by Tiffany Allison

The Scope: This column highlights local artists in North Carolina and South Carolina who are currently making waves in the music industry. Anyone interested in finding fresh underground music should check out this column every month in The Idiot to see what the southern music scene has to offer.

Featured Artist: Groove Collector
Cover bands never get any respect. Musicians often discredit cover bands as being talentless rock star “wanna-bes” incapable of writing any original material. However, not many see covering songs as a way to get a leg up in the music industry or get your band booked in a venue.

Asheville-based Groove Collector saw the title “cover band” as an opportunity instead of a failure. Christian Justus, bass player, and Eric Congdon, guitarist and vocalist, formed the band three years ago, in hopes to pursuing their passion of song writing. The band put a lot of time and effort into writing original music, but discovered the true struggle for rising musicians- getting on a lineup. So, they switched to cover songs.

“I just found it was very, very tough to get your foot in the door,” Congdon said. “So we decided to do covers and go in the reverse way. Get ourselves established, and work in the originals as we went along.”

Musicians may scoff at this intuitive idea of sliding in the back door with other musicians’ songs. But talent is talent, and, sometimes, all it takes to build a fan base is one shot on stage, covering someone else’s songs.

People underestimate the genius concept behind cover bands.  Picture ...  this, you’re waiting in line at a bar packed three deep with men and women anxious to wave down the bartender to get a drink.  By the time you make it to the bar to request your order, the drunken gentleman you’ve been avoiding the whole night manages to weasel his way by your side.
Suddenly, a cover band starts to play a popular song and everyone starts to sing. You make your order, sing or scream with the rest of the crowd, which distracts the highly intoxicated loaf by your side, and allows you to slip away unnoticed.

Besides the practicality of a cover band at the bar, another positive of attribute is the common knowledge that people love to play their idolized musicians’ songs.

“When you see a band like Phish, they will always throw in a cover,” Congdon said. “That can be a really good approach. I think people appreciate that. It’s taken more time for us to get our name out, but, you know, I’m finding it is kind of working for us.”

Groove Collector has also made a few member changes throughout the years, which has caused some setbacks. With the recent addition of drummer Micah Thomas and keyboardist Geoff Weeks, Congdon and Justus decided it would be more profitable for their group to play covers until the new members settle into their groove. With Weeks and Thomas’s jazz background, Groove Collector has evolved into a new sound of rock.

“I think it’s apparent that all of us just love music. We love to play, and we love to create,” Congdon said. “We create high-quality music that people can really just enjoy and appreciate for the musicianship and for the songs we are writing. And with the addition of Weeks and Thomas, we now rock out with energy by mixing sloppy rock with a kind of smoother jazz philosophy.”

“Our main goal is to create songs that people are going to remember,” Justus said. “We want to let people know that ideas are cooking, that we are writing our own stuff, and that we plan on releasing a full-length album in the near future.”
Groove Collector is an example of modesty. They were not afraid to fight through the trenches and play cover songs at a crowded bar because they understood that it would pay off in the end.

For more information about Groove Collector, check out their My Space at www.myspace.com/groovecollectorband.

by Tiffany Allison

This trio of young musicians from Greensboro are determined to declare their progressive music to the masses. Formerly known as Perestroka, the band changed their name to We Are Masked in hopes that their audience would focus on their music instead of focusing on the meaning of their name.

“We are actors on a stage, characters who represent our music,” James Abbot, their guitarist, said. “We want the music to speak to people, and for them to pay attention to the band--not us as individuals.”

During set breaks, instead of speaking to the crowd, they play samples of sound clips and other music. Their reasoning behind the lack of dialogue links to their idea that people pay money to hear music, and not what musicians have to say. The group is proud of their crisp, well-oiled set, and prides themselves on their professional appearance, despite their age. The members of the band are Cameron Fitzpatrick, responsible for vocals and bass, James Abbot the guitar, and Vincent Russell the drums.

Their influences include Coheed and Cambria, Fair to Midland, and A Perfect Circle; However their idea of a perfect concert would be opening up for their idol, Rush.

“Playing with Rush would be a dream come true,” Fitzpatrick said.

Fitzpatrick has had four years of vocal training and aspires to be like Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer for Mars Volta. Both Abbot and Russell have been playing their instruments of choice for eight years.

“We are a ‘throwback’ band,” he said. “We definitely try to take the music somewhere.”

Their confidence in their sound is strong, and coming from an area flooded with hardcore, metal and pop punk, the group feels as though they have found their niche in the music society.

Paradigm, their album produced by themselves, is comprised of eleven full-length tracks. It was recorded at THINK Sound Studios, mixed by Drew Fulk and mastered by Jamie King at the Basement.

Their songs address issues most young adults deal with like anxiety, relationship conflict and growing pains. Their lyrics are heartfelt with sincere words of wisdom and sound advice.

The group prides themselves on the music they write, and believe in their lyrics and sound.

“At the end of the day, a great song is our ultimate goal,” Fitzpatrick said. “We let the song dictate its own direction, and try to write what the song demands, whether it’s hard to play or not. We are not a band obsessed with technical difficulty. We care about what sounds good.”

We Are Masked will be playing in Greensboro and Chattanooga, TN for their Spring Break Tour March 6-7 and Indianapolis, IN and Louisville, KY March 11-12.

For more information about We Are Masked check out their myspace at www.myspace.com/wearemasked.