“Earthy and elemental.”
That’s the first phrase that comes to mind for Covey, a Berklee-based indie-folk band, when asked to describe their music. It’s no surprise then that they were drawn to Boston Commons one sunny June afternoon to play a causal set for Make Music Boston and serenade passersby with the sounds of summer. Their set went off just after lead singer Tom Freeman had returned from a pickup game of soccer, which he had joined with his trademark enthusiasm and easy smile. After some free-wheeling fun, the five -person band proceeded to entrance us with their easy-breezy style: a perfect compliment to the bright summer day.
Months later, and in weather several degrees colder, I sat down with them in Pavement’s cozy interior (“The woodsy vibe of this place, really matches us”) to discuss their upcoming EP.
A relatively young band, they’ve been playing shows all over Boston (“Literally everywhere we can book”) and have opened for the likes of The Last Bison, High As A Kite, Gabriel Kahane, and Hozier. Like Hozier, their name has raised a lot of questions. Tom grew up on Covey Clough Court as a child, and Covey Clough became Covey as the singer-songwriter project grew into a band. “Later we found out that ‘Covey’ means ‘a flock of birds’, and I like that. We’re a little family: a flock of birds.”
Cohvee. Cuhvee. Fans never seem to know how to pronounce it-how do you actually say it? ” Honestly,” Jordan chimes in, “we’re not too worried about how people pronounce it; I think the music will speak for itself.” He shrugs “We don’t want to be contrived ya know- the name isn’t as important as the artistry.” They all nod at that. “You look at a band like The Arctic Monkeys…” Tom laughs, “The Arctic Monkeys-what does that even mean?” Tom gestures wildly in the air. “But nobody thinks it’s strange because it’s their sound, their music that you remember. That’s our goal: to be memorable through our music.”
Despite their continual “curse” of never having a permanent bassist, the band is a solid group. They’ve all come together through their passion for music, and, in Dillon’s case; a more specialty skill set. “He was our star clapper,” Tom laughs. “I’d been working on a project in my room and I asked him if he’d come over and do a couple claps for me. He started drawing up grids and trying out different beat patterns; he spent two hours in this little cubby clapping.”
Besides the influence of Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, and Bon Iver, Covey is influenced by art of all kinds. “I find a lot of inspiration in films,” Jordan reveals. “My favorite directors are Sophia Coppala, David Lynch, David Fincher, and Woodie Allen.” With such idols, it’s no wonder Covey’s music videos are as beautiful aesthetically as they are lyrically.
So what’s next for Covey? “Lots of studio time,” Tom says. “We’ve been playing all over Boston this past year, but now it’s time to put something concrete out there to show what we can do.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfXdMnraz_8
Covey’s first single, Comes and Goes, is available on iTunes.