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.