*night notes:

COMING GRASS COMING INTO ITS OWN, WITH A NEW ALBUM TO PROVE IT

Scott Sutherland · Portland Press Herald · December 16, 1999

Seven years ago, Nate Schrock was playing in a New York City blues rock band called The Lost, writing songs in his spare time. The songs weren't for the band, though; the stuff he was writing had a distinct country feel, and he figured that when he finally formed his own band, these would be the songs his group would play.

At the time, Schrock was barely into his 30s, but he was already a seasoned veteran of the music business. A Maine native, he'd left for New York in the early '80s and ended up in a punk-reggae band called Pale Face, which headlined CBGB's and toured with The Clash, The Ramones and Billy Idol. Later on, he hooked up with The Lost, which toured the United States and Japan, opened for the likes of Foreigner and The Black Crowes, and released two albums on the Epic label.

Schrock returned to Maine in 1995 and immediately entered the local music scene. He met drummer Ginger Cote, a native of Limestone, and the two became part of Darien Brahms' band. They also backed Nate's sister, songwriter Kate Schrock, on her "Shunyata" CD, and recently appeared on "The Late Show with Conan O'Brien" backing Cindy Bullens.

Two and a half years ago, they met singer Sara Cox while playing in The Baptismos, a local country cover band. The band was short-lived, but Schrock liked Cox's singing. (He also liked Cox; the two became a couple, and Cox had a baby boy, Avery, 17 months ago.) Shortly thereafter, Schrock formed The Coming Grass, with a core of himself, Cote and Cox, to play the songs he'd been writing for years. The band recently added bassist Stephan Jones of the Boneheads.

They began playing out and recording songs almost immediately, and landed a trippy country rock tune called "Take Me Over" on last year's WCLZ "Homegrown" compilation. "No Harm," Cox's beautiful, down-tempo Cowboy Junkies-style song, appears on the current "Homegrown" release. (The liner notes list the performer as Sara Cox, but it's actually The Coming Grass, with help from Kate Schrock on piano.)

After a couple of tantalizing tastes, we're finally getting an entire album by The Coming Grass, due out this week. The self-titled, 11-song CD more than lives up to the promise of its two sneak-preview tracks; this is a very polished, very mature effort from the songwriting (all Schrock, except "No Harm") to the playing (Schrock handles all the guitars) and production (again, all Schrock, done in his living room studio). Country-flavored rock is the operative description here, whether the emphasis is on the rock ("All Over Now") or on a Gram Parsons-perfect blend of rock and country ("Carry").

Schrock's and Cox's voices make for an appealing blend, and the prevailing moderate tempos and subtle slide work on the guitars create a languidness to the sound that's sometimes pushed into trippiness ("Take Me Over", "Sea of Imagination"). Subtlety and restraint are evident at every turn, and there isn't a single false step on the disc.

You can find the CD at your local Bull Moose outlet and at the release show Friday night at Free Street Taverna, but don't look for The Coming Grass to pop up on your favorite major record label anytime soon. The band wants to market itself over the Internet, and build an audience here in Portland as well as in nearby markets like Portsmouth and Boston.

Small is beautiful, the band believes, and it wants nothing to do with the homogenized power of labels; Schrock has been there and done that. The band would rather push something fine and honest itself, and with "The Coming Grass" they have a great place to start.