The Jensen Connection tries to make music that people like.

“Our music has good vocals – it’s catchy, it’s flashy at times,” said Adam Morford, drummer for the Iowa City-based quintet. “It’s natural and played with a lot of feeling and emotion.”

Morford said he’s not the only one who likes his band’s music.

“I’ve seen people actually singing the words to our songs when we’re playing, which is pretty sweet because I don’t even know the words,” Morford said. “It’s mind-boggling at times.”

The band has been around for almost four years and is named after Pat Jensen, the original drummer, who left the band after he “got a haircut and a real job,” according to Morford. Morford joined on auxiliary percussion almost a year ago and took over on the kit soon after.

Morford says the band was “taking off” right around the time he joined, and the last year has seen them playing well-attended shows throughout the Midwest and opening for such regional favorites as the Nadas and the Big Wu. The band also independently recorded and released its debut album, “Distracted,” in 2005.

Keyboardist Brian Cretzmeyer said he is impressed with the band’s recent success.

“I’ve been in a lot of bands, and to see the audience grow like this is unheard of,” Cretzmeyer said. “We’ve put a lot into it, and now it’s moving really fast.”

One of the other bands Cretzmeyer is in is the Gglitch, which was formed on the ISU campus when Cretzmeyer was a student in 1998. The Gglitch is now based in Iowa City, and also includes Morford on drums. The two band members say playing in The Jensen Connection is a different experience than the Gglitch.

“If you like the energy and interplay of the drums and keyboards in JC, you should check out the Gglitch,” Morford said.

However, Cretzmeyer said the Gglitch is not as immediately accessible as The Jensen Connection. The bands are similar in that they both improvise onstage, although The Jensen Connection limits their “jamming” to hold audience attention.

“The Jensen Connection has a much more distinctive songwriting ability, whereas the Gglitch is almost purely jam-based,” Cretzmeyer said. “Both bands jam, but where JC might play an 8-minute song, the Gglitch plays 30-minute songs.”

Another factor that may have aided the popularity of The Jensen Connection is the use of covers in its live shows. The band plays songs by bands as diverse as Sublime, Phish and the Rolling Stones and performs several cover songs at every concert. Morford said covers are important for any band that doesn’t have a well-known catalog of original songs and plays in bars and college towns.

“You have to do covers. It’s a must with the crowd that we’re playing to,” Morford said. “Usually the crowd that we’re playing to is inebriated, and it just gives them something to relate with. Covers help get the crowd’s attention, and then you can hit them with one of your own songs.”

Morford and Cretzmeyer said they have around 30 of their own songs and are always writing more. As far as the future goes, Cretzmeyer said The Jensen Connection will let the music be its guide.

“We’re just working hard and we’re writing songs and we’re trying to be professional about it,” Cretzmeyer said. “We’re just going to let the music take us wherever it will.”

What: The Jensen Connection

When: 9:30 p.m. Wednesday

Where: People’s Bar and Grill

Cost: Free