Come On Go With Us

If you were to believe the official biography of Come On Go With Us, the band members gained their musical in a mysterious epiphany during a thunderstorm at the foot of the Himalayan mountains and later decided to form a band utilizing their new powers. While the band’s musical acumen is not in dispute, the group’s formation is actually a little less heroic and occurred not at the foot of the Himalayas, but in Mississippi.

“A couple the members had been together since 2000, playing hard rock music,” says founding member Chase McGill.

The band, Enursha, included McGill, Dustin Hedrick and Chris Hurt, friends from growing up in Columbus, Miss. However the band wound down as members began moving away.

In early 2008, Jacob Simpson, a native of Ripley, Miss., was in McGill’s accounting class at Mississippi State University and had been a fan of Enursha.

“We had been writing and playing our own stuff separately and playing in a local tavern — just acoustic songs,” says McGill. “One night we were at Dustin’s apartment and started playing one of my songs called ‘Please Don’t.’ It went really well the way everyone put their own touch to it. It wasn’t my song anymore. We started Come On Go With Us that night.”

The next day the trio worked on one of Simpson’s songs and the die for the band was cast. Each of the trio played a variety of acoustic instruments, which began to figure into the songs.

The trio began gigging around Mississippi State.

“It took off really, really quick,” says McGill. “It was almost scary.”

The trio wrote 25 songs in a few months and began touring.

“(The route) looked almost more like a Star of David than anything you’d really want to travel,” says McGill with a laugh. “But we were playing a lot.”

The trio was unaware that other young musicians were exploring the same musical turf.

In the summer of 2008, while Hedrick was traveling out of the country, McGill and Simpson toured as a duo.

“I was playing kick drum,” says McGill. “He was playing high hat and we were doing the acoustic-guitar-and-banjo thing. We made a stop in Oxford to watch this band we’d never heard of. It was the Avett Brothers and they were doing the same thing we were. We were really (bummed) about it, because we thought we were doing this original thing!” McGill laughs. “We changed a little bit after that because we didn’t want to sound like a rip-off. They’re a great band.”

McGill says Come On Go With Us takes a lot of musical inspiration from John Prine, the Band and other classic artists more than younger acoustic acts.

“With the Band, everyone switched instruments and everyone sang,” says McGill. “A lot of us grew up more hard rockers, but we wanted to get back to our (Southern) roots with banjos and fiddles and acoustic guitars.”

The trio realized that with some of the clubs the band was playing they would need a little louder sound and invited Hurt and Justin McKenzie to join on bass and drums, respectively.

The group’s debut disc will be released in March and the three band members who are still in college will graduate in May. After that, says McGill, the group is ready to give everything they have to music.

“We just want to get on the road and stay there. The Band stayed on the road for 16 years — from little dive bars to arenas and stadiums. I’d love to do that. We all get along and we love living in the van and being on the road.”

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel

- Knoxville Sentinel

Local indie band Come On Go With Us releases its self-titled debut album today. To celebrate the release, State Theatre is hosting a CD release party for the group.

The band fuses together folk-rock and alternative music forming a sound too hard to be country and not hard enough to be rockabilly.

Dustin Hedrick, who picked up violin for the group two years ago, said the group's music has a folky-rootsy feel.

The band members all agree inspiration and passion for their music comes from the deeply musical backgrounds of the band members.

"I've been playing music for a long time," said band member Jacob Simpson. "I grew up with it always around."

Simpson's father and brother are also musicians.

Senior business major Chase McGill plays banjo, guitar and piano and sings for the band.

He said he started taking classical piano lessons in the first grade and grew up listening to Led Zeppelin and Willie Nelson, his parents' favorites.

These musical backgrounds help influence the bands music today.

The band members said they write music collectively and get inspiration for their songs from a wide range of genres.

"We don't have cable at our house," Simpson said. "All we do is listen to music."

Band members agreed when McGill said they get inspiration for their songs from life experiences.

"We write about life, love and the lack thereof," McGill said.

Their music covers a lot of ground, and the debut CD is a perfect choice for college students, he said.

"Lyrically I think it's really accessible to this age group," McGill said. "It's a breath of fresh air."

Come On Go With Us considers its music especially relevant to college students and offers listeners a lot of variety.

