Technically, Warey's first gig was last summer. However, James Everest points to the final few gigs in 2011 by the defunct band Roma di Luna as the group's unofficial start.
RdL's members had to fulfill a handful of booking commitments without one of their two leaders. "We had to figure out some things on the fly and develop some songs that hadn't been fully formed, and under the unfortunate circumstances it went well," recalled Everest, the bassist in both bands.
Born on that improvisational and collaborative approach — along with the friendships that made them good bandmates in the first place — Warey came to light in recent months through a series of gigs at Icehouse leading up to the penultimate slot in Saturday's Best New Bands of 2014 showcase at First Avenue.
Of course, these musicians aren't exactly "new." Also an alum of Lateduster and the Sensational Joint Chiefs, Everest figures he has performed at three previous Best New Bands installments.
After her split from co-leader Alexei Moon Casselle led to the abrupt end of Roma di Luna, singer Channy Leaneagh started a little band called Poliça, which spent the past three years bouncing around the world playing festivals and winning international acclaim. Despite her busy schedule, the icy-voiced siren said she was eager to start writing and recording with Warey when she had the chance.
"There is a level of comfort and trust that comes with years of playing together through the good and bad times of the past 10 years," she said.
Everest and the other two members of Warey, guitarist Ben Durrant and drummer Ryan Lovan, stayed cozy musically in the interim. They eventually formed the instrumental group the Grave Trio and also became the backing band for experimental Duluth singer/songwriter Toby Thomas Churchill, one of many acts to record at Durrant's Crazy Beast Studio in recent years.
Last winter, Leaneagh informally joined one of the Grave Trio's rehearsals to improvise some song ideas.
