Pat McGee remembers college.

He also remembers his first F in college.

In guitar.

Lucky for his horde of fans, this setback did not make McGee quit playing his instrument. He went on to form the Pat McGee Band in 1996 and has since built a loyal following by playing 200 to 300 shows a year all over the country.

On Monday the band will be playing at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.

The band has already made several appearances at Crowbar over the last few years.

"I absolutely love playing there," said McGee, whose parents both attended Penn State. "It's a very loud venue. It's just an all-around good time."

When asked to classify his band's sound, McGee said, "I grew up with a major classic rock influence. Basically to me we're a modern classic rock band."

This shows through the artists that he lists among his influences, such as the Allman Brothers Band, James Taylor, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

McGee formed the band with other local Richmond, Va., natives and set about making a name for themselves. Over the next four years they sold over 100,000 copies of three self-released CDs before landing on Giant Records in 2000.

"I really felt more comfortable with (the label)," McGee said.

In the spring of 2000 the band released its first album on Giant, Shine. The album was produced by former Talking Head Jerry Harrison and also contained a guest appearance by former member of the Allman Brothers Band and current Gov't Mule frontman Warren Haynes.

McGee, a self-described "massive worshipper" of the Allmans, described the experience of working with Haynes as "unreal."

Two of the songs from the album, "Runaway" and "Rebecca," got some radio airplay after the release of the album with "Rebecca" peaking at No. 7 on the Progressive Rock charts.

"Rebecca" is one of McGee's favorites to play in concert.

"It's still a blast every time we play it," he said.

Last winter in the final days of President Clinton's administration the band was invited to play for the White House staff at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Right before the show they were notified that the president would also be attending.

"That was really, really crazy," said McGee. "I was pretty frickin' nervous."

His nerves did calm however and he said he found the president to be "pretty chilled out" during the show.

Currently the band is working on developing material for a new album. The band will be entering the studio in January and its fans can expect the album "hopefully by the end of the summer, but you never know," McGee said.

He said the new album is going to be "a little edgy and a little rougher around the edges" than Shine and that it will feature more electric guitars.

"We'll definitely play some of the new stuff (Monday)," McGee said. He also emphasized a new song, "At It Again," that is getting good audience reactions.

The band, which is also well known for its covers, can be expected to play a few cover songs.

McGee says that when it comes to choosing which covers to play, "It always comes out of just feeling like doing it. I get tired of playing covers though. You want people to hear your own material."

And what does the future hold for the Pat McGee Band?

"Touring our butts off and keeping building on what we've been building on," McGee said. "I'm just psyched that we're still doing it."

Doors open at 8 p.m. on Monday with opening act Howie Day scheduled to take the stage at 9:30. Tickets are $10 for the all ages show and are available at Crowbar, Mike's Music and Video, 210 E. Calder Way, City Lights Records, 316 E. College Ave., Arboria Records, 119 E. Beaver Ave. and online at www.ticketweb.com.