"There's something for everyone on this CD," Hedrick said.

The band said it encourages students to come to the CD release party and decide for themselves if they like the style.

Some MSU students said they are joining in on the hype.

"It's always cool to check out new talent while you can," senior microbiology major Elliott Welford said. "Who knows, they could make it big someday and I'll be able to say that I went to their first CD release party."

The first show the members ever played was at Rick's Cafe, but soon after, they added Dave's Dark Horse Tavern, State Theatre and the MSU Amphitheater to their list of Starkville stage conquests.

In agreement, the band members said tonight's show promises to be the biggest party of them all.

"It's the first day of the year when it's over 75 degrees," McGill said. "It's just a good time."

Hedrick said it will be like a pre-Spring Break party complete with bright colored beach balls.

This is a chance to see Come On Go With Us before the band hitches a ride out of Starkville.

On July 2, the band sets out on a tour from New York to Texas and everywhere in between.

"We'll do six shows a week until we can't do it anymore," McGill said.

Attending tonight's album release party is a good way students can show support for local musicians.

"Local talent is always worth going to see," Welford said. "It's easy to relate to local talent because, most of the time, they are students just like us."

Come On Go With Us got its start at MSU and three of the band's members, McGill, Simpson and Hedrick are still currently attending school here.

Simpson, who plays guitar and piano and sings for the band, is a senior majoring in business.

Senior fine arts major Hedrick, works as a violinist, bassist and guitarist for the band.

Other band members include Christopher Hurt, an alumnus of the University of Alabama, and Justin McKenzie, an MSU alumnus.

To pre-order tickets for the show, visit statetheatrestarkville.com.

For more information about Come On Go With Us, visit its MySpace page at myspace.com/comeongowithus.

- The Reflector, Mississippi State Univeristy

The other day, I was listening to Mississippi five-piece band Come On Go With Us, doing some research on the members of the group, when it hit me. “Yup,” I thought to myself, “that makes sense.” Why? Well, Come On Go With us sound exactly like what you’d expect them to sound like, given their bio. Made up of five guys who come from various parts of the South, COGWU sounds exactly like what five guys who come from various parts of the South should sound like. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. The group creates a nice mixture of country and rock with some fiddles, banjo and nice harmonies thrown in for good measure. The band was formed in Columbus, Mississippi in 2008 by lead vocalists Jacob Simpson and Chase McGill and was later filled out with members Dustin Hendrick, Justin McKenzie and Christopher Hunt. A short time later the group released their self-titled album on the indie record label Severe Records LLC. Come On Go With Us have been touring extensively since released their debut album earlier this year and in the process they have developed a reputation for putting on a highly enjoyable live show. The band is still currently on tour now, where they play a mixture of new songs as well as familiar favorites off of their debut album.
- Phoenix New Times

Scottsdale's The Rogue Bar's booking continues to evolve. So far they haven't strayed too far from the DJ/electropop/pop sound the popular haunt was known for in its Shake! days. However, on January 29 they're bringing in Mississippi band Come On Go With Us, which has a fairly straight-forward rock sound with some country-fried flair.

It's all part of a deal with KWSS 106.7's Friday night show Hi-Fidelity Friday. So, if you can't make it or wanna cheap out on a $5 cover (now that's a bad economy) you can listen live at www.kwss1067.com - Phoenix New Times

t has come to my attention over the years there are many people under the impression bands are made up of people who are not the most approachable.

If I said this were true about the guys from Come On, Go With Us I would be a liar, unless they are approached by the sound of slurred words drowned in whiskey breath and advice based on a Def Leppard concert.

The guys, Chase McGill, Jason Simpson, Dustin Hedrick and Chris Hurt, officially began nationally touring July 3 after Simpson and McGill finished classes at Mississippi State University.

"We were in school up until June. Well, Dustin finished up in May, me and Chase were stranded here [and] when we got released, we took to the road," Simpson said.

Starting a touring gig became reality when the band members had to terminate their leases, give up their homes and all of their belongings except for the instruments strapped to their backs and headed to Hattiesburg.

Even with a few bad situations - the cursed band member's, McGill, foot crunching through Hedrick's fiddle, Hedrick losing his bag (resulting in him wearing fellow members ill-fitting clothing) and the van's window breaking while loading a piano, the experience has been an overall success for the guys of Go With Us.

