Working break for Cover Drive

Back in Barbados for two weeks, members of chart-topping local band Cover Drive are doing more than soaking up the sun. They are preparing for another milestone achievement in their career.Calling the brief home stint “a rehearsal vacation”, the four-member group, which hit No.1 on the British charts in January and was nominated for a Soul Train Award on Thursday, is putting in some local studio work and getting set to play with former American Idol Kelly Clarkson, who will tour Britain next month.“That’s very exciting so that’s why we’re doing some studio work. “Here our rehearsal space is our home and we love to come home and rehearse . . . and to soak up some sun, of course; we have missed the sunshine. “We’ve been in the UK for too long,” said lead vocalist Amanda Reifer with a chuckle.The Bajan group has been getting prime publicity in promotions of Clarkson’s tour that is slated for October 12 to 20 with gigs in Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and London.As for the Soul Train nomination, the group described it as “incredible”.“We’ve recently been nominated for a Soul Train Award in the United States, which is pretty incredible because we have done no promo or releases in the States yet, but somehow the music has found its way over there. “Also, Twilight has been getting major recognition in Europe and South Africa,” said Reifer.Having had three Top 10 singles in Britain so far, including the Caribbean-infused pop single Twilight, Lick Ya Down and their latest track Sparks, the group has not only attracted support from Clarkson but also from celebrity fans such as Jessie J, Emeli Sandé, Dappy and fellow Bajan superstar Rihanna. It has been overwhelming for the four, who range in age from 19 to 23. “It’s very strange because we still feel like four kids from a basement in Barbados just playing music. We don’t really feel famous, so to speak; we just feel like regular kids. We do what we love and we’re fortunate to be doing that, but a lot of fans love the music,” said Reifer.Many British fans also want to learn how to wuk up. “We dance a lot on stage so they want to learn that. During one of our songs called Hurricane, which is soca-influenced, we’ve brought people on stage to wuk up. It’s truly funny but some people cannot get it right,” said drummer T. Ray Armstrong.Laughing loudly, the four also noted that learning Bajan dialect was a big deal among fans. “On our Twitter account, we sometimes can’t tell which of our fans are Bajan or British because some of our British fans have now learnt how to speak Bajan so they’ve been tweeting things like, ‘Cover Drive, wuh gine on?’” said Armstrong and Reifer, guitarist Barry Bar Man Hill and bassist Jamar Harding agreed. Having also released their debut album Bajan Style this year, Reifer, 21, is enjoying the British media’s comparison of her beauty and style to that of the world renowned Rihanna.“I always take those comparisons as a compliment. Rihanna is a beautiful woman, amazingly talented and has an amazing career, but people forget we’re different in that Cover Drive is a band, it’s not just me out there. I take the comparison as long as they recognize we’re Cover Drive! “We started together and we’re definitely in this to see it to the end together. We’re best around each other anyway. We bring the best out in each other,” Reifer said.