Written By: JoAnn Snavely

The bestest of friends. Peace & Quiet is a Boone-based band made up of guitarist Dodge Hill, bassist Andrew Gilkinson, guitarist and vocalist Leo Cofoni, and drummer Connor Ross. They are making waves in the local music scene with their raw, energetic sound. Known for blending influences from classic rock, experimental tones, and a bit of humor, these rising stars are crafting a unique genre all of their own. No Regards had the chance to catch up with the band after their latest show at Betsy’s Barn, where we dove into everything from their favorite pre-show hot tub rituals to their surprising musical inspirations. With a desire to push past the typical jam band scene in Boone and carve their own path, Peace & Quiet is just getting started. Read more about their journey and what’s next for the band here!

First, let’s get to know the band—if you had to sum up who you are as a band in just three words, what would they be?

Dodge: Oh God, not tight, not terrible, not practiced well enough.

Connor: I think the best definition is we’re the greatest of friends, I feel like. I met them last year, and I didn’t even know these two [Dodge and Andrew]. I’ve known Leo for a while, but when we formed last year, we became friends pretty much instantly. I was pretty scared meeting y’all, but everything worked out.

Dodge: So it was me, Andrew, and Connor for a while. Leo just joined at the beginning of the school year because he transferred from Asheville. We were intimidated by Connor; this man is scary as hell. I told Andrew he looked like Elliot Smith on the first day of photo class my freshman year, and we’ve been a band ever since. We’ve been just playing random songs and stuff for a year or whatever. We played our first show in March, just played in some random person’s apartment, and here we are now.

You’re playing at Betsy’s Barn tonight, which is such a unique venue. How's the band feeling after going up on stage tonight?

Dodge: I need more beery, that’s for sure.

Andrew: I’m feeling cold, very cold, my fingers- I can’t move them

Leo: I feel self-conscious and scared. That’s about it.

Connor: We were a little scared coming in. I mean, we knew there weren’t going to be too many people here. And to some, that would seem like it would make you more confident, but at the same time, it makes you a little bit nervous. It’s more intimate. People are staring at you, and you see them staring at you. I feel like we played great tonight, the nervousness just goes away after the first song.

Dodge: The nervousness stayed, that’s for sure. I would lock eyes with people, and I’m just terrified. But it feels good, it’s a very good time. It feels good to play music with your bestest of friends.

What’s the first memory each of you has of music sparking something in you, and how did that evolve into this journey together as a band?

Dodge: My first music phase was 2015’s pop music. So, we’re going to ignore all of the Jason Derulo I listened to when I was in the fifth grade.

Leo: That’s your biggest inspiration?

Dodge: That’s my biggest inspiration, man. But I started playing guitar when I was ten because I went to a Santana concert. My parents were big into classic rock. I didn’t know who Santana was, but I didn’t have anything going on- I was like 10 years old. So I went, and I got to do that. And I’ve been playing guitar ever since. So that was my first big inspiration besides Jason Derulo.

Andrew: I’d say my first musical memory was just being in the car with my dad, and he always played Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, I feel like that very much influenced me and made me want to pursue music.

Leo: Mine was probably when I broke my hip. I broke my hip and was high on Perocets, and I heard my dad playing “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” by Radiohead in the background, and I was like, “Yo, that sounds f*cking awesome,” and I figured- I’m going to try that when I get my hip back.

Connor: And you sounded like sh*t.

Leo: And I sounded terrible, and now I still do.

Connor: Like most, my first memory comes from my parents raising me on classic rock and music like that. But, I guess the most notable memory is that me and Leo started playing guitar actually around the same time, except he kept with it and I just kind of f*cking gave up. I still play today; it’s such a good thing because we both inspired each other to keep playing music. Sometimes, it’s hard when you’re by yourself, and you have no one to make you feel confident. You want someone to be able to judge you. But yeah, my first memory is with my friends. Bestest of friends.

If you could describe the sound of your band using any inanimate object, what would it be and why?

Connor: I can name one weed, weed, hella weed.

Leo: I’m going to go with weed and maybe a meat grinder, that’s what I was thinking.

Dodge: What about gravel?

Leo: I’m going to go with cough syrup as well.

Leo: I’m just going to say rocks.

Dodge: yeah, rocks are good. Rocks.

Was there a specific moment or event that made you feel like this band was something bigger than just a hobby and that you were meant to pursue it seriously?

Dodge: Our first show we played, but we don’t count it because we didn’t have Leo in the band because we love him. We played in this friend’s apartment, and 60 people came, and it was so awesome. I would look over to my bestest of friends, and we’d be like, ‘This is awesome, this a lot of fun. I think that was the beginning where I thought these are my guys. Coming into college, I didn’t care about making friends or good grades or getting a degree or any of that bullsh*t- I want to be in a van- I care about that, my parents might read this.

