"Jam would probably be wrong, pop or rock would probably be closer," lead singer Andy Wonder said. "We call it 'bumpin' fresh soul rock."
Wonder said his Alexandria, Va., home provided him and his bandmates with plenty of early, eclectic inspiration.
"Being from around D.C., that's a place that's very close to a lot of gospel and soul," Wonder said. "But in the same vein, it's a place not unknown to rock 'n' roll. So we picked a lot up just being where we're from."
VACO's not just an eclectic band musically; each band member can play virtually all the other instruments and do onstage.
"We do a lot of the old switcheroo," Wonder said. "It's fun having a drummer who can get up with the lead singer and play a show. We do everything we can to try to prove to ourselves that we deserve the $8 or whatever people paid to walk through the door to see us. I missed the memo when it became cool just to stand there and look bored on stage."
Being a D.C.-area band, Virginia Coalition is no stranger to politics.
"When you're from around D.C., national news of a political nature is local news," Wonder said. "We're very studied in our opinions."
Though Wonder was understandably shy about revealing too many of his political leanings in this hotly contested election year, he stressed knowledge and participation.
"We feel very strongly about attempting to ingest and learn about all the different information pertaining to politics," Wonder said. "Just tell 'em VACO says 'go vote.' "
Wonder had high praise for one of Monday night's other performers, Toothpick.
"Toothpick's music and our music goes along together really well," Wonder said. "He's got a little kind of rhyme-style-flavor, and we have that, too. We've done quite a few shows together before."
Doug Ray, who performs as Toothpick (an old high school nickname), stressed his Penn State connections.
"Yeah, my brother went to Penn State and I used to play there a lot with my old band, Bad Ronald," Ray said. "I'm a Happy Valley veteran."
You might know Ray's music best from this summer's hit documentary Super Size Me; he provided the theme song for the movie's soundtrack.
"It was a lot of fun," Ray said. "The guy who made the movie, Morgan Spurlock, is a friend of mine. It was a good project to get into, too, since it's led to a lot of good things. There was a little article about me in Rolling Stone, with a picture and everything, so that's been cool."
So did Ray change his mind about trips to McDonald's after seeing Super Size Me?
"I try to stay away since the movie, but it's hard," Ray said. "It costs $1.50 and it's fast as hell."
Toothpick's debut CD, Drive Easy, will soon be re-released by Everfine Records and distributed by Universal Records, a big move for Ray's career. Still, he says he's looking forward to an extended tour of institutes of higher learning and their adjacent watering holes.
"I love playing colleges," Ray said. "They're just lots of fun, everybody's real open-minded. It's just a very low-stress thing, very casual, people just come out to hear music. And I've got a lot of fun, funny songs, so that works with a college crowd, too."
Though Ray is an acoustic-based singer-songwriter, his music has a heavy hip-hop element that he says comes naturally to him.
"I grew up listening to a lot of rap music," Ray said. "I grew up in a very diverse community, so I got exposure to a lot of different music when I was younger. But rap came along and I always had a thing for it."
Ray, like Wonder and Wells before him, said he was looking forward to Monday's show.
"I love Penn State, it's definitely one of my favorite places to play," he said. "I've been hanging out there since I was 15, and I'm 25 now. I'm always happy to come back."
