Ordinary people trying out for a chance at a record deal. That is about all that PeSt Records has in common with the reality television show American Idol.

PeSt Records is a new non-profit record label in State College, hoping to promote local musicians that play original music.

Tim Baskerville (senior-sports management), the label president, said he got the idea while he was walking around campus one day.

"I was walking to Pollock computer lab and I heard a person singing," Baskerville said. "There are tons of people with talent, but they don't have a group to do something for them."

With that thought fresh in his mind, Baskerville started posting fliers around campus last semester.

He gained the interest of several students, including PeSt vice-president Jessica Weiner (junior-management and political science).

Weiner, who has interned at Interscope Records and MTV, helped submit the paperwork needed to become an official Penn State organization.

With the decision pending and a court date with Undergraduate Student Government (USG) set for next fall, PeSt started looking for artists to put on its label.

"Our goal is to get the local scene going. There are too many cover bands and not enough original music," Weiner said. "We are looking for individuality, something different, talent, and people with a desire to get their music heard."

PeSt arranged several open mic nights where Penn State students performed. One of artists who fit Weiner's description was Bobby Juncosa (sophomore-marketing).

After playing at an open mic event in the HUB-Robeson Center, Juncosa was asked to join the label.

"He's a great guitarist," Baskerville said.

He recalled a show this semester when Juncosa used an assortment of guitar theatrics to get the crowd going.

"He started playing the thing backwards," Baskerville said.

Juncosa, who describes his music as a blues-influenced rock similar to Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, said he has received a lot of help from PeSt Records.

"Their main purpose is to get them [the artists] known in State College," Juncosa said. "They are in the baby stages, but they're not a joke. They are really dedicated and qualified."

PeSt is doing its best to function like a real record label even though it is not fully formed and has only 10 to 15 people on staff.

So far, it has booked shows for artists and made a compilation disc, which it gave out at Movin' On 2003 on Saturday. Baskerville has his sights set high for this summer and the fall semester.

PeSt is hoping to have a singer-songwriter showcase at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave, sometime this summer.

They also plan on booking shows at the HUB, East Halls and homecoming weekend in the fall.

"Our future is looking bright," Baskerville said. "All the work that everyone put in this semester will pay off next year."

The artists are most excited about having an organization that cares about finding venues for original music.

"They are a really cool group of people working to get local artists heard," said Eli Margolis (freshman-division of undergraduate studies), whose band, Forget Flying, recently joined PeSt. "There are no consistent local shows here."

On a local scale, backing original artists in a cover-band town can be construed as a bit of a challenge, but Weiner said the non-profit label strives to get these artists heard.

"People on American Idol are singing songs that aren't their own," Weiner said. "And when they get a contract, they'll still be singing other people's songs. That's just not what we are about. We're about original music."

PeSt has descriptions and MP3s of its artists on its Web site at http://geocities.com/pest_records.