Local cover band OverTime brings back some of music fans’ favorite rock songs from the last 20 years in a high-energy music and light show that is earning them recognition in south Louisiana.

The cover band from Houma started four years ago after three Vandebilt Catholic High School students—two of which now attend Nicholls—joined with one of their teachers and a friend who heard them play for school masses.

The five-piece is made up of bassist Jude Chauvin, computer information systems senior from Houma; drummer Michael Falgout, nursing junior from Houma; guitarists Chris Briggs and Troy Guerrero; and keyboard player, Scott Ayo.

Chauvin and Falgout talked about OverTime’s start, what they do now, and their future plans for the band.

Q: How did you guys get started?

Chauvin: Two of the members had been playing for one or two months, and after their drummer and bass player left, they asked Michael and me to start playing with them. About six months after we started practicing, we started playing shows at the daiquiri shops in Houma.

Q: Is there a story behind the name OverTime?

Falgout: Not really. At the time we needed a name, we just kind of threw different ideas on the wall and stuck with it. We considered it appropriate because we did not want to go with anything too dramatic like, “Firing Crosshairs” or something [laughs].

Chauvin: A lot of people get our name mixed up though because they see “OverTime” on a sign and think it has something to do with football [laughs].

Q: Where have you performed?

Chauvin: We started out in Houma, and then we played some shows down the bayou and in Thibodaux. Now we are starting to branch out to places like Metairie, Kenner, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. If it’s within two-and-a-half hours from here, we’ve probably played there. Our next show is next weekend in Hammond.

Q: What is your favorite genre of music to play?

Chauvin: It’s mostly stuff that we grew up with from the mid 90s to early 2000s.

Falgout: Although it’s mostly alternative rock right now, we recently started getting into the funky, dance type of music.

Q: What are your biggest influences for your music?

Falgout: Right now I’m really into Dave Matthews. Their drummer is phenomenal.

Chauvin: In terms of bass players, I listen to a lot of 311. Their bass player is probably my biggest inspiration.

Q: What would be your favorite song or artist to cover?

Chauvin: We would both love to start covering some Dave Matthews music.

Falgout: That would take a very long time to learn though [laughs]. I don’t really have a favorite, though. I really just enjoy playing whatever jams.

Q: What is a crowd favorite?

Chauvin: We get a lot of requests for Rage Against the Machine songs like “Bulls on Parade” and “Bombtrack.” We’re also, like, the only band that plays “No Diggity” by Blackstreet, so everybody always goes crazy for that song. We have also been getting a lot of requests for “Rainbow in the Dark” by Dio lately for some reason.

Falgout: We get a lot of Pearl Jam requests, too.

Q: Be honest, how often do you have “that guy” in the crowd yell “Freebird?”

Falgout: That’s almost every show [laughs].

Q: Have you ever actually played it?

Chauvin: We’re not even going to try [laughs].

Q: How long does an OverTime set or a show usually last?

Chauvin: We play mostly two sets a night—sometimes three. Each set is usually about 13 or 14 songs. We know about 70 songs.

Falgout: In a night, we’ll probably play anywhere between 30 and 40 songs in a three-and-a-half to four-hour set. We’ll play the first set, have, like, a 20-minute break, and then if there is enough time, we’ll come back for another few songs.

Q: What kind of feedback do you guys get from fans?

Falgout: Well by the end of the show, most people are usually pretty intoxicated, so they can’t always give much feedback [laughs]. The feedback that we have gotten from the people has been generally positive although we don’t really play for the musically critical people, so people aren’t really listening for mistakes.

Q: Have you guys ever done any competitions like a Battle of the Bands?

Falgout: They did one out at Boomtown Casino in New Orleans once, and we got all the way to the finals.

Chauvin: We lost by one tenth of a decibel based on the crowd’s reaction.

Q: That’s how they scored it? I’ve never heard of judging based on measuring the exact volume of the crowd.

Falgout: The way they worked it was they had three judges. We actually beat the other band on musicianship, but since they were from New Orleans, they had more people there. They ended up getting like 10 extra points for having the loudest crowd. I’m still a little bitter about that.

Q: Having been together for four years, how long do you plan to stick with this?

Chauvin: I plan to stay for the foreseeable future. Michael and I are still in college, most of us have jobs, and it’s good because it’s fun and a source of income. We get a lot of free bar tabs too, so that’s pretty nice [laughs].

Falgout: How many times can you find a job that you actually like to go and do? We plan to stay with this as long as possible.

Q: Do you ever plan to go somewhere with your music, or for the time being, is this more of a hobby?

Falgout: There’s only so far that you can go with playing covers, but I’m perfectly content with where we are now because it doesn’t take much of our time. We’re both focused on school right now, so it’s kind of like the perfect balance.