Walking into a bar Friday nights, students may encounter a band taking the stage with a classic rendition of "Livin' On a Prayer." Amidst cheers and shouts for requests, the band loses its identity as musicians and simply becomes a human jukebox.

Cover bands are found almost everywhere in State College and are often said to be guilty of masquerading as musicians when in fact they are performers. But the bands say their efforts and struggles prove they are innocent of such accusations and are no less a band than any other. Their motives, they say, have a purpose.

Some bands use playing covers as a stepping stone to gain popularity in the area and build a local following. All this is done while still keeping the idea that one day the band can make the transition to original music.

Exhibit A: Superglide, a local rock band, has been teetering on the cover line for some time now. Formed in the fall of 1997, the band began playing mostly cover songs to make itself known in the State College area and gain enough local notoriety to open for other bands. Bassist Andy McLaughlin described difficulties his band has faced when faced with a resistant audience.

"People want to go out and hear songs they've heard a million times, and they don't necessarily want to hear originals," McLaughlin said.

A limited amount of outlets exist for local original acts to showcase their work. Kris Kehr, frontman for Kris Kehr and Stone Poets, said State College does not have many venues to support original bands.

"Booking management won't always take a chance on an original band," Kehr said. "That makes it almost impossible to build a name for yourself."

This has caused Superglide to compile a set list of covers, such as Ben Harper or Jamiroquai, with some originals thrown into the mix. The band does want its originals to take precedent, and looks to make a transition when its CD comes out within the next few months. McLaughlin said that although the time spent writing songs is consuming, the result is worth the effort.

"There's just something about playing your own music that's pretty satisfying," McLaughlin said. "You're not just playing music, you're creating it."

On the other side of the coin, there are cover bands that exist for the sole purpose of playing music and have no intention of making the switch to originals.

Exhibit B: One of the most prestigious of local cover acts is the ever-raucous Velveeta. Jamming to '80s standards, the band has grown quite popular in the State College area throughout its six years together.

Keyboardist Brent Martin said the band is very aware of its status of a cover band and says the band sees nothing wrong with that.

"Just because you play originals doesn't mean it's the best originals, and the same goes for covers," Martin said.

Each of Velveeta's members has played in original acts, Martin said, so they all know the struggles that come with original music.

"We always viewed what we do as entertainment," Martin said. "We try to be more entertainers than artists."

The band does not foresee becoming an original act anytime soon -- at least not as Velveeta.

Playing shows and allowing people to enjoy good music is very fulfilling, Martin said.

He said he is thrilled when the band goes out of town and sees alumni in the audience enjoying the music that they knew when they were students here.

Finally when all is said and done, cover bands pick up their instruments with the same idea as original bands.

Exhibit C: The love for the music.

At a time when commercialism reigns supreme in the mainstream music world, for these bands money is the farthest thing from their minds when it comes to performing.

"Being a musician is probably the lowest paid job in America," McLaughlin said.

Though each has a different take on what he wants to do with his respective band, both McLaughlin and Martin agreed that the passion they feel toward music is what prompts them to continue performing.

"Music itself is enjoyable in any sense," Martin said.