A little bit of small talk, some musical talent and a similar Greek affiliation brought five guys together to form their band called day 20.

The band consists of two guitarists, one drummer, one bass, and a singer.

Ricky Loomis (senior-marketing) is the drummer of the band; he started playing drums in sixth grade.

Loomis said the band started after some random practice in their fraternity. Although he doesn't foresee the band sticking together after college he said playing in a college band has been a lot of fun.

"We play for fun, all of us like playing at parties and its fun to make money this way," he said.

The band plays mostly modern rock and "party songs."

Casey De Santis (senior-logistics) is the singer of the band. He found his niche for singing in high school when he auditioned for a musical with the intention of meeting girls.

"I did "The Star-Spangled Banner" and the director gave me a lead. When we talked about getting a band together, I stepped up to plate to be the singer," he said.

De Santis also joined another band in his hometown after he started with day 20. He said being in a band is something he always wants to do as an extra-curricular activity.

Drew Mallick (senior-political science) is the bass player. He said he played in a band back in high school when he was a "bit of a head-banger or heavy metal fan."

He said it's hard to balance school, social life and the band; but that the experience has been well worth all of the hassle.

"You have to make sacrifices. Thursday nights instead of going out we spend that time practicing," Mallick said.

He enjoys performing on stage whether it's at a fraternity or a bar.

"The best part of being in a band is when it all comes together at the end, watching people smile and dance," he said.

The band agrees that the energy at the fraternities is a lot higher than the energy at the bars.

Steve Druck (senior-industrial relations) and rhythm guitarist said playing at a fraternity is a lot less controlled than playing at a bar.

"Everything that could go wrong, seems to go wrong when we play at fraternities. Sometimes the sound blows, people jump up on stage, the microphone chord gets pulled," he said, " but we always have fun."

He said he likes the freedom the band has when they play at the frats.

"We can really have fun on the stage- do what we want-- bars want a perfect, polished sound," he said.

The final member of the band, Glenn Giordano(senior-economics) is also a guitarist in the band.

Loomis described Giordano as the "catalyst and main motivator of day 20."

"Glenn is the one who pushed the band, he got it started and keeps it going," Loomis said.

The band that started with the ambition to one day be able to put on a show at Beta Theta Pi fraternity, 220 N. Burrowes St., is becoming more and more popular in the State College community.

To learn more about the band and their upcoming concerts check out their web site at www.day20.com.