The 'Barefoot Truth' About The McLovins' Jeff Howard

When Barefoot Truth invited guitarist Jeff Howard, of The McLovins, on stage to play with them during a concert at Infinity Hall in Norfolk Saturday, it was easy to think, “How sweet. They’re letting a high schooler play with them,” as the Canton High junior humbly hopped up on stage and grabbed an electric guitar.

In fact, that wasn’t far off from Barefoot’s initial reaction to The McLovins, two years ago, when they learned the teenage band trio would be opening for them at Keene State University in New Hampshire.

“They looked really young,” Barefoot Truth’s electric and double bass guitarist Andy Wrba told Patch. “We came to learn that they were the real deal.”  

That shock factor did not change Saturday night. Howard instantly blended with the folk, rock, jazz and reggae elements of the independent band based in Mystic. Lead singer, guitarist and drummer Will Evans, of Mystic, wove “let your body catch up to Jeff Howard” into the chorus lyrics for Barefoot Truth’s 2010 song “Eagle Front” and, with that, Howard took off with a solo mid-song that lasted nearly two minutes. He also played with them for several other songs, though just one riff was enough to validate Evans’ argument that Howard may be “the best guitar player in all of Connecticut.”

“I’m definitely living my dreams. I couldn’t be happier and I’m so thankful,” Howard said. “I don’t know if I can say I’m living the American Dream, but I’m living my own dream and that’s what matters.”

Wrba is impressed that Howard can “shred fast” and “make music out of it,” instead of playing “crazy” and out of control like many young musicians may do. Howard, who can also play piano, drums and bass, has a mature musicality. Wrba said he often learns from him.

“He is a great guitar player. He is beyond his years for sure,” said Wrba.

The McLovins

Jamming is something that Howard is comfortable with, as The McLovins dub themselves a “progressive jam, improvisational rock band.” While their songs have structure, Howard said they “leave a lot more leeway to do spur-of-the-moment jams.” So a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge sequence often ends with a opening at the end for the musicians to “see where it goes.” The improv jam sessions prevent them from merely “going through the motions,” he said, making their music fresh each time they perform.

“It’s definitely a fun style of music. The songs don’t get old,” Howard said. “I’ve found thinking about what you’re playing only hampers you. I’ve had an attitude recently, what comes out comes out and I’ve found the crowd will get into something even if you’re not into it.”

After all, jamming was how the McLovins got started. Drummer Jake Huffman, of Granby, met Howard at in 2008 at the Memorial United Methodist Church in Avon. Jeff Howard did the camp the previous year and while he has played guitar since he was in third grade, it was his first time learning how to play in a band.

Huffman introduced Howard to his friend and bass player Jason Ott, of Simsbury in 2008 when he had them over to jam for fun.

“The chemistry was so strong on that first day that we said, ‘hey, let’s get together next weekend and the weekend after that.’ And then we became a band,” Howard said.

YouTube

When The McLovins posted a rendition of Phish’s technical jam, “You Enjoy Myself,” on YouTube, it got a lot of page views, currently 195,488.

“One of the reasons we categorize ourselves in that jam genre is because I was really into Phish at the time and I still am,” Howard said.

A Phish message board picked up the cover and dubbed them “The McLovins” in the comment stream because many people thought Howard and Ott resembled McLovin from “Superbad.”

Because of YouTube, musicians no longer have to wait for a record deal to make their music accessible to the world.

“With the rise of technology, you hear more of these stories about artists [starting off on YouTube],” Howard said. “Justin Bieber is the big example. He is the highest paid teenager and got his start on YouTube.”

YouTube is also a major way Barefoot Truth shares its music and the band credits Pandora for their big start. Their new album, “Carry Us On” recently ranked 10th on the iTunes Rock Charts.

“We feel the love on YouTube,” Wrba said. “Pandora was absolutely huge for us.”

The Music Network

The collaboration between Howard and Barefoot Truth Saturday stemmed from a two-year friendship developed through music. They kept in touch after the Keene gig. Howard has traveled to Pittsfield, MA, Wrba’s hometown, once a month within the past year to play with him at a funk jam night at the Mission Bar and Tapas. Wrba and his friend, Noah Weiss, an occasional guest saxophone player with Barefoot Truth, spearhead the jazz and funk sessions. They invited Howard to participate, wowed by The McLovins’ music posted on their website. John Wayno, Barefoot Truth’s energetic keyboardist, joins them when he can.

“He fits right in with us and with this type of music,” Wrba said of Howard.

Barefoot Truth has done collaborative work before, primarily touring with former Dispatch band member Pete Francis. They also recorded an album in 2010 called “Life is Calling,” featuring voice duets with singer Naia Kete.

“These days, I’m seeing a lot of collaborations like Wynton Marsalis and Eric Clapton,” Howard said. “Big artists are definitely collaborating.”

The Barefoot Truth

And networking was how Barefoot Truth formed. Jay Driscoll, who grew up in South Hadley, MA, and Evans formed the original Barefoot Truth in 2005 as a duet act after meeting in Connecticut. Wrba first jammed with them after meeting through a mutual friend at Saint Michael’s College, Evans’ and Garrett Duffy’s alma mater. Duffy, who primarily plays harmonica, is now breaking into a singing role with the group. Wrba later joined the band and brought on Wayno, his fellow classmate at Westfield State College. The band officially started with all five members in 2007.

Barefoot Truth has primarily played up and down the eastern coastline, including President Barack Obama’s pre-debate rally in New York, where Bruce Hornsby and Crosby and Nash also performed. Some of their 2010 “Threads” album is in the background of documentary film, “Nature Propelled.”

Saturday was Howard’s first night playing a concert with all of Barefoot Truth, though it was not his first time at Infinity Hall, where the McLovins have headlined before.

“Playing with Barefoot Truth was exciting. It’s definitely different than the jazz gigs because the style of music they play is a little more song-based and it covers folk and rock,” Howard said. “I remember the moment I played that first note at the sound check with them. They were such a great band and it was beautiful. “

He is scheduled to play with them again at The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, one of Wrba’s favorite venues, on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.

Will all of McLovins join Barefoot Truth on stage sometime?

“There is nothing set up now, but we’re open to it,” Wrba said.

In the words of a fan at the Saturday night Infinity Hall show, “Jeff Howard for secretary of state.”

Could Howard become secretary of state or the best guitar player in Connecticut?

Both are a lot to live up to, but Howard is young and at the rate his music is developing, anything is possible. 

And that’s the barefoot truth.

Editor's Note: More information about the bands are available on their websites, http://www.barefoottruth.com and http://www.themclovins.com.

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