A Greenwood native will fly to Las Vegas this month to compete in a new Fox reality show, "The Search for the Next Great American Band."
Power Seawright, 32, and the five other members of Dova Grove were one of 40 bands chosen from thousands Fox affiliates' Internet polls. The show premieres Oct. 19.
Seawright, who plays electric guitar, keyboard and organ for the band, began playing guitar at the age of 12. He began performing for the public while attending the University of Mississippi. There he met Daniel Stovall of Marks, now lead guitarist of Dova Grove.
He met most of the other band members after moving to Memphis four years ago to work as a computer programmer for Hilton hotels. They have been playing together for about two years.
Seawright said the band plays "acoustic to classic rock and some jam band stuff. We play about 60 percent original music and 40 percent covers." They have played in seven states and performed at a Widespread Panic after-party in Little Rock, Ark.
"It's very stressful and a big-time commitment," Seawright said. "We usually practice once a week, and we have five to six gigs a month. That's on top of the 40-hour work week," he said.
The band's name comes from a combination of Cordova, the area east of Memphis where one band member lived, and Walnut Grove, the street where Seawright lived.
Seawright and others learned of the contest at the last minute. The deadline to enter was July 19. They happened to have one video of a concert filmed by a family member. "We turned it in with, like, 10 minutes to spare," Seawright said.
The poll was on the Web site of the Memphis Fox affiliate.
"We were encouraged to get our fans to vote, our MySpace fans and e-mail listings … but it was open to anyone," he said.
Of the 40 bands chosen to audition, 10 will compete on the show, Seawright said: "I'm sure it'll be very similar to 'American Idol,' where the first show is the audition of who made it and who didn't."
Seawright's only concern is the time he might have to spend away from his job. The audition should only take around three days, he said, but making it into the top 10 could tie him up for several weeks.
Seawright has plenty of family support. "I've been their biggest fan from the very beginning when they were playing just the small dives around Memphis," said R.D. Seawright, his sister.
Dova Grove has a really good relationship with its fans, and their music is great to dance to, she said.
She describes the band's music as "kind of bluesy rock with a little bit of pop thrown in. They write a lot of original stuff but put in covers of Allman Brothers or Jack Johnson … You name it, they can play it."
Power Seawright gets his musical influence from his father, Joe Seawright of Greenwood, who plays in the group Curb Service.
Band members besides Seawright and Stovall are Troy Francisco, of Atlanta, Ga., saxophone; Evan Murphy, of Senatobia, bass; Jonathan Leetham, of Memphis, Tenn., drums; and Joe Egli, of Cedar Falls, Iowa, lead vocals, acoustic guitar.
Information on the band can be found at www.dovagrove.com.
