To start to break it down a little bit, the Covells have two companies: Destiny Horse and Carriage LLC and All Ways Great Entertainment LLC.
Entertainment business is multi-faceted
The carriage business has roots in Laura Covell's lifelong love of horses. Laura, who has family ties in this area, had done carriage rides for companies in Florida, and the Covells brought to Kentucky a white draft horse that stands over 6 feet tall at the shoulder and pulls a sparkling white carriage. Laura dresses in a tuxedo to drive the carriage for any wedding or other special events customers might be interested in.
All Ways Great Entertainment is a bit more complicated. It covers musical performances, music lessons and children's entertainment.
Laura Covell has 14 years of experience putting on parties for kids and families. She can dress up as a "Lollipadoozie the Clown," "Jingles the Elf," or Cinderella. She does princess parties for girls and super-hero parties for boys, face-painting, balloons, music, dancing, karaoke for the older kids ...
"It's catching on. It's very big in Florida," Laura said. "I think moms are always looking for something fun and fresh to do for a birthday party. I come to their home. They don't have to go anywhere. I can even help them develop a theme ."
Both of the Covells are veteran musicians and they perform as a duo doing country and pop songs as well as some 1970s rock music. They enjoy their relaxed rehearsals after years of performing professionally with rock and country bands and other groups in various parts of the country.
"We call all it the Fuzzy Slippers Band because when we were rehearsing, we looked down and we both had fuzzy slippers on," Laura said.
Both play guitar and sing but Jack said Laura does most of the singing.
"She's a terrific singer ."
Getting the hometown groove
They performed at the Constitution Square Festival, and Jack at played the recent Gallery Hop in downtown Danville.
"We're getting in the groove of the hometown kind of thing," Jack said.
Jack Covell has undergraduate and graduate degrees in music and 27 years of experience as a music educator at both the high school and college levels. He taught at a performing arts high school in Fort Lauderdale for a number of years.
"Kids auditioned to get into the program," he said. "By the time I left there seven years ago, it was a top of the line program. Our kids were getting scholarship money to to go to the top conservatories and music schools in the country."
He teaches group and private lessons in guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, flute, clarinet and music theory. He's currently teaching guitar classes at Lincoln Middle School and is giving private lessons to flute and clarinet players at Lincoln County High School. He's going to give guitar lessons at the Community Arts Center in Danville.
He has about 13 students now and is looking to teach 24 to 30 students a week.
"I'll travel to their homes," he said. "Those people who are thinking that the only way they can get their kids private music lessons on those instruments is to drive them to Richmond or to Lexington, that's not necessary any longer."
Feels lessons work better at homes
Covell prefers teaching students in their homes.
"For some people, transportation, the price of gas, is an issue or scheduling is an issue. I can work around that," he said. "I'd rather go to them than have them come here. I've always traveled to my students' homes, and I've always thought that they do better that way. They're in their own place; they're comfortable. They can concentrate on what I'm trying to teach them."
He said guitar lessons at the arts center probably will start at the beginning level but he would love to have some advanced students, too.
"If somebody is a player and they want to get into improvisation and hone their music reading skills and their music theory skills, that's really my forte. I'd like to get my hands on a couple of really good players who just want to get better. That would be fun."
For more information on the Covells' businesses, call (859) 319-3016 or consult their Web site at www.WeEntertainKy.com.
