What do you get when you mix Michael Jackson, Tracy Chapman, Montell Jordan and Tony Thompson?

“If there’s one word to describe it, it’s funk/R & B,” Kolour of Soul keyboardist Earl Gooch said.

The original incarnation of Ames’ own K.O.S. began six years ago when Gooch met singer Abdul Muhammad through his girlfriend’s roommate at Campus Bookstore.

“After that, we put up some flyers that said we were looking for a drummer and Dave Knight joined the band,” Gooch said.

Since that time, two years have passed and the band has increased in size and popularity.

Knight moved to Des Moines and met Jesse Velobos, the band’s other keyboardist. Abdul moved to Iowa City for a time and met Rob Aikem, the band’s guitarist.

And, as the band’s members kept changing, so did the band’s name.

“We’ve changed band names three or four times now; it’s hard to even keep track,” Gooch said.

However, the band eventually settled on Kolour of Soul because it best exemplifies the spirit of its music.

“When we play a cover song, like ‘No Diggity,’ we might play a reggae or a jazz version. We bring out the different colors of a song,” Gooch said.

As the band members bring out the “different colors of a song,” they also strive to keep their performance original and fresh every time they play.

“We’ll play cover versions and depending on the mood of the crowd, some originals as well,” Gooch said. “We change things up week to week so that each time you see us, the songs will be a little different. We feel confident enough that we can just change the tempo, the mood, the swing.”

According to the band, the crowd obviously feels the swing. At one performance (at Julio’s in Des Moines) it got so funky that people started dancing on the tables.

“I think people really acknowledge the fact, ‘Yes, I like this song and like I this new twist to it’ when we play,” Gooch said.

In the band’s time together, the members have been busy playing major venues throughout Iowa and the Midwest and looking forward to the future.

“We’re working on trying to get a demo together as we polish our original tunes and get them ready for the public,” Gooch said. “I think (the songs) are pretty decent, but they’re not ready to be out yet.”

There is only one thing that may impede the band members’ dreams — they are all students, and graduation is looming overhead.

The band will soon have to decide if its bond is strong enough to hold it together.

“It can go either way. We do gel pretty well,” Gooch said. “Once I graduate, I can work my 9 to 5 and then work with the band.”

Kolour of Soul will be playing Saturday night at the M-Shop at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $4, $3 for students.