Leo: I feel like just because Connor and I had been playing for so long, I feel like it just had to happen. And if it didn’t, I would’ve felt f*cking destroyed. Honestly, [without it], I felt like my purpose would’ve been nothing.

Connor: That’s pretty depressing.

Dodge: When I first heard of Leo, I heard some of his garage band sh*ts, and I was like, who the f*ck is this guy, this guy’s got to play in our weed band or something.

Boone has such a rich and unique music scene. How has growing and creating in this area influenced the way you approach your sound or your creative process?

Andrew: I feel like we kind of wanted to take a different direction from most of the Boone bands. I feel like there are a lot of jam bands, no shade they’re awesome. We wanted to do something a little different, and I feel like we’ve succeeded in that.

Leo: I think a lot of people here play the kind of music other people want to hear, and we want to play the music that we want to hear. I feel like that makes us a little different, and therefore, people enjoy it because we enjoy it.

Connor: As Andrew said, there’s a lot of jam bands here- once again, no shade- but we kind of wanted to expand a little bit more and bring the metal scene back to Boone a little bit. I feel like this year-

Andrew: Shout out Vras.

Connor: Yeah, shout out, Vras, we love you. Michael, I love you.

Dodge: Should out Cold Front, shout out Bittersuite.

Connor: Shout out, everyone, we love y’all

Andrew: Shout out to Betsy’s Barn dude.

Dodge: Shout out Betsy’s Barn. I just love people, and I love people that listen to music, which I guess is like everyone, but some of y’all listen to some a**

[mixed conversation]

Dodge: Yeah, I love my friends, and I love music, and I love being in a band.

So, speaking of being in a band, What’s one way working together as a band has pushed your boundaries, whether creatively or emotionally?

Connor: There’s definitely some times- there’s been a few songs that we’ve struggled on for days, and there's some times that come a lot easier. There are times when y’all are struggling with songs that I want to punch you all in the face, even if it is me. Even if I’m the one messing up, I still just want to take my anger out on y’all. But once again, we’re great friends, and I feel like it makes us stronger and tighter as a band. I feel like it makes us ultimately better in general, it improves our skills.

Dodge: I think it’s made me a better listener and also made me not a little b*tch because today my friends [the band] today just learned this song, and we decided we’re going to play it on stage, and I was terrified, but my friends are making me do it which was kind of awesome. It feels good.

Since forming the band, what has been the most fulfilling moment you’ve had together so far?

Connor: I’m going to go with then we chill in the hot tub. Andrew’s got a hot tub at his apartment, and it’s kind of a ritual before shows or just every now and then, we drink some beers, and we just chill in the hot tub and relax. We have really good talks in there; it’s pretty intimate, and we love it.

Andrew: I’d say the most fulfilling moment for me was probably the first time we played TappRoom. I feel like I’ve gone there ever since I came to Boone and playing there. It was a little weird, but it was very fulfilling for me. It was a good turnout, and we all played great.

Dodge: I second the hot tub, personally.

Leo: For me, it’s probably when we got our first original down. Honestly, my dream is just to play original music and just have something of our own that we can be proud of and then get that out to the world and just play that. That way, we’re not nervous about it, we’re more just trying to perfect it. And we’re just trying to get to the point where we want to be as a band rather than trying to do other music- we’re just trying to do our music and our sound.

When someone comes to one of your shows- 1or listens to your music for the first time, what’s the one thing you hope they feel or take away?

Dodge: I hope they get very injured in the mosh pit. That’s a big hope of mine.

Connor: We don’t wish injury on anyone for legal reasons.

Andrew: I wish they can’t hear afterward. That’s my biggest wish.

Connor: My biggest hope is to introduce people to a new form of music that they haven’t listened to before. There are times I’ve been to shows, and it’s a genre I haven’t listened to before. But there’s something different about live music compared to when you listen to it on Spotify or Apple Music.

What’s next for the band? Any upcoming projects, events, or big plans you’re excited to share with fans?

Andrew: We’ve got a couple of originals coming up the pipeline and some plans to release sometime in the future. No set date at all, but we do have another show at TappRoom on the 11th of January after the break, and soon to be announced the Athens, Georgia date.

Connor: Show out.

Leo: We’re going to keep writing originals. We’re going to keep doing stuff even if they suck, y’all are going to hear it, all of it. Eventually, we want to release an EP or an album of some sort. We’ll probably record it down in Raleigh, that’s about it.

Peace & Quiet

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