auren Glendenning lglendenning@vaildaily.com

VAIL, Colorado —Yukon Kornelius likes to play its masterful cover songs in ski towns like Vail — the band has never done it any other way. But this isn't your typical cover band — all four members play for other widely known, wildly successful bands, including Dave Matthews Band, Guster, Spymob and Barenaked Ladies.

And despite having played only two shows together — ever — the guys in the band are comfortable together. Tonight's performance at Dobson Ice Arena in Vail for Snow Daze marks their third concert. Their shows are unscripted and exude excitement and an obvious love for not only music, but skiing and snowboarding, too.

“It's so freeing for all of us to have a band that has no other aspirations than to ski and ride and have fun making music,” said singer/guitarist Adam Gardner from Guster.

It was 2008 when Stefan Lessard, the bassist for the Dave Matthews Band, started bouncing around an idea with friend Victor Waryas. Lessard wanted to be involved in a Warren Miller film — he was a snowboarder and wanted to incorporate his love for music and the sport into some kind of charity event, all in front of the legendary ski film company's cameras.

Lessard, who arrived in town Saturday so he could log in some snowboarding days before Friday night's concert, said everything just sort of fell into place after that. The people at Warren Miller suggested a benefit concert it could shoot for its upcoming film, and Lessard loved the idea.

‘Ready to cut loose'

The guys — Lessard, Gardner, singer/guitarist Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies and drummer Eric Fawcett from Spymob — got together for their first show in Vermont in the 2007-08 ski season for Warren Miller's “Children of Winter.”

Special guests Jason Biggs and Dee Snider joined in, and the result was a ski town concert full of energy and pure fun, Lessard said.

Peter Paszkowski, Yukon Kornelius fan club founder, drove from Amherst, Mass. to attend that first show in Vermont and said when he saw Lessard, or “Fonz,” get on the keyboard, he knew the show was going to be a blast.

“I've never seen Fonz play anything other than a bass, so that alone told me the guys were ready to cut loose,” Paszkowski said.

Lessard said the vibe at that first rehearsal in Vermont was like being catapulted back into their teenage years — a bunch of guys playing cover songs in a garage and just having a good time.

It became immediately obvious that this wasn't just a cover band. They might play cover songs, but there was something magical going as they listened to the music they were creating.

“We're probably one of the few cover bands where members in the band actually wrote the songs,” Lessard said.

Gardner said the shows are becoming the band's annual reunion. The guys all cross paths each year as they tour with their respective bands, but the reunion just allows each of them to relax and enjoy the music for what it is.

For fans like Paszkowski, the shows are extra special because of the people they bring together. Paszkowski said you take the strong community of fans of bands like Barenaked Ladies and Dave Matthews Band and put them together with the “ ridiculously awesome skiing and snowboarding community, plus make it for charity, and you have this amazing night where I didn't know anyone, but it felt like I was at home in a bar surrounded by good friends,” he said.

So bizarre

Lessard said he'd gone on snowboarding trips before and usually found that he was the only one who played music. He'd grab a guitar and play some songs, but the atmosphere among the guys at the Warren Miller shoot was like nothing he'd ever experienced. He was hooked.

The band has performed about one show a year since that shoot but Lessard and the guys want to change that, though.

“It's too much fun — we need more shows,” he said.

The four members will perform Friday night along with special guest Jason Biggs, a close friend of the band, best known for his leading role in the late 1990s film “American Pie.”

Gardner laughs when he thinks about the band. There's all these talented guys playing together and the result is usually just so hilarious, in a good way.

“It's just a crazy mishmash — just look at who's in the band,” Gardner said.

Gardner said he just has a permanent grin on his face when he's played the previous shows — “Like, why is the dude from ‘American Pie' hitting a cow bell behind me? It's just so bizarre,” he said.

Lessard said to expect surprises at the Snow Daze show, including a surprise guest or two.

“People will be stunned into rock mystery,” Gardner said.

Community Editor Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com.