Meet PJ Covello | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with PJ Covello and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi PJ, what matters most to you?
Honestly, this changes for me from time to time. I think the value that matters most to me at this current moment is authenticity. Not just to ourselves but towards others. I’ve lived a majority of my life attempting to squeeze into someone else’s box. Someone else’s vision of me. I grew up in a broken home (or homes, as it were), and was constantly vying for approval from every adult in my life.

It took me nearly two decades to figure out that the best version of myself was the one that I didn’t need to try so hard to be.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Oh god, this is the type of question that I have the hardest time answering. To be frank, I am absolutely nowhere, professionally, at least in this moment.

From 2014 to 2020, I was in a rock band called, The Good Weird. We sounded like a mix of Weezer/Sublime/Incubus/Cage the Elephant. I was the lead guitarist/vocalist and I wrote a majority of our songs. Our true claim-to-fame was landing a finalist spot at MoPOP’s Sound Off! 2017 competition. Yes, that’s “Sound Off,” with an exclamation point at the end.

This was an amazing time in my life. Performing in this competition was extremely vindicating. It felt like I had accomplished something, and I could finally see some proof that I was good at what I was doing.

During the last couple of years in my band, I had taken up music production. One of my best friends, Silas, introduced me to Ableton Live – the best damn DAW in the world. I hit the ground running, and became obsessed with producing beats, and using my DAW as an instrument in and of itself. I started making some weird f*cking music. And I loved it.

JPEGMAFIA was a huge inspiration for me at the time. His beats were just so raw, messy, and against the grain. I started using Ableton as a workbench to write songs which sounded like bits of R&B, Grunge, and Trap plastered together. I released a few songs under the moniker, Neophile. Neophile, a Greek word, means “new love,” or “lover of new things.” It felt like an appropriate stage name.

In 2022, I deleted all of my old songs from streaming services, changed my name to Bogus Lotus, and released two new singles. Those songs are also weird, and completely unique from each other. I rap in one. If you told 17-year-old me that I’d release a rap song when I was older, I would’ve laughed in your face. My third single is going to be a piano ballad, so I’m really just all over the place.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a love/hate relationship with Seattle. But one thing is for sure – there’s some amazing food here.

We’ve gotta eat at Dick’s at least once. If we don’t eat at Pane Pane Sandwiches off of 3rd and Union, then I’m rioting. Bang Bang Cafe is an amazing New Mexico-inspired cafe down off of Western Ave, near the water.

I used to be a regular at this cute cafe on Capitol Hill called, Cafe Argento. We’d definitely go there to grab an iced americano and a bagel sandwich.

Other than that, we’d have to check out a show at Neumos, or possibly The Neptune – I absolutely love both of those venues.

And if we got lucky with weather, we’d visit the Seattle Japanese Garden. There are just so many beautiful trees and plants there.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s no question – the person that deserves the biggest shoutout in my life is my Dad. This man has poured his soul into raising his kids.

My Dad was 19 when I was born. A kid with a kid. But that didn’t stop him from stepping up and kicking ass as a father. I was a very sensitive kid (still am), but he never made me feel bad for being sensitive. He taught me how to have self-discipline, courage, determination, and kindness. He taught me how to be a man, and frankly, he’s still teaching me.

My father introduced me to music as a child. We’d listen to Alice in Chains together, and Pearl Jam, and Metallica. I’d flip through his CD collection, mesmerized. I’d sing all around the house, making up my own songs and trying to do impressions of Chris Cornell and Scott Weiland. When I got old enough, he signed me up for the boys choir at our local church. This is when I realized I was obsessed with music.

Years later, I was a full on singer-songwriter. In high school, I had started a band called, The Good Weird. My Dad let us practice in the garage, and even bought my band our first drum-set.

I could go on and on about why my Dad deserves a shoutout, but I’ll leave it there.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bogus_lotus/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9oEQsH6_5QUPs1PgedkrNg

Image Credits
Dallen Taylor, Sydney Muirhead