It may look like an extended maroon van with a big white trailer cruising through town this weekend, but it is actually a home away from home for the St. Louis-based band MU330.

The band was formed by a few close friends from high school, and the name is from one of the music classes some of the members met in.

It isn’t something that is supposed to represent anything deep or sentimental, Dan Potthast, guitarist and vocalist, said, It is just where a few of the members met and we had a lack of a better name.

Advertisement

MU330 has a sound that could best be described as ska-rock, with elements of slow Jamaican ska thrown in with typical rock to produce a more energetic version of the two.

Sometimes we get in trouble from both sides, Potthast said. Some people claim that we are not really a ska band, and are taking something away from it, and others say that we don’t really fit into rock. Actually, we don’t fit into either category, but we make our own from both of them.

The band was formed in 1988 as the members tried to combine college, work and music into one hectic schedule. Three years ago, Potthast and the other members gave up everything in order to pursue the life of professional musicians. In that time, they have toured almost 40 states, traveling to each one in the maroon van, sometimes for weeks at a time.

The van is our home, he said. One of the things I like about our band is that we do a lot of touring, and a lot of roadwork is involved. Sometimes we are able to do around 20 shows a month.

I like that this is where we are at right now, he said. When I was in school and worked I felt like I wasn’t giving everything I had to any of the three, but now I am able to focus strictly on the band.

Potthast describes the band on stage as a frantic, intense, funny show with lots of movement.

Because we are on the road so much, the show is kind of like my exercise, he said. When we are up on stage there is just a lot of movement, and after a show, if I am just completely tired, I know it was a good one.

Advertisement*

Being on the road also produces a downside for Potthast, who says that one of the things he regrets is that he still doesn’t write many songs on the road but prefers to wait until he gets home and has a some free time.

I really wish I could write more songs while we are touring, but I don’t, he said. I usually get to write when we come back home, but sometimes that could only be for half a day, so I don’t get to do a lot of writing.

Potthast said the next big goal he has is to get a CD out, which has recently been recorded, and then move on to more shows.

I would just love to do shows all of the time, he said, mentioning that the CD, Inside Me, is about the things they experience while on the road so much, and the people they come into contact with.

We put on a good show for people, so they will be entertained even if they don’t happen to like our music, he said.

MU330 plays at 7 p.m. Sunday, at Patty’s Place, 760 E. Grand Ave. The Toasters, Murphy’s Law and Nitro Jr. will also perform. Admission is $5.