For years, Andrew Nelson and Blount Floyd's lives have been about music, and they've travelled far and wide spreading their "simple, poppy, infectious" tunes. Their band, Great Peacock, will be performing Friday, Nov. 15 at the Overall Company and they advise those in attendance to expect a good time.
The band answered a few questions to give a little insight into their lives and their music, which are one in the same. If you're interested in the band, tickets are $10 and the concert begins at 8 p.m.
Q: How did you both get started in the music industry?
A: Nelson: "We both got into music on a whim, and we've been performing and playing for so long. We have both played in bands together, and we've been through a lot. We first started out in our twenties, and we didn't know what we were doing. We did the whole playing the bar scene. It was really loud and there was a lot of rock and roll. Now that we're a little older, we decided we wanted to do something a little different. And that's just how Great Peacock kinda happened."
Floyd: "Well I grew up playing in high school with a couple of bands, then I went to Auburn and played on my own. I left Auburn and went to an Engineering school which led me to Nashville and that's about it."
Q: It's an interesting and striking name, where did you two come up with Great Peacock?
A: Nelson: "Well, it started off as joke sort of thing. We noticed a bunch of bands with animals in their names and we thought that would be pretty funny. I have to admit, we were a little inebriated at the time and thought it would be a great idea. We were in a band that just ended and decided that if we were going to keep playing music, then lets just do it for fun. After that night, we started calling ourselves Great Peacock, wrote a song for our indie/folk/joke band and that's how it al happened. After that we wrote one song and our friends loved it and people kept wanting to hear it and it went on from there."
Q: You've been in different bands and seen bandmates come and go, what keeps you two together and still chasing the dream?
A: Nelson: "Blount and I pair very well together, personality wise and musically. We've been best friends for a while and we tend to know how to argue with each other. Whenever you're in a band and you're making music, it usually ends up in arguments. We tend to resolve conflicts really quick.
Musically, we both like and listen to the same types of music. Blount is a little more adventurous in the bands he listens to, and I'm more pop-minded. It creates a nice balance, and we get that artistic merit and commercial appeal that we want.
We also sing very well together. I can't sing harmony, I'm terrible at it. And Blount doesn't have a strong lead voice. When we're riding around listening to music, he never sings the melody; he naturally sings the harmony. So we're a perfect fit."
Q: What's a typical day like for Great Peacock when you're on the road performing?
A: Nelson: "These days, we tour off and on. At this stage, we don't have the ability to just tour all the time so we just mainly hit the road on the weekends. We're going to betaking it easy after this weekend until around February. We'll be starting to record our first full length album during that time. We have not decided on a name yet.
In general, it's a lot of going back and forth and it's not very exciting. It's hours in the car, a bunch of dude jokes and a lot of listening to music. We show up, do our thing, have a lot of waiting then get to play some music. We always stay up way too late and party way too much. "
Q: How would you describe your sound?
A: Nelson: "It's more like a pop music/Americana vein. Very southern sounding though. For us, it's just trying to write and play a really catchy song. Like a lot of indie/folk bands, we use a lot more natural sounding instruments."
Floyd: "People usually tag us as "Americana." I mean what is Americana? It means we play a lot of pop songs with acoustic bass and it just falls into the folk category. We just try to write about what people like and connect with."
Q: Where do you draw inspiration for your music?
A: Nelson: "I would have to say growing up in the south has a big impact on our music. We are also inspired by rhythm and sounds that we hear throughout our day. Hearing these sounds leads to the beat in our song, which leads to writing cords, and then there are the lyrics. It feels like a progression through life,
We also love nature and that factors in. It comes from fishing, being outdoors and traveling; its all we ever do."
Floyd: "Well it can be found in a lot of things. We're connected with the south, I grew up in Dothan and Andrew grew up in Mississippi, Birmingham and Georgia so he's all over the south. We try to incorporate the music we love, like old country, and have it be a little more modern and catchy. It's weird, a lot of our songs are about birds or death.
Q: What's your favorite song that Great Peacock performs?
A: Nelson: " My favorite song we do changes night to night. Most likely it's what we play best that night or whatever the crowd responds most to. A crowd favorite is "Of the Mountain Crowd."
Floyd: "The newest songs are the ones you're always going to be the most excited about. "Arms" is one we haven't played yet since we've been here and it's a little more psychedelic, with a classic rock kind of sound to it. I'm really excited about that one and it's gotten great feedback."
Q: What can we expect from Great Peacock at the Overall Company on Friday?
A: Nelson: "They can expect lots of fun. You're gonna want to sing along even if you've never heard it before. We want you to get your moneys worth and have a different musical experience. You might not know what going on, but you feel a part of it."
Floyd: "You can expect to be thoroughly entertained by our energetic live show. We came from the world of rock and roll and we pride ourselves on keeping a crowd entertained and enthralled as the venue can allow.
I'm a big Auburn fan so I'm excited, it's been a really good spot for us."
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