This Friday, U.S will bring its high energy, blast-from-the-past show to Rick’s.
U.S plays mostly ’80s covers by bands ranging from Def Leppard and Motley Crue to Cheap Trick and Bon Jovi, along with the band’s original songs.
“We’re an ’80s rock band,” Kelly Nagy, lead singer and guitarist of U.S, said. “We like to rock hard, you know, go out there and have fun.”
Not only do they sound like the ’80s, they look it.
“We have leather pants, no shirts, tattoos, little bit of eyeliner, a bit of nail polish,” Nagy said. “We do the ’80s since we grew up in that era. We still have long hair. When you lived in that era, you can pull it off. We sell it pretty well. We do our thing.”
They have been doing their thing for well over a decade at Rick’s.
“The first time we played at Rick’s [in the early ’90s], there were six people there,” Nagy said. “No joke. Now, we do around a thousand people [there].”
Rick Welch, owner of Rick’s Café, says U.S brings a large crowd whenever they play.
“They consistently bring the biggest crowd and constantly stand the test of time,” Welch said. “Over the 15 years I have known them, they are more like a family to me than just a band.”
The feeling is mutual with the band.
“Rick has helped us out a lot in Starkville,” Nagy said. “MSU was the first school we played at and Rick has had a lot to do with our success here. We practically lived in Starkville from ’96 to 2000.”
Originally hailing from Canada, U.S now calls the U.S. their home. Richie Wright, on drums and vocals, said Starkville is his home, while Jeff Manns, on guitar and vocals, Chase Lexi, on bass and vocals and Nady all live in Birmingham.
Because of their locality and love of the region they play mostly on the East Coast and the South.
“We play all the SEC schools,” Nagy said. “No one parties like the SEC. The South knows how to party.”
They also have a formula that works like a troll-doll charm.
“We try to play the ’80s for the ladies and wherever the girls go, the guys will be there for sure,” Nagy said. “The guys like to hear Guns N’ Roses and Def Leppard and also ’90s music like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.”
Nagy said the band cannot wait to be back in Starkville.
“We love Rick’s,” Nagy said. “And we love Starkville. When there are a couple of hundred people waiting for you before you go on stage, that’s cool, man. It’s a concert, it’s more like an event.”