Blue Room Hero boomed with the newly dubbed “classic” among college students, “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer and immediately flowed into a funky pop version of the “good ol’ boy” bar favorite “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks at Pizzeria Uno Jan. 30. One may wonder how the band pulled off the leap between these covers, but nobody in the crowd could deny enjoying the renditions of the old school tunes.

As Jason Napp, lead singer and guitarist, added an explosive sound to the infamous lyrics, drummer Doug Hill and bassist Mike Neeb added a unique rhythm, making the songs their own.

When the sounds waned in the wee hours of the morning, the fans lingered as the band merged into the crowd. Diverting their attention from music to their friends and fans, the members of BRH stood in pure elation. “We love playing together,” Hill explained.

Neeb and Napp grew up playing their instruments together. The two cultivated a love of music and soon craved the buzz of a crowd, but lacked a drummer who could keep up with their passion to perform.

When Napp transferred to the University of Wisconsin during his sophomore year, he soon learned that his new roommate, Hill, was somewhat of a drum junkie, experienced in many styles. This star-crossed meeting sparked the beginnings of BRH and led to several trips for Neeb from UW-Milwaukee to Madison over the past school year in the hope of putting together a new group.

“I would try to find a ride up whenever I could,” Neeb said. These visits consisted of continuous jam sessions in a blue room in the basement of Sellery Residence Hall. These sessions not only created a small fan base made up of the other dormitory residents but also meshed the group members’ sounds together.

Despite the broad variety of covers in its repertoire, BRH also writes many of its own songs. BRH’s first gig, just over a year ago on the first floor of Sellery, motivated the guys to keep writing and rehearsing. “Playing for people and seeing them dance just builds you up with energy,” Hill said.

“We pour everything out when we play a show,” Neeb added. Whether they decide to play a favorite cover to get the crowd moving or a BRH original to enable the audience to feel their passion, the band members strive to make the experience fun for all.

With studies coming second on the to-do list, music engulfs their lives while also inspiring their writing. Bands such as Dispatch, Widespread Panic, Jethro Tull and Finger 11 tend to influence the sounds of BRH.

Often compared to OAR, BRH admits its song “Ten-Day old Pizza Boxes” bears a resemblance to a certain OAR song. It “pisses me off when people say ‘Play the OAR song,'” Napp joked.

“Of course, we’ll play it though,” Hill added.

“When we write, we just like rockin’ it out and intermixing parts of songs and trying to capture the sounds that fit,” Neeb said.

For example, when writing “BRH (On Yo Bitchin’ Ass)” the guys had one thing in mind: themselves. The song/rap has the guys attempting to replicate the common theme of hip-hop songs of tooting one’s own horn. “We just talk about ourselves for fun,” Napp said.

In addition to themselves, the members of BRH are also inspired by relationships, religion and politics. Although the band tries to stay away from really controversial issues, Napp said, “We spell out the problem” and let the listeners decide how they feel on their own.

Living together takes no toll on BRH’s ability to work together. In fact, it helps maintain cohesiveness in writing and practicing. Although Napp calls the other two moody, Neep described it as “[being] on two different ends of [Napp] … he brings us to the middle.”

Wherever their chemistry may be, it fuels their pursuit to make a living off of playing music. As it currently stands, the group simply remains a continual source of fun for fans as well as themselves. “Our progress is good. We’re going in a good direction and in a fast way,” Neeb contentedly proclaimed.

The guys anticipate a performance Feb. 20 at Pizzeria Uno, 222 W. Gorham St., from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. The band can be reached at [email protected].