"[The road] has been awesome - perfect - better than had we expected," Hedrick said.

The band agreed playing in Macon, Ga., has been the most favored place thus far and, in my opinion, with good reason.

"The Allman Brothers are from there, and they are one of the great Southern bands, I think," McGill said.

Simpson chimed in, agreeing whole-heartedly, but noted playing at The Hummingbird in Macon added pleasure because of the venue's great sound, professional staff and knowing great bands have played on the stage before them. It can't all be good, so you have to wonder what the worst part is about the road: the sleeping arrangements? missing friends and family? not your recommended eight hours of sleep?

"I would say talking to bar drunks, whether you want to or not, cause they're getting a good three hour 'head start' on you, and they try to talk to you, but you can't really understand them," Hedrick said.

This complaint should not be taken as the band members discouraging fans who enjoy drinking from coming to shows, but it is the drunk "football dads," as McGill calls them, that should keep a good distance to avoid ridicule.

"Think of it like this: a dad that played high school football at a high school football game, that's trying to coach," McGill said. "They're like, 'Your guitar needs to sound like this. I went to a 'Def Lep' concert back in '82..' and it's like, 'Really man, that's the last thing you probably remember'. "

With all the characters the band meets and just the general ups and downs involved with tour life, sometimes it is the small things about coming home that really make the difference.

"This is the first time we've been back since July 3, and I'd say the best thing [about being back] is food - a home-cooked meal," Hurt said.

Tonight's show at State Theater will be the first in Starkville for Come On, Go With Us since the March 6 album release party which also took place at State Theater.

Tonight also includes performances from two other bands Come On, Go With Us has met during its travels with one being The Motions, from Columbus, MS.

"[The Motions] are really nice guys - really good music and they're really young," McGill said. "When we were their age, our music, I don't think, compared to what their's is at that age."

According to Hedrick, if you are a fan of Come on, Go With Us, there is a big chance you will enjoy The Motions.

"They kind of remind me, or all of us, of us when we were in high school because we were all in bands playing in the same venues in Columbus," he said.

The other band, The Magnolia Sons, hails from Lake Charles, La.

"We actually did the last week of the tour with them. We picked them up coming from Houston to Lake Charles and played their hometown," McGill said. "They are probably one of our favorite bands to play shows with."

For the fans who are patiently waiting for the second studio album, the band hinted around at February being the time the wait will be over.

"We stopped in Denton, Texas, and we found a studio we really liked with a producer we really liked," McGill said.

The said producer is Matt Pence, who has produced records for Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell.

As for the near future, the band is back on the road tomorrow, heading to Jackson and will continue playing shows until the album recording process begins in November.

For future tour dates or to purchase the band's album visit comeongowithus.com.
- The Reflector

Come On Go With Us blends country and rock ‘n’ roll to create a highly-listenable musical experience.

The five-piece band from Mississippi uses a banjo and fiddle in all of their songs to give the music a familiar, country sound. This sound is present in the song “Please Don’t,” a harmonic ballad with a crying steel guitar that implores a long lost lover to leave the singer alone. Come On Go With Us picks up the pace with the Wilco-esque “Unlikely Celebration” which uses a catchy piano riff and a thumping bass drum to leave the listener tapping their feet long after the five-minute song is done.

Even though Come On Go With Us uses a wide variety of instruments, their most powerful musical weapon is their harmony. The song “Binoculars” departs from the band’s traditional country sound, but sticks with the Come On Go With Us sound by employing plenty of “ooh’s” and “ah’s” to back up the main vocal track. The soaring vocals and rock-county sound of Come On Go With Us might make someone think the five members grew up listening to an extensive amount of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, but their sound is completely their own.

Come On Go With Us has toured extensively in recent months, sometimes playing five or six shows a week. The current tour in support of their self-titled album that was released earlier this year has them playing bars, clubs and coffee houses from Dallas, Texas to Bristol, Virginia. To hear the banjo picking and vocal harmonies of Come On Go With Us visit myspace.com/comeongowithus or hear them live at The Strutting Duck this Friday, Sept. 11.
- The Corner News