Belting out childhood ditties from his bathtub, Dan Potthast of MU330 said taking unsupervised baths as a child aided his pursuit of a musical career.

Having been influenced at a young age, Potthast, the guitarist and vocalist from MU330, said his mother encouraged him to sing and perform before the ripe age of 4.

I’ve been playing music for a long time, but what really got to me was when my mom would leave me alone in the bathtub, Potthast said.

To know that I wasn’t drowning, she would make me sing so she could hear me. I would scream Old McDonald Had A Farm’ at the top of my lungs so she would know I wasn’t under the water.

Potthast said he turned toward the music scene to release tensions and escape from the monotony of everyday life. Finding several opportunities while his older brother was away, Potthast would sneak into the bedroom to play the guitar and teach himself to read music.

My brother was in the service in Germany and earned some extra money and ended up buying several used guitars, he said. I would sneak into his room when he was out, and I would strum on his guitars and go through music books and teach myself the notes.

Touring for the past six years, Potthast and company attempted several combinations of musical styles before choosing a ska sound. Potthast said the ensemble of horns as a harmony rather than accents simply appealed to his band.

When we first started playing, we tried playing every sort of music, but ska was the only thing we sounded good at, he said. When we first got our CD in the mail and opened it up and looked at it, it was the coolest thing. When we saw the song titles on the back, we knew this was right.

A frantic, ska influenced line-up awaits performance tonight at the Copper Dragon Brewing Co., 700 E. Grand Ave.

Johnny Socko, MU330 and local act the Boro City Rollers are taking the stage at 10 for a plethora of loud horns, rock’n’roll and a kickin’ beat. There will be a $5 cover charge for the evening’s events.

Although offered the second seat for the show, Boro City Rollers declined. Chad Minier, trumpeter for the Boro City Rollers, said Johnny Socko was an incredible influence for his band and out of a high regard for the performers, they wished to perform first.

We could have played second. But as a group we talked about it and remembered that we saw Johnny play. He had influenced us, Minier, a senior in music education from Benton, said. We just really respect and enjoy Johnny Socko.

Considered a trio of ska bands, Minier said that although the show may feature a strong ska influence, patrons will be pleasantly surprised to encounter an array of sounds and styles.

I hate to put any band in a category, but we are definitely influenced by ska. Yet if someone hates ska, they may like us, he said. There is such a wide variety of things we do.

Members of all three bands said they consider themselves friends. Having performed in the area previously together, Boro City Rollers and MU330 prepare for an elaborate display of rock, ska and funk to please their audience.

It is really going to be a group effort, Minier said. We are all friends, and everyone has to get involved.