There's a fresh new voice in Virginia's music scene, one that tempts comparison to young incarnations of now classic rock bands. But it's unfair to set the Virginia Tech-based band Copper Sails in that position. The quartet, which regularly brings its mix of crowd-pleasing covers and original songs to various University functions and Charlottesville venues, has a much larger promise.
"We started playing in high school," singer and bassist Boomer Muth said when we met after the sound check for a recent gig. "We'd been buds for a while. We got into college and started hitting clubs and frats, branching out to other colleges in the East Coast."
"Every single one," added guitarist Kerry Hutcherson, being only partially facetious. A recent weekend saw the band playing in New Hampshire one night and at the University the following night.
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Copper Sails' tight schedule reflects not only the band's desire to reach new audiences, but also the band's remarkable renown, unusual for a group at such a young age. Upon seeing them perform live, however, it's easy to see why they are such favorites. The band throws out impressively rendered covers of everything from U2 to the Beatles to the theme song from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." And when they slip in an original, the crowd doesn't thin - the songs' memorable choruses give them an accessible quality.
Hutcherson described the band's music as "classic and modern-influenced pop rock with lots of real harmony, unique guitar interplay and three-part harmony." It's an accurate depiction. Through an independent label, the band has released two albums, an eponymous debut and the more recent "Some Strange Reason." Crystal-clear vocals and restless instrumentation breed a lively brand of youthful rock with lyrics that celebrate life as they explore faith, love and independence.
"People don't listen to music to feel down on life," Muth observed. Indeed, the spirit of Copper Sails revolves around a love of life and music. Muth, Hutcherson, guitarist Jonathan Crawley and drummer Nash Hays exude camaraderie together, often finishing each other's sentences or inadvertently reinforcing each other's statements in their own words as we talked.
A rare egalitarianism dominates the band's writing process as well. The liner notes from "Some Strange Reason" credit the lyrics and music to the band as a whole, giving no specifics. Each member contributes pieces to the final product. "Even if [someone brings in] a complete song, we all come together and add different parts," Hutcherson said.
At this point in a young band's career, however, the workhorse that will get them somewhere is the live show. Copper Sails doesn't disappoint. The band's shows bound with energy from both the stage and the crowd in a reciprocal relationship that promises to last. The crowd gets the sense that the band is enjoying itself, and Crawley confirmed it.
Crawley said of the covers, "They're only the songs we like. They're a heck of a lot of fun to play. We just try to have fun onstage and be as exciting as we are excited. At U.Va., it's so easy to feed off the crowd."
The members of Copper Sails aren't satisfied to play fraternity houses from here to eternity, however. "We'd like to be rock stars," Muth said candidly. His aspirations are echoed throughout the band.
"It'd be nice to be a rock band on the wave of a new movement," added drummer Hays, a bit more modestly.
Copper Sails' previous two albums offer a guileless look at the world that welcomes the listener. "Each album is like a scrapbook for where we are at the time," Hays said. The band will head back to the studio sometime this year to complete a third album.
More information about Copper Sails can be found at the band's Web site, www.coppersails.com, including a schedule. They'll be sailing back to Charlottesville soon, so stay on the lookout.
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