after college in 2005," O'Donnell says, "and it really gave me the opportunity to bring in real musicians. These are some of the best players in the state."
Besides guitarist and songwriter O'Donnell, the band includes bassist Evan Paydon, pianist/guitarist Kevin Heinzel, drummer Michael Jaklich, and lead singer Jaizon Plaga.
O'Donnell discovered Plaga while listening to a competition on WKTI 94.5 FM called "The Rockstar Project" earlier this year.
Plaga took second place out of 300 singers and later was in the running to be a contestant on "Making the Band 4," but was cut before entering the house.
The band's title track "Moving On" encapsulates what O'Donnell has been trying to accomplish with the band.
"We went through all of these members," O'Donnell says, "The whole time I was just trying to move on."
O'Donnell recorded and mixed all of the songs with Repertoire at his condo in Milwaukee. Self-producing the album, which cost him about $2,000, helped the band relax and focus on getting the songs right.
Repertoire recorded its first album Even Sleep in a recording studio, which charged by the hour, and cost more than double what the new album cost.
"Where the last CD was more jazz oriented, I think this CD is more pop oriented," says O'Donnell. "If Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and the members of Dispatch's illegitimate children came together to form a band, that would sound like Repertoire."
O'Donnell feels this could be his last opportunity to break through and be signed to a major label. The band sold more than 1,000 copies of its debut album, and hopes to quadruple that total with its latest offering.
O'Donnell's passion for music was the reason he kept Repertoire alive while band members left in 2005 to pursue careers. The lead singer went to graduate school. The bassist became a weatherman in Rhinelander. The band was left with guitarist/songwriter O'Donnell and drummer Jaklich.
"You'll find kids who think it's cool to play music in college and then you'll find kids who truly, beyond any shadow of a doubt, love music," says O'Donnell. "Those kids can't stop playing. They can't put down their instrument and just give it up. I'm definitely one of them and I've built a band with four other kids like that."
Repertoire plays at the Annex at 9 p.m. Friday. Tickets are free with a MarquetteCard and $5 for the public. The 12 song album Moving On costs $12 and will be available at the show.
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