The Coming Grass Comes Together

In the beginning, Nate Schrock met Steve Jones and they played in bands and partied as every good 70's boy did. Then Nate moved to NYC ("New York City, just like I pictured it!") which he confesses was to join the Pretenders.

Since Chrissie Hynde was not looking for a brilliant 20 year old guitar player at the time, Nate went on to join a punk/reggae band called Paleface who headlined Saturdays at CBGBs and toured with the likes of The Clash and The Ramones. Nate then played with a blues/rock band called The Lost who released two records while signed to Epic Records, toured the US extensively (opening for bands like The Black Crowes and Foreigner), and were indeed "Big in Japan".

After much playing and touring, Nate wanted out of the fast paced band life and had written quite a few songs of his own that came from a very different vein than The Lost. The style of these songs hailed more from an older tradition, and of his childhood that was spent listening to his dad play Ramblin' Jack Elliot and Billy Ed Wheeler songs on an acoustic guitar.

So...Nate moves back to his native Maine and meets Ginger Cote, drummer extraordinaire, and Sara Cox, singer sublime, and has now found a home for these songs. Nate calls up Steve who has himself been playing like crazy over the years (most notably with the prolific Maine band, The Boneheads) and asks him to come on over to The Coming Grass.

The band puts out a self-titled debut in 2000, people like it, radio stations play it, and DJs with cool names from places like The Netherlands, France, and Australia are writing to the band with great praise.

O.K., they say, let's put out another one. However, Ginger Cote had decided to try out warmer weather in Nashville, TN for a couple years so the band needed a drummer. Six degrees of separation turned into one and former Uncle Tupelo/WILCO drummer Ken Coomer said he'd be more than happy to come record on the new record. They also brought in Roger Gupton (bass player for the North Carolina outfit, The Backsliders and currently playing with Caitlin Cary, of Whiskeytown) who Nate had played with on the Conan O'Brian Show while backing Maine artist Cindy Bullens.

The result of this recording was "Transient" which was released by their own label, Velvet Ed Music, in December 2002. In the meantime, Ken and Roger went on home and Ginger was ready to move back to Maine (after playing with Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, and Buddy and Julie Miller). The band was ready to have Steve as the permanent second guitarist and all that was left to get was a bass player. Voila, Justin Maxwell appeared, a veteran bass player with a mean and tasteful groove.

The band brings together a varied history with a heck of a lot of experience but maintains a unified feel. Fans comment that they seem to "read each other's minds on stage".

Currently, "Transient" is getting airplay on many AAA, public, and Americana stations around the U.S. and internationally. It is steadily climbing the Americana Chart, which is now reporting to R&R (Radio and Record, regarded as an industry standard) and receiving much positive press.