Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival may turn some ears with its name, but where the Revival really gathers attention is with its performances.

The first of those performances for the ’98-’99 season is tonight at The Maintenance Shop.

Cast member Jason Taylor defines the group as “a sketch comedy group comprised of amateur comedians.”

“Grandma Mojo’s” formed a year ago when Iowa State’s former sketch comedy group, The Mighty Monkey Power Hour, lost most of its members to graduation.

It was then that a new group, including Taylor, was formed and switched its name to “Grandma Mojo’s Moonshine Revival.”

“We were all just sitting around, and we thought it up,” Taylor said about the name. “Someone thought of Moonshine Revival, but we thought it needed more, so someone else thought of Grandma, but we still thought it needed more, so somebody said Mojo and that’s what we went with.”

It was last year when sketch comedy began gaining attention on campus, and soon the group was selling out nearly every bi-weekly performance.

“The new cast clicked right away; that’s when we started the success that we have now,” Taylor said.

The secret to the success of “Grandma Mojo’s,” Taylor explained, is the talent involved and the attitude of the audience.

“[In the past] we’ve had real receptive crowds, and we hope to get good crowds this year,” Taylor said. “Our quality dipped last year, but we have a really good group this year.”

Taylor added that there have been some changes in this year’s show.

There is no longer a permanent house band to play during intermissions, although the group is willing to let any local band play during the breaks.

“We’ll take anyone who wants to play — we just haven’t had anyone approach us this year,” Taylor said.

This year’s group, composed of only two females and a handful of guys, will be shinning away from some of the older characters the troupe has used in the past.

“You can expect a lot of new stuff and some zany, crazy antics,” Taylor said. “They’re going to start doing some crazy stuff, pushing the envelope to the limit.”

When the group is running low on ideas, Taylor said, they put a few signs up and run some tryouts.

“We’ll do some sketch exercises, and if we see anyone that makes us laugh, we’ll let them in,” Taylor said.

The new season of Grandma Mojo’s opens tonight at The M-Shop at 10. The show will continue every other Wednesday and will cost $1 at the door.