They cover everything.

Their lead singer is a Penn State senior. Their bassist just celebrated his 50th birthday.

And their drummer is a full-time dad.

Foxxy, State College's peppy party cover band, is made up of an eclectic mix of musicians who leave their very different stations in life just long enough to collaborate on their long-time project of playing crowd-pleasing music and having lots of fun.

The band has most recently graced The Saloon's stage, 101 Hiester St., playing for a packed house the Friday after classes began.

Tonight they will make their return for the second of three scheduled shows there.

Foxxy's history is a long and tangled one.

The original band was formed by guitarist Bill Zeigler and bassist Stan Orndorf in the mid '70s.

The band later broke up and was reborn in the form of Crossover, a country band initiated by Zeigler in 1986.

Crossover gained a regional following, playing at bars and county fairs in the area, until the band began to sense a hesitance coming from the bar-goers in reaction to the decreasingly popular country music.

To perk up the crowd, they began throwing some rock into the mix when they played the bars, but fans began to get confused with the stark contrast in genres.

To solve the problem, Zeigler decided to play rock shows under the band's original name, Foxxy, which helped people distinguish between the two different sounds.

The band's former lead singer, who was set on singing country, disapproved of the country band's rock alter ego.

In search of a leading lady who could both rock and croon, the band ran an ad in The Daily Collegian, which caught the eye of Penn State student Gina Rendina (senior-political science).

"I'd always wanted to be in a band. I never expected that they'd be interested or that I'd like them, but it worked out perfectly," Rendina said.

When the 22-year old is asked how she feels about working with the more, uh, mature veteran musicians in the band, she offers only the most positive response.

"It's cool," Rendina said. I learn from them a lot. It was a bonus from both sides; when I joined, I brought a younger following and my knowledge of newer popular music. I got a band with nice equipment and tons of experience. I didn't have to start from scratch.

"Plus, they're like big brothers more than dads," Rendina said. "We hang out. And they're all married, so it's not like Fleetwood Mac where we all end up sleeping with each other."

Rendina transferred to Penn State after studying vocal performance at New York University for a year and a half.

At the age of six she began piano and voice lessons and has been a member of various school choirs and a cappella groups ever since.

She has busied herself in the last months rehearsing and securing gigs for her new band.

Lucky for Rendina, her persistence has begun to pay off.

In addition to the Saloon appearances, Foxxy has recently been working with local radio station The Bus (97.3) to promote its shows.

The radio station will feature a live performance from the band this morning to promote the Saloon gig, according to Rendina.

Foxxy has a repertoire ranging from Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughta Know" to Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky."

Rendina is capable of all of it, but she has some definite preferences.

"I lean toward any female artist," Rendina said.

"I really love doing Dixie Chicks, No Doubt, Blondie or Pat Benatar. I don't think I could even narrow it down," she said.

Foxxy is climbing the tedious and tall ladder to success, but at least they're having fun doing it.

You can check them out at The Saloon tonight, as well as on their Web site, www.foxxyrocks.com, to find out more information.