DIB Band Proflie: Cova

RIYL: FatWreck, Knapsack, Bad Religion, Punk

See also: Soft, Outtaline, Soda., and Cova's MySpace
page (with three downloadable MP3s).

I'm not that good at comparing one band to another, so I don't really know what to put in that RIYL section above, or what to say here, really. I guess you should just take a listen for yourself.

Cova - Minus One

I've known Paul from Cova for quite a while. You can see a picture of him in his skivies here (on the left). Recognize that soundboard? You can see the exact same one here in my profile photo. Paul's picutre is on the cover of the No Pants! CD, which is a benefit compilation for the radio station we worked at together. [note the outrageous used-price tag on that CD... I recommed buying it, but instead send 10 bucks to the fundraising manager at KSCU, 103.3 fm. Also, you should probably start streaming their station instead of listening to KROQ or XM or whatever the fuck you're listening to.]

Okay, so back to the point of this post, which is Cova. Well, I keep writing shit and then deleting it, and I can't say it any better than Paul, so I'll just get right to the questions. I asked Paul a few questions over email last week, and here's what he sent me. He's a thouroughly engaging person, really funny, and (despite what he says below) a great guitar player. Enjoy.

Cova Official Website


1) What are your names and what do you do in the band?
Paul sings vocals and plays guitar. Todd plays drums. Scott plays bass. And Jim plays guitar.


2) How long have you been together and how did you all meet?
As Cova, we’ve been kicking around for a few years. Story goes, Todd and Jim were playing together in a band called Soda. {here} A late lineup change brought Paul into the fold. Soda parted ways with the singer and formed Outtaline {here}. Lots of shows and fans and good times, but like many bands, life came along and threw a wrench into the works. So Todd, Paul, and Jim asked their good friend Scott (The Story) to come play the bass. The start has been a slow one, but our intentions from the first practice were to make music our way in our time frame. We all have lives and families, and the hard-driving “make or break” attitude from 5 or 6 years prior just clashes with the present day. We’re OK with that. We’re just trying to get our music out to people who care without false expectations or pretense.


3) Who or what is "Minus One" about?
At times the lyrics are written to be purposely vague. Such is the case with Minus One. Some think it’s about a girl. Others about drugs. To be honest, I wrote it about the breakdown between parent and teenage child. Pure fiction, though. I love my parents. Does that take away any cred points? Oh well.


4) How collaborative is your song-writing and how does it get done?
More often than not, one of us brings in a song that is essentially complete. Then we add some layers. Tweak some parts. The we play it over and over while I try desperately to come up with a vocal melody. The lyrics are written later outside the band room. We revisit songs quite a bit. Change little parts. Add a new twist on a background vocals. I was going to say “it’s organic, man.” But I’m wearing shoes. I’ve showered today. And thus, I’m not a hippie. Ha!


5) What are your major musical and lyrical influences?
For the most part, the whole band shares many of the same favorite bands—Samiam, Hot Water Music, Knapsack. But we all have our own things. Todd keeps the rock alive. Jim treads out into the quieter side of indie world. Scott digs a lot of these new instrumental bands coming up. And I’ve been listening to rockabilly.


6) What is your greatest moment as a band? Your worst?
Like all bands, there are moments when you get disheartened or frustrated. It’s a struggle sometimes. But that’s the nature of the beast. At the end of practice and the end of the day, we’re friends. And that’s so much more important than shows, songs, recording, etc. So for “worst,” I’d have to say the long, arduous search for a singer. We auditioned quite a few people, one of which was from some known bands. But nothing was working out. It was tough. I stepped up to the mic in the interim just to keep us going. And man did I suck ass. But I kept trying and trying with the all of the guys’ help. And it’s worked out so far. The best moment is any moment your hard work—and all the inherent bickering, disappointments, sweat, etc.—is acknowledged by someone who appreciates the final product.


7) Have you opened for any bands you idolize, yet? What happened?
We’ve been playing out locally, so no big names yet. In our previous incarnation, we had quite a few brushes with fame opening for Unwritten Law, Flogging Molly, Zeke, and Tilt. But the best one, for me at least, was playing with Agent Orange. I idolized them. So when Mike Palm came up after we played and said, “great show,” I about crapped myself in the middle of the venue. It was surreal.

8) What's the best part of being in Cova?
Playing with friends. Creating music with people who “get it.” We’re all basically on the same page. It’s comforting knowing that. You can try new things. That’s one of the things we wanted to do when we ended Outtaline: vary the tempos. Seemed like every song we had was fast and poppy. It started to become monotonous. Now we do whatever it is we want to do. And do it to please ourselves first and foremost.


9) How do you quantify success as a band or as an individual musician? Where is Cova?
Haha! When I was in Outtaline, I used to say that the only thing I ever wanted out of music was to have our CD available in a real record store. And to see a kid I didn’t know wearing our shirt. Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake. I can’t speak for the other guys, but I could care less about “making it.” I won’t lie, and say getting paid to make music for a living wouldn’t be nice. But that’s so far down on the priority list. Personally, I’m always trying to find a new way to write or play a song to keep it interesting…getting better as a singer. By no means am I some stellar guitar player, but I enjoy pushing myself.

As a band, I can say that success to us would be getting our music in front of as many people as we can. Let them decide if it’s worth listening to. We won’t pay for special placement on music sites. We refuse to have a street team. Our favorite bands were recommended to us by friends. That’s how we’d like Cova to grow its fan base. Rest assured we won’t stop playing music. I think people will just stop liking it. Ha!

And let me take this opportunity to thank you, Mike, for posting this. Word of mouth all the way. {Using my real name? Tsk-tsk. This is DIB's website!}

10) Outtaline or Cova?
Ha! Cova for sure. We had a great time in Outtaline. Personally, I realized a lot of my musical goals in that band. We do miss the camaraderie of the local San Jose scene back when we were in Outtaline. But musically, we’ve moved forward. Cova is where we’re all at. And it works for us.