A lot of musicians like to sneer at the idea of cover bands –– groups whose sole purpose is to pay tribute, via performance, to artists they idolize. But many (arguably most) unique musical voices were developed by emulating the performers who inspired them. Take the Fort Worth alt-folk outfit The Royal Savages. Singer, guitarist, and co-founder Addison White, 21, freely admits that his musical training came from playing in not one, but two cover bands.

“My dad has played in a band called Badfun for a long time,” said White. “They cover ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s bands. Sometimes they’d ask me to sing and play guitar when I was a teenager. They’d do four hours straight in these little local dive bars. I learned to play Tool and Alice in Chains songs.”

The Royal Savages themselves started out in 2012 as a tribute act called The Wah Wahs. They were dedicated to performing the music of two groups –– Los Angeles-based indie rockers Grouplove and English pop purveyors Alt-J. Both bands were mutual obsessions of White and Dustin Gasser, a drummer-singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Wah Wahs.

After the group changed its name to The Royal Savages and recorded an LP of original song demos, Gasser departed for another band, leaving White as the frontman and sole composer. But unlike a lot of musicians who let their sound develop organically, White had a pretty detailed vision of the kind of music he wanted The Royal Savages to make: experimental but accessibly melodic, full of mood and tempo changes yet centered on strong male-female vocal harmonies throughout the songs, not just in the choruses. White began looking for women singers and met vocalist Lauren Moore through a friend.

The results have been captured on the Savages’ first EP, released last spring on the local label Euphio Records. Tunes like “Racing Tears” and “The Sun’s Song” are epic mixtures of ’90s grunge bombast and the current big-sound folkie revival of artists like The Lumineers and The Avett Brothers (the latter are a big influence on White). And yes, White and Moore’s casual but pristine harmonies bring a wry, earthy loveliness that recalls everyone from Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner to X’s John Doe and Exene Cervenka to, well, Christian Zucconi and Hannah Hooper from Grouplove.

“My voice is more on the grungy side, and Lauren’s is soft and delicate but also kind of jazzy,” said White. “I feel like [male-female harmonies] are taking the opposite ends of the music spectrum and bringing them together. It’s part of the [emotional] groove we wanted to establish, bringing the listener up and then dropping you down.”

The Royal Savages know that they’re a new band, but they’re also ambitious and committed to becoming the best live musicians they can be. With James Hughes on bass and Ben Coker replacing Gasser as drummer, they’ve played at every major Fort Worth club and small venue you can name and are booked solid with North Texas shows, including Dallas and Denton, through October. They’re also planning to shoot music videos for a couple of the songs on the EP and are writing material for their next long-player.

The group hopes to take their music to national audiences eventually, but they say that one thing will remain the same: their desire to preach a “spiritual but not religious” gospel of love, creativity, and the dignity of the individual through their live shows and recordings.

“A lot of what I sing about is the idea that people are treated like numbers instead of individuals,” he said. “Governments do that all around the world to their citizens. It’s a big part of what humanity’s doing wrong. So we try to do the opposite onstage: Get people to have a good time, laugh between songs, and know that they’re valuable, that they’re loved. I’m not a religious person — it’s just how I’ve tried to live my life.” -August 14, 2013 by JIMMY FOWLER. Fort Worth Weekly.

"Royal Savages took the stage around 10pm. Their band has 4 members, Addison on Lead guitar and vocals, Lauren on lead vocals, James on Bass and Ben on drums. The two lead singers voices were very dynamic together. I thought Lauren’s mic could have been turned up a little more, Addison’s voice is very all consuming. James played his bass guitar like an old school rock star completed with unbuttoned pearl snap shirt. Ben beat on the drums in perfect rhythm. Their lyrics were somewhat audible, singing about love and the sun amongst other topics. You could tell they put a lot of heart and soul into their music, they were wonderful stage performers really getting into the songs. The style was very catchy, I can see them in a line up with some of the other amazing bands in Fort Worth holding their own. They are not very well known at his moment but I see them as the new up and coming Fort Worth band. They’ll be headlining my benefit show at Bubba’s Back 40 August 17th. You won’t want to miss that show! " - Callie Dee

"To kick off the show was Ft. Worth’s own Royal Savages. Don’t let the name fool you; they’re not savagely at all, but they do know how to rock. Much like 8mm, the Royal Savages have a potent one-two punch of male and female vocals with Addison White and Lauren Moore. The guitar work is superb and the vocals are pristine. Mix that with a solid drummer and you have a decent indie rock band on the rise. They’re young with some growing pains to go through still; however, their potential is limitless right now. Following up was We the Sea Lions, another Ft. Worth based band that focuses more on heavier rock elements. It was a crowded stage with all the instruments, but having a live keyboardist/synth player really brought out the band’s sound. Both of these local openers were quite impressive and do not fall under the category of “throwaway opening acts.” With some maturity and experience, these bands have promising futures."

"Another cool new band is The Royal Savages. Their brand of rock is pretty straightforward –– poppy and melodic –– but is distinguished by some solid harmony vocal work by Lauren Moore and frontman Addison White. Catch the Savages on Wednesday at Lola’s with Dallas’ Dead Mockingbirds and Arlington’s Panic Volcanic and on Saturday at The Grotto (517 University Dr., 817-882-9331) with moody Fort Worth indie-rockers We The Sea Lions and 8MM, a California mod-rock outfit fronted by the super-model-esque Juliette Beavan. Each show has only a $5 cover."

“The Royal Savages are an experimental Alternative Folk/Rock band from Fort Worth Texas. Their music was good enough to get my attention and feature them on our site and that is the main qualifier to be a weekly featured artist. The had previously provided very little information about who they were however they updated their Reverb Nation page and now listeners can get a better idea of who they are where they are going! They provide 3 demo tracks (listen on sidebar) that sound very good actually and their alt rock-folk style is very contagious. Royal Savages have a bright future if they can continue on the right path and evolve as a band. Currently they are looking for a synth player to flesh out their overall sound. Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-Founder MuzikReviews.com ”