Coe, a Cleveland-based indie band, blew Front St Social out of the water Sept. 1 when they performed their headlining show. Openers Joe Brown, Jianna Herhold and The Dueling Stooges set the mood before Coe took the stage.
The band began their set with Lucas Chambers, a Coe member, running through the audience, dancing, and even playing a game of Marco Polo that ended with hats being thrown. They kept the mood going through their upbeat, jazzy, surf-rock sounding music, a style influenced by each member bringing their own individuality to the band.
Throughout the night, the members exemplified their versatlity as they swapped instruments and took turns on lead vocals. They were met with thunderous applause at the end of the event.
The California native started his career at Baldwin Wallace pursuing a degree in vocal studies through the Conservatory. Although he learned a lot, he had no plans to become involved in opera or theater, which is what the Conservatory promoted for voice students, Chambers said. Ultimately, he ended up changing his degree to sustainability, giving his musical efforts full freedom.
“We’re trying to definitely cultivate the community of music in Cleveland as well. I think it’s already got a really good start for it,” Chambers said. “There’s so much music, and there’s an openness to music, and there’s a good diversity of genres in it.”
Chambers said that the band formed through Baldwin Wallace alumni, Chase Lenz. He introduced the members, all who are current or former Baldwin Wallace students or from the Cleveland area. They began to hang out together and started writing music as a group.
Their band name, Coe, comes from Coe Lake. Chambers said that they were originally going to be named after the street they lived on, but that was already taken by another band. They wanted to be named after something that had brought them together.
The first invitation to perform they got was from Four Times Louder, another local band after Brandon Rush, Coe’s guitarist, met their frontman at Chipotle. They bonded over having the same Foo Fighters tattoo. After that performance, their network grew, and they were able to meet other bands and gain invitations to shows.
In the long run, Coe plans to go on the road and tour all the way to the West Coast. They have already been invited to perform at festivals in Los Angeles, California and Oregon through friends of Chambers. However, Chambers said that they realize they need to start a little closer to home and plan to continue touring Ohio and neighboring states.
Their upcoming single, ‘Burning Up Out West’, is set to be released in October. They currently only have one single, ‘Fish’, streaming on all platforms. They plan to release about four or five singles before compiling them to create an EP.
“I kind of see it like, as we go through our decades, you know,” Chambers said. “We’re kind of doing that now. We are defining new sound constantly, and it’s cool to try and be a part of that.”
Chambers said that for now, the band will work their hardest to grow Coe’s popularity and gain a following in the local scene.
“We have very ambitious goals,” Chambers said.
