Imagine a group of friends in Helser Hall sitting down to play a little after-dinner Sega, specifically “John Madden Football ’95.”

All is quiet except for the repetitive sound of the quarterback chanting “Hut Hut Hut” over and over again. And then … “doorknob.”

This scenario was the inspiration for a song by the central Iowa band Pookey Bleum and was written by guitar player and vocalist Aaron Hefley.

“When one of them farted, someone would yell ‘doorknob,’ and they would get beaten until they ran and touched a doorknob,” Hefley explained. “Every once in a while it would happen, so it made it into the song.”

“Madden,” as the song was named, is contained on Pookey Bleum’s self-titled debut CD due in stores Nov. 1.

With some shows lined up and a new record on the way, Pookey Bleum has nowhere to go but up. But the group had no idea it would make it this far when it started.

“All of a sudden people were hearing it, and they wanted to buy a copy, and we thought, ‘Wow, when did we get good?'” Hefley explained.

However, it did take some time before the band got to the point it is at now.

Playing self-described “happy pop music,” Pookey Bleum originally formed in Newton and has been poking around since May of 1996.

One of the main ingredients in Pookey Bleum’s musical recipe is “odd vocal harmonies” with two vocalists singing simultaneously to create a thick, full sound.

In the beginning, “all of us sang on every song so we had a real thick sound along with bass and guitar,” Hefley said. “We just wanted to create a rich vocal landscape and to be ourselves.”

The goals of the band were clearly outlined from the start.

“We all basically wanted to be different and set ourselves apart from other bands out there,” Hefley said. “And it’s hard to do because if you think of something, someone probably has thought of it before.” (With the exception of writing a song about playing Sega and farting, of course.)

Although he doesn’t want it to turn anyone off, Hefley cited Peter Paul and Mary as a vocal influence in the band.

“I don’t want people to think we’re a folk band,” Hefley said defensively.

After a few member changes, the band finally reached its current lineup, with Iowa State students Melissa Sorbo on bass/vocals and Hefley on guitar/vocals, plus Cedar Falls resident Jeremy Johnson on drums.

With Sorbo and Hefley juggling school and the band, and Johnson living in Cedar Falls, members of Pookey Bleum have had a tough time getting together for practices, but they have managed to pull it off.

“If you’re in a band, and you want to do it correctly, then you have to make it a full-time job,” Hefley said. On the other hand, “you have to make school a full-time job if you want to do it correctly also.”

One of the most recent developments in the band was playing in-between acts at a performance of “Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival,” the bi-weekly Wednesday night sketch comedy show at The M-Shop.

Pookey Bleum also plans to play another show at “Grandma Mojo’s” sometime in November.

“If they’ll keep having us, we’ll keep playing,” Hefley said.

As far as other projects for the future, the band wants to focus on playing some shows and eventually record another CD.

The current CD comes out in stores in a few weeks, but copies can be purchased in advance at the band’s shows and on its Web site.

Pookey Bleum will play a 21-and-over show tonight at Friends Club with the Mediocre Superheros. Friday, the group will hit Central College in Pella.