Rock 'n' roll is rarely a genre featured on a college fight song album, but some Penn State graduates have set out to change that.

Penn State alumni Jill Jayne, Mark Jayne and Trevor Gast are the proud parents of the latest Penn State album, Rock On State, on sale now in many downtown stores. But there is a disclaimer: this is not your grandfather's typical glee club record.

The Jayne siblings, members of the band Sunset West, were approached by their college buddy Gast while on the Vans Warped Tour, where he proposed the idea of a Penn State pride recipe featuring rock 'n' roll.

The purpose of the album was to connect rock 'n' roll fans to the fight songs, with a desire to "bridge the gap between what Penn State is known for, and reconnect them to the tradition of Penn State," lead vocalist Jill Jayne said.

The musicians had a goal to create an album that was true to the Penn State fight songs, but had a lot of rock 'n' roll zest thrown in the mix. The CD has their own versions of songs like "Fight on State," "Hail to the Lion" and even an original anthem titled "We Are."

"We kept all the lyrics from the original [fight songs], only adding some lyrics to shift things up a bit and to put a little more edge to it. But we wanted to keep them original," Gast said.

Mark Jayne, bass player for Rock On State, compared the process of changing the songs to something most students can relate to -- homework.

"We added a lot of parts to the songs. It's just like writing a paper for a class -- you're always changing things," he said. "A lot of times, bands wrangle [original] verses beyond the point that people recognize them."

Gast said he first got the idea for the album when he was running sound in Beaver Stadium for football games for the '06, '07 and '08 seasons.

"It occurred to me that there are bands and choral versions [of fight songs], but there aren't any others, so I thought, wouldn't it be fun to have rock versions?"

Gast, a former drum major for the Blue Band from 2001 to 2003, went on to produce the album with Sunset West, labeling them an "obvious choice."

"I considered just going into the lab with my friends, but then I thought, 'Wait a minute, I have a friend in a rock band who's a Penn State [alumna], ' " he said.

Jill Jayne, who graduated with a major in nutrition, immersed herself in organizations such as the Penn State Thespians during her time as an undergraduate. She even wrote a musical for Joe Paterno titled, "JoePa: The Musical", which she preformed for JoePa himself, the Penn State football team and an audience of 1,000 in the Bryce Jordan Center during Blue-White Weekend in 2003.

Now a "rock star nutritionist," educating elementary school children by singing songs about nutrition in classrooms, Jill Jayne jumped onto the idea of a Penn State rock album.

"I told [Trevor] 'that is the stupidest, weirdest thing I've ever heard. Let's do it,' " she said. "We agreed to do it because A) we love Penn State and B) a lot of people graduated not knowing the damn words. [Students] are listening to more modern styles now, so we thought maybe if we brought the music up to today's sound, more people would know the words."

Recording began promptly during winter break of 2007, and the Rock On State team decided to record the album in a more than fitting place: the Music Building at Penn State.

Mark Jayne played bass and guitar on the album, and said he felt like a student again when recording on campus.

"We had to start really early in the morning," he said. "I felt like I was in a classroom preparing for class."

Rock On State has already gotten some feedback. With its untraditional appeal, the musicians said the CD has already begun to attract fans from all generations.

The best reactions they've received were from alumni, who bring the CD to their tailgates, Gast said.

"It's been a mixed bag [of fans]," Jill Jayne said. "Teens think it's really cool, it's a lot like the bands they listen to. Current students and recent alumni love it, too. There's even [some] who buy this CD for their grandchildren."

Gast also mentioned another fan the average Penn State student could recognize.

"PJ Maierhofer, the Penn State twirler, ... wanted to up her game a little this year [for the National Collegiate Title]," Gast said. "She asked if she could use our music for her routine. She said everybody loved it; all the other twirlers come in with just marching band recordings."

The Blue Sapphire isn't the only one benefiting from this album, though. Because the fight songs are public domain, the university gets a cut of CD sales, Gast said.

Gast said they may not have been the first people to attempt new versions of Penn State music, saying he heard rumors people in the '70s tried to make a fight song disco CD.

Mark Jayne compared the CD's success to that of Penn State, saying it started as something small and would continue to grow.

His sister has similar thoughts.

"My big vision for the project is that it's to enhance the Penn State experience," she said. "A piece of Penn State is always with you, that's what Rock On State ended up being."

Sunset West isn't done with its Penn State projects, though. The group will be performing songs from its album on Saturday, Sept. 27 at The Family Clothesline, 352B E. College Ave.

Rock on State is available at The Student Bookstore, The Family Clothesline, Lion's Pride, McLanahan's Penn State Room, Rapid Transit Sports and online at www.rockonstate.com.