Lowcountry will enjoy a spot of 'Tea' this weekend

'Everyday, it's a gettin' closer,

goin' faster than a roller coaster.

Love like yours will surely come my way,

a hey, a hey, hey...'

Buddy Holly cover songs might be the last thing one would expect hearing during the midst of a jam session, but Trevor Garrod has been a fan of the song, 'Everyday,' since he first discovered it on the 'Stand By Me' movie soundtrack.

So for the past couple of nights, he and his bandmates in Tea Leaf Green - Josh Clark, Scott Ragar and Steve Adams, who is filling in on bass for Reed Mathis - have been playing the decades-old tune on their current headlining club tour.

'I started singing it on the bus, and we kind of stuck it into the middle of one of our big epic jams - we just kind of suddenly start singing it,' Garrod said. 'It's a pretty little moment for us.'

While some folks might think a band like this would be more apt to pay homage to jam-band stalwarts like Phish or the Grateful Dead, the truth is Tea Leaf Green are more prone to be influenced by other music.

After all, as Garrod noted, bands like the Dead are, 'already so derivative.'

Not to mention, the guys have a history of doing the unexpected. The San Francisco-based band initially did well in jam-friendly places like Northern California, Colorado and North Carolina.

'It's funny,' Garrod said, 'when we first started touring around we ended up going to North Carolina a whole bunch for no good, real reason, and no one could figure out why we kept ending up in North Carolina.

'We never went to South Carolina at all, but we associated the two together, just because they have sort of the same name.

'Then we finally got to South Carolina a couple of years ago, and it's like a fantastic state,' he continued. 'We played a show and plenty of people showed up and we had a great time. It's pretty, too.'

Unfortunately, the band hasn't done a lot of shows down in the Lowcountry. But in the past, everyone has seemed to enjoy the shows, and that, according to Garrod, is more important than how many people show up.

'As long as the people there are ready to throwdown,' he said, 'I will be, too.'

':Everyday - it's a gettin' faster,

everyone says go ahead and ask her,

love like yours will surely come my way,

a hey, a hey hey ...'

Formed back in 1998, the band has released five albums to date: 'Tea Leaf Green,' 'Midnight on the Reservoir,' 'Living in Between,' 'Taught to be Proud' and last year's 'Rock 'n' Roll Band.' The group has toured diligently in an effort to generate fan association and familiarity with the group's songs.

One way they've accomplished that is to play a lot of festivals across the country, which are often like a doorway to a new fan base.

Although folks might walk into the show to see a big headliner, they invariably come away learning about a young band like Tea Leaf Green, who will release its sixth full-length studio album later this summer.

'Essentially, when you get to open up for bigger bands, it's the equivalent of a movie preview,' said Garrod, impersonating the voice heard during a movie trailer. ' 'In a town where people have instruments ... and music is love,' that's us.'

They've previewed plenty of shows, so to speak, having toured with the likes of the Dave Mathews Band, Gov't Mule, M.O.E. and Bruce Hornsby, as well as Trey Anastasio.

It was the Anastasio tour that really opened up the group's music to a whole new audience in the Midwest and other parts of the country.

'It was almost like we got anointed by the kings of the scene,' Garrod explained.

Be that as it may, the band is currently out on their own. It's an even bigger difference from the smaller, intimate acoustic performances the group does back in the Bay Area under the alter-band-ego of Coffee Bean Brown.

Unlike the 45-minute sets they've been afforded while supporting other acts, their current tour - though they're playing to significantly smaller crowds - allows them the freedom to stretch out musically.

Instead of adhering to a more strict set structure in which they play fewer songs in a shorter period of time, they're actually able to player few songs over a greater period of time, so some of the shows features uber-jam sessions.

And, yes, they can change up the setlist from night to night to even include 'a song from the '50s' if that's what they feel like they want to play.

'... Everyday seems a little longer,

every way, love's a little stronger,

come what may - do you ever long for,

true love from me.'