One of the hottest bands to play State College, Stept On, has been through a long journey, but they have finally reached a place where they can feel comfortable.

Stept On is a highly talented band that performs covers to perfection and originals that touch your heart, free your mind and blow out your eardrums. And by the way, they also do a uniquely hardcore version of Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" that would even make Snoop Dogg back up off the joint and sit his cup down.

The versatile hard rock band uses clever mixes and genre splicing to create a tight sound that instantly produces a mosh pit that's only fit for the insane. Stept On is a four-member crew who has in the past, as well as in the present, covered hardcore rock like no one else in central Pennsylvania. And finally the band is getting the radio play and recognition they deserve.

A regular act at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave., Stept On uses the venue as a place to showcase their talent. With a strong following of hardcore heads and other loud music lovers, the band has made a name for themselves. Although the name used to be Wrench, which spawned from a band they were formally associated with, Stept On "has found their nitch."

Stept On consists of a close-nit crew of four guys. Adam Zimmer (bassist) is a rather large individual whose appearance is a bit menacing, but his personality is subtle with a passion for plucking away at his bass. Jim Bagrosky (drummer) is electrifying onstage and laid-back offstage. His enthusiastic drumbeats rattle Crowbar and incite mass-hysteria. Matt Day (guitarist) is probably the voice of reason in the band. With a strong head on his shoulders and a keen musical sense, he plays with a melodic yet aggressive style that enables the band to cover songs unimaginable by most local standards.

And last, but certainly not least, the little man with the big voice, Chuck Budzina (lead vocals) belts out lyrics with remarkable accuracy when covering a wide variety of songs, and he displays an emotional tone that demands attention when the band does originals. If the crowd couldn't see the stage, they would probably believe that the actual band they're covering is performing.

The band had an album release party two weeks ago at Crowbar to celebrate their new CD Lonely. The show set a personal record for the band by packing 786 people into Crowbar. They followed up the event with another show last Saturday, which was yet another high energy show filled with smash mouth sounds and laid-back stage humor.

The release of Lonely signifies a giant victory for the band. Although things seem all nice and peachy for the band now, it hasn't always been. From legal battles with former managers to finding a name they could call their own, the band has seen their share of obstacles. They would not specify on the details of the legal battles, but finding a name that fit is a story in itself.

Before the band was even together, Zimmer and Budzina were in a group called Bad Wrench, which eventually had a falling out and later lead to the formation of Wrench. This title was picked mainly for name recognition and because the other members of Bad Wrench wouldn't give up the title. The name stuck for a while until the band decided to make their own original music.

"We never really researched things very well, and we later found out that there were like four other bands called Wrench in the United States, and they all said they had some kind of patent," Day said.

So the search for a name continued for a couple of months until one day Zimmer came up with Stept On. "It's how we felt at the time," Zimmer said. Day added that the name had to do with some relation to their legal disputes as well.

"Whether or not it's a good name, I'm not sure. What's in a name anyway . . . you make the name, right?" Day said.

An earlier obstacle that faced the band was deciding what they should play. Right now the band specializes in covering heavy songs such as Korn's "Blind," Creed's "What If," System of a Down's "Sugar" and many, many more. But at first they couldn't figure out what to stick with, and they weren't getting much outside help.

"When we first started playing this kind of music everyone from managers to clubs told us it wouldn't work," Budzina said. "We were playing Rage and Korn, but at the same time we were still playing Billy Idol, Harvey Danger and crap like that. It was confusing people, so we said screw it, we're going to play what we want to play and we started to have more success."

"We don't have the wide appeal that some cover bands have, but when people find out what we play, there will be people who'll listen."

With most of their troubles behind them, Stept On can finally concentrate on what they love most — playing music. "I just like playing my drums. As long as I can do it for a living and pay my bills, that's cool with me," Bagrosky said.

Budzina, a full time entertainer on stage and self-proclaimed longtime loser off stage, said, "There's nothing like the feeling up on stage, especially in a club like this (Crowbar). You can feel the sound that the band is making and you can see the effect it has on the audience."

Lonely is currently on sale at Mike's Music and Video and their hit single "Voices In My Head" is number two on Qwik Rock, WQWK-FM (97.1). Stept On, whose homepage is www.stepton.com, will also be back in town Tuesday to perform an all-ages show at the Crowbar.