What's a good recipe for a Milwaukee band? A dash of Beatles, a pinch of The Bodeans … simmer for an hour and add a little Waukesha flavor to the mix, and you get the melodic rock group Exit. The debut of their highly-anticipated second album, "Scenes From Next Week," is scheduled for this weekend at Milwaukee's spring festival, RiverSplash. The foursome will perform Saturday on the Pere Marquette stage in Marquette Park.

Exit is by no means a group of studio virgins. Back in 1999 the band released their first album, "Two Words," which sold more than 1,000 copies in the first week.

"Recording 'Two Words' was our first time in the studio," says lead singer Ryan McIntyre. "I think having an album under our belt, along with various other projects over the past couple of years helped us feel comfortable this time around. 'Scenes From Next Week' is naturally more mature simply because we are older and more experienced. Some of the songs off the last album were written when I was 13 years old. We hope people are pleasantly surprised with our new album."

What started as a two-man, acoustic cover-band, playing songs by Peter Gabriel, Weezer, Oasis and U2, is now a talented quartet receiving solid recognition for their efforts. Exit has won three awards from the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI). They have also attracted the attention of a Los Angeles producer who used two songs from their first album in a movie called "Big Brother Trouble," starring Mario Lopez (Slater from "Saved By the Bell").

"We've had some really nice breaks along the way," says McIntyre. "The first time we saw 'Big Brother Trouble' in the theater I was following along with the story and completely forgot that our songs would be played. When 'You Drive Me Wild' began, I had goose bumps and the people in the theater started clapping for us. It was amazing."

Exit has a sound similar to the Barenaked Ladies with crisp, clear lyrics that are accompanied by uplifting guitar rifts that scream pure positivity.

"One thing we are very proud of is the fact that people of all ages enjoy our music and come to our shows," says McIntyre. "While the majority of our crowd comes from the college market, we have so many fans who are under 15 and over 55. We try and get the kids involved with our show. We'll have them up on stage and the only consequence we found is that they beg their parents for guitars and drums for weeks and weeks after the show."

The quartet is made up of Ryan McIntyre, lead singer and guitar player; Mike Mann, guitar; John Williams, bass; and Craig Walkner, drums. It seems like their career is going well, but it hasn't always been movie deals and record releases. To make ends meet they have had to maintain several side jobs like working as a locksmith, a railroad worker, a teacher and a sod farmer.

However, soon the Waukesha-based acoustic cover-band, was quickly making a name for itself and started booking gigs at clubs all over the state. While progress was moving a positive direction, the increase in business had its downside.

"We primarily stay in Wisconsin so we don't have to stay in hotels or spend too much time driving," says McIntyre. "However, late nights, lack of sleep, playing until 2:30 a.m. in Green Bay and then getting to the studio in Waukesha by 10 a.m. is tough sometimes. When we do go out of state we find the experience very rewarding, it prepares for the next step in our career."

Some musicians knock the Milwaukee music scene by saying it's too small or that it doesn't even exist. Those kinds of musicians tend to migrate to bigger cities like Chicago or Los Angeles. Not Exit -- they plan on sticking around for awhile.

Says McIntyre, "If we can make some serious noise in this community and continue to have our fan base grow, with the power of the Internet we can stay local, branch out to the Midwest and start making waves across the nation."

He added, "Milwaukee has been good to us and now is not the time to leave."

Venues in Milwaukee that Exit has performed at include Shank Hall, The Milwaukee Ale House, and the BBC. McIntyre commented that, "Milwaukee clubs have been very kind to us."

For more information on the band, visit to their Web site at www.exitmusic.com.