Friends provide flight stability for musical-duo Holy Crow

Marc Richey and Travis England slowly are realizing a crow flies with two wings.

Richey came up with the idea of a band as well as the name, Holy Crow, last summer and starting with his longtime friend began to assemble members to the rock-blues group.

More than eight months have passed, and so have three drummers and two bassists.

The revolving door has spun England from guitar to drums, with Richey providing vocals and guitar for their original music. It's an arrangement with which the two Fredericktown High School graduates are growing increasingly comfortable.

They don't have to look far to find affirmation three may be a crowd. Two of the biggest influences to their style, The Black Keys and White Stripes, are two-piece bands.

The Black Keys are two friends who combined to make a large imprint on the landscape of modern music, and England sees a parallel to the plight of himself and Richey.

"Interestingly enough, the same story with them," England said. "The drummer played guitar as well and said, 'Well, the other guy played guitar so much better than me. I better pick up the drums.'"

He states it in matter-of-fact fashion, so much so that Richey cuts him short.

"No ... this guy is great," Richey said about England's ability to play guitar. "You ripped it."

It's clear the two respect each other's talents, finding peace with their two-piece status.

To be sure, Richey also can play the drums.

"We both play everything under the sun," England said.

Marc Richey rehearses with Travis England (not pictured) with their band Holy Crow at Richey's home Saturday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

It's a versatility, nimbleness and synchronization the pair have been honing in their one-on-one sessions, which take place about twice a week, some in England's garage in Fredericktown, Missouri, and others at Richey's home in Cape Girardeau.

A tight friendship helps them fit comfortably into roles, with Richey writing and singing the lyrics to 14 original songs, bending strings and milking notes on his Epiphone Les Paul guitar with England fully engaged on the drums, often with a smile of satisfaction.

"It's easy to tell what you're getting into as soon as you hear him play guitar," England said about Richey's penchant for rock-blues riffs, which sit well with him.

They first played together 10 years ago while growing up in Fredericktown, not exactly a hotbed for rock. In an area where country and bluegrass music tend to ride shotgun in pickup trucks, Richey listened to his dad's Black Sabbath and AC/DC. He played bass guitar in the bands at Fredericktown High School and even played guitar in the marching band.

England took a musical appreciation class in middle school, where he took up acoustic guitar and gained exposure to a variety of instruments, including the drums. His dad was into Alice in Chains, and he somehow acquired an affinity for Frank Zappa in the hills of Madison County, Missouri.

"There's a few dudes like us," Richey said.

Richey eventually moved to St. Louis and took culinary classes but found the evening and weekend hours of a restaurant chef incompatible with his desire to play music. He moved to Cape Girardeau about two years ago and married.

Travis England plays the drums with his band Holy Crow on Saturday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

Last summer, a friend with whom he played in a band in high school, extended an invitation for Richey to come to Nashville, Tennessee, to record in a studio he had built in his garage. It fanned the musical embers in Richey.

"It was just me then," Richey said. "I was like, 'If he remembered me 10 years ago playing guitar, like, I need to round up [a band] and put this into motion.'"

England, 25, was an easy sell. He said he's always looked up to Richey, who was a grade ahead of him in school.

England has confidence in Richey's musical instincts and writing ability.

"I guess I'm here as, like, a consultant to his ideas and help guide him," England said. "I have my own stuff that I write, and it's my own stuff. He has a big picture to what this is all supposed to sound like. I try not to get in the way of that."

Their comfort on multiple levels -- friends and musicians -- is evident with their ability to amend each other's statements and a general agreement on topics. Together, they've produced catchy tunes such as "The Kids" and "Boy He Grows," which can echo in one's head.

"With him, I found, was like, 'Oh my gosh, I can help,'" England said about their musical collaboration. "It's like we're painting a picture together. Like he's the left and I'm the right hand. It's amazing."

Travis England, left, and Marc Richey with the band Holy Crow rehearse their song "The Kids" at Richey's home Saturday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

They tested their original songs on five low-key open-mic nights in October at Ragsdales in downtown Cape Girardeau and gained confidence in their musical direction through the experience.

While the crowds at the largely unadvertised Monday-night events were not big, they received positive feedback. A promotional video for Ragsdales' open mic that featured Holy Crow received about 2,000 views over a two- to three-day period.

"We made friends with the employees, and they were saying, like, 'Yeah, man, we don't get this kind of feedback on social media on things that we pay for people to see,'" Richey said. "So we were like, 'Wow, this is great.'"

It inspired them to create a Facebook page for the group and record music to post.

It's been an uphill climb as far as retaining members or booking dates, but they appear not to be fazed or overly frustrated. Richey does not aspire to be a cover band, which has made it difficult to find venues to play their original music.

Others have taken notice of their desired course and talent.

Scatterguns, another local group, contacted the duo to perform with them April 8 at Rude Dog Pub in Cape Girardeau.

Holy Crow also plans to put together a CD sometime in the future.

"I never met anyone who had a vision for success, a plan of action or was willing to not be drunk or on drugs," England said. "He's honestly the first guy. That's why we get along. I have to. If I let go of him, I have to go back to them, and I don't want to do that."

Richey has one loyal member.

And Holy Crow has two wings.

jbreer@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3629