You may have seen them strolling around campus recording a music video. Or maybe you’ve seen one of their ten videos on YouTube. Or maybe you’ve caught them putting on a show at the Brew Bayou with nothing but two real guitars and one Guitar Hero guitar. These characters are the Spanish Odonnells, a three-man musical parody group created at Marquette in 2008.

The members, David Fornetti and Kevin Bubolz, both sophomores in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Kyle Willkom, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, met last year when they all lived in O’Donnell Hall.

“My mom likes to take credit for (all of us meeting),” Fornetti said. “She said I was being a little girl and wouldn’t meet the kids across the hall.”

Fornetti said he decided to man up and take his mom’s advice. Those kids across the hall were Willkom and Bubolz.

“(Bubolz and I) met each other before college, but we didn’t know much about each other before college,” Willkom said. “We had to give a speech at the same place. Afterward, we found out we were both going to Marquette and decided that we would room together.”

As the guys became close friends, they eventually decided to become a band, but not in an ordinary way.

“Kyle thought he could grow a mustache, which is hilarious,” said Fornetti. “He came in (our room) with his ‘mustache’ and sombrero, playing guitar and said, ‘Hey! We should start a band!’”

As they began talking about bands, the guys came up with what they say is the perfect band name: the “Spanish (due to Willkom’s getup) Odonnells (since they lived in O’Donnell Hall).”

The Spanish Odonnells record humorous parodies of mainstream songs with a bit of everyday college-life topics mixed into the lyrics.

“Kyle comes up with a lot of bad ideas,” said Fornetti, explaining the band’s writing process. “And when I say ‘a lot,’ I mean pages full.”

They say their ideas are motivated by random events that happen throughout the day. When the guys finally come across an idea they all like, they dive into what they each do best — Willkom writes it, Fornetti records it and Bubolz shirtlessly watches them work.

The guys have come up with enough ideas to create a solid set list to perform at shows around campus. Some of their previous performances include talent shows at the Weasler Auditorium and open mic nights at Mashuda Hall and the Brew Bayou. Their most recent work involved recording a song and video for “Give Marquette,” a Marquette initiative encouraging alumni to give back to the university.

Even though they have enough material for YouTube and a live show, they have yet to compile an album for their fans.

“I think at some point it would be cool to have an album,” Fornetti said. “But as of right now, it’s not a high priority.”

The band says there are some legal issues at stake as well.

“We don’t have the right to some of these beats either,” Willkom said. “If we were to make money off of these songs, then we’d have to obtain the rights to them.”

For now, the Spanish Odonnells have found their niche and are content with just being a college YouTube sensation. The band said there are no plans to continue the fun once they graduate.

“In terms of the next couple years, we’re looking to have as much fun as we can possibly have being the Spanish Odonnells,” Willkom said.