Their band name is a “Simpsons” reference. Their musical style is hard to define. With plans for a California tour in the works, the members of this Ames-based band have stars in their eyes.

Two years ago, this description would have been a perfect fit for the now-defunct Mr. Plow. But now, the torch has been passed to Max Power.

“We were having trouble coming up with names that everyone could agree on, and then one day we were all watching the ‘Simpsons’ episode where Homer changes his name to ‘Max Power,’ and we tried it out for a while,” says guitarist Matt O’Gara. “We were going to change it to something else at some point, but it just kind of stuck.”

O’Gara says that the common “Simpsons” theme between Max Power and Mr. Plow is purely coincidental.

“We found out later that some band from Ames called Mr. Plow had done that same type of thing, but I’d never even heard of them at the time,” O’Gara says. “I still haven’t heard them, I guess.”

While the band names may be similar, this rock quartet is striving to set itself apart from the crowd. After the release of a five-song EP, “Half-Hour Of Power,” nearly one year ago, Max Power is ready to release their first full-length album, “Three Ring Circus,” in early March.

The new CD will also be one of the first releases on Ames’ newest record label, Old Era Records, operated by Argos guitarist Matt Goode.

“[Matt] has been a friend of ours for a long time, and he wanted to help us out,” says drummer John Brower, junior in psychology. “They basically put together a label for us to put out a CD on and start promoting, because it’s a lot easier to promote when you have a label to go on.”

Just as with “Half-Hour Of Power,” Max Power’s newest offering will feature songs from a wide variety of musical genres, with a style that vocalist Travis Sowden, junior in management, says evolved from each member’s individual musical upbringing.

“We all have a little bit of the same taste, but we still have our own unique influences. For me, I like a lot of the older stuff, like Sinatra and Buddy Holly, all the way up to the newer stuff,” Sowden says. “Anything that I can sing along to I like, and it becomes an influence for our music.”

With near-perfect synchronization between spring break and the March release of their new album, the members of Max Power decided to take their promotion up a notch by touring in California. So far, the band is tentatively scheduled to play shows at three Los Angeles clubs — Studio 56, the Roxbury Theater and The Whiskey.

“I hope that we go out there and people like us and are willing to listen to us,” says bassist Nick “Habib” Elliott, senior in accounting. “Hopefully, some record executive will be there, and maybe we could get signed to a larger label and actually have enough money coming into us where we could go out and tour across the country.”

A successful tour in Los Angeles could be a big step in advancing Max Power to the next level, but the band members seem to realize that playing music and developing a fan base are more important than instant career success.

“We just need to make sure that people like us and like listening to us,” Elliott says. “That’s my main thing at every show. Even if there’s only one person that hasn’t heard us before and then likes us, that gives me a good feeling.”

It’s just sort of a fun thing to say that you’ve played somewhere outside of the Midwest,” O’Gara says. “It’s partly a r‚sum‚ thing, and it’s partly just to see what’s out there.”

O’Gara says that even if the California tour is a success, the future of Max Power could still change dramatically in the near future.

“The other guys are still taking classes for the next year or two,” says O’Gara, who graduated from Grandview College last spring. “I’d like to keep in touch with them for at least that long and see how far we can take the band, and if everybody’s still really big into it, I don’t think anyone will really want to give it up.”

Whereas O’Gara is slightly more relaxed about the future of Max Power, the other members are adamant about the success of the band.

“As long as I can still sing and John has both arms, I’ll keep singing and he’ll keep drumming,” Sowden says.

“Actually, I could have one arm, I guess — just like Def Leppard,” Brower says.

Sowden says that although the fans are usually supportive of the music, there is one comment floating around that is worse than any comparison to an early ’80s hair metal band could ever be.

“For some reason, people say that one of our songs, ‘No Help,’ sounds like a Creed song,” Sowden says. “Let this be a warning: The next time somebody says we sound like Creed, I’m going to punch them in the face.”

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