Come is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band, formed in Boston by

Thalia Zedek Thalia Zedek (born 1961) is an American singer and guitarist. Active since the early 1980s, she has been a member of several notable alternative rock groups, including Live Skull and Uzi both of which, according to ''Spin'' magazine, "made big ...

(vocals, guitar), Chris Brokaw (guitar, vocals), Arthur Johnson (drums), and Sean O'Brien (bass).

Band history

Come came into being after a mutual acquaintance invited Brokaw, O'Brien, and Johnson to play with him. Brokaw was playing drums with

Codeine Codeine is an opiate and prodrug of morphine mainly used to treat pain, coughing, and diarrhea. It is also commonly used as a recreational drug. It is found naturally in the sap of the opium poppy, ''Papaver somniferum''. It is typically ...

, Johnson had previously drummed for

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the ...

band

Bar-B-Q Killers Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

, and O'Brien had played with two other 1980s Athens bands, Kilkenny Cats and Fashion Battery. After playing one show together, Brokaw, O'Brien, and Johnson decided to split off into their own project and invited Thalia Zedek to join them. Zedek had played in the bands Uzi and Dangerous Birds and had met and befriended Brokaw in the mid-1980s. Her most recent band at the time, the post- no wave

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

band

Live Skull Live Skull is a post-punk/experimental rock band from New York City, formed in 1982. In an overview of their abrasive no wave-influenced music, ''Trouser Press'' said, "As part of the same New York avant-noisy scene that spawned Sonic Youth, Lyd ...

, had disbanded in 1990 and Brokaw and Zedek had been talking about playing together. After a year of jamming together, Come released the 12-inch single "Car" on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

in 1991 – a seven-minute epic in the post-punk, blues-noir style of The Birthday Party,

These Immortal Souls These Immortal Souls were an Australian post-punk band formed in London in 1987 by Harry Howard on bass guitar, his older brother Rowland S. Howard on guitar and vocals, Epic Soundtracks (a.k.a. Kevin Godfrey) on drums (all three ex-Crime & ...

, and The Gun Club. According to

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

magazine, "Car" was " two-song seven-inch that delivers all the satisfaction of, let's say, the definitive Hendrix box set." This release encapsulated what was to become Come's trademark style: thematically dark, emotionally intense, and lengthy songs marked by Zedek's distressed vocals, abrupt rhythms, and the tension-filled guitar interplay between Zedek and Brokaw, both extraordinarily accomplished guitarists. Even before the release of its first album, the band received much critical praise, with

magazine stating that " e band is ferocious, bending a head-on adrenaline rush into a staggering blues crawl, churning noise-damage into aching melody, and letting it fall apart", adding that Come was " t just another band from Boston," but rather "poised on the brink of the big time." In 1992, Come released its debut album, ''

11:11 11:11, 11-11, or 11/11 may refer to: * 11:11 (numerology) *''Eleven Eleven'', the literary journal of California College of the Arts California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in ...

'', on Matador Records. ''11:11'' received acclaim from both the independent and established media, with David Browne, from

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

, characterizing it as "enthralling, like watching someone howl into a rainstorm." After the release of ''11:11,'' Brokaw left Codeine, devoting himself full-time to Come. Already after the release of the debut album, Come received praise from

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ( ...

's lead singer

J. Mascis Joseph Donald Mascis Jr. ( ; born December 10, 1965), better known as J Mascis, is an American musician who is the singer, guitarist and main songwriter for the alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr. He has also released several albums as a solo arti ...

, Hüsker Dü's Bob Mould, and

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colomb ...

's frontman

Kurt Cobain Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – April 5, 1994) was an American musician who served as the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of the rock band Nirvana. Through his angst-fueled songwriting and anti-establishment persona ...

, among many others, with Indigo Girls'

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

lauding Zedek's voice, describing it as an "old Marlene Dietrich film" and Math rock band Chavez's guitarist Matt Sweeney characterizing Come as 'mind-blowing and one of the best bands ever.' Likewise,

band Cell guitarist Jerry DiRienzo has stated that "Come is more rock-rooted han Zedek's previous projects Their writing is great; their music bridges the masculine and feminine," concluding that Come are his "favorite band." Come's second album, ''

Don't Ask, Don't Tell "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on military service of non-heterosexual people, instituted during the Clinton administration. The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on Decembe ...

'', was released in 1994. Though somewhat calmer than its predecessor, it was equally as grave. Among the highlights of the album, and of the whole of the band's impressive song catalogue, are the two dark ballads, "Let's Get Lost" and "Arrive," each closing a side of the vinyl edition. Johnson and O'Brien left the band after ''

'' to pursue other careers. The following album, the short ''

Near-Life Experience ''Near-Life Experience'' is the third studio album by Boston alternative rock band Come, released in May 1996 on Matador Records in the US and on Domino Records in the UK. __TOC__ History After Come's 1994 release ''Don't Ask Don't Tell,'' bass ...

'', was recorded with a number of different musicians, including drummer Mac McNeilly of

the Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled wit ...

and Bundy K. Brown of

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...

. In 1998, Come released the 66-minute tour de force '' Gently, Down The Stream'', which took its cue from ''Near Life Experience,'' but featured a more fluent integrated soundscape and included the stand-out track ''Saints Around My Neck''. Zedek and Brokaw took a break after ''Gently, Down the Stream'', and never reconvened to create a new album. Zedek and Brokaw each went on to release multiple solo albums, and performed together on a few occasions to play some Come songs live. Throughout its career, Come has supported and toured with

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of t ...

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

and many other seminal 1990s rock bands.

Reunions

On November 11, 2007, Brokaw and Zedek came together for a two-song set, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Middle East Club in Cambridge, which had been the site of Come's last performance. A year later, in November 2008, a full band reunion occurred when the ''Gently, Down the Stream'' line-up of the band came together for a one-off performance in Castellón, Spain, as part of that year's Tanned Tin Festival, performing songs from across its entire back catalog. In 2010 and 2011, the original line-up of Come sporadically re-united to play a number of shows, including a set at the TraniWreck festival in Cambridge MA, featuring songs exclusively from its first two albums and the 'Car' EP. In early 2013, it was announced that there would be a small international tour to commemorate the 20th anniversary of ''

'', by the original band line-up. The tour took place in May and June 2013, in support of the re-issue of Come's debut album.

Members

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1990–2001, 2013–present) * Chris Brokaw – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–2001, 2013–present) *Sean O'Brien – bass (1990–1995, 2013–present) *Arthur Johnson – drums (1990–1995, 2013–present)

Former members

*Winston Bramen – bass (1997–2001) *Daniel Coughlin – drums (1997–2001)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1990 till:10/07/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Lead_vocals,_rhythm_guitar id:Guitars value:green legend:Lead_guitar,_backing_vocals id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value: orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio album id:bars value:gray(0.85) Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = increment:3 start:1990 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1990 LineData = at:12/01/1992 color:black layer:back at:10/01/1994 color:black layer:back at:05/21/1996 color:black layer:back at:02/10/1998 color:black layer:back at:05/21/2013 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Zedek text:"Thalia Zedek" bar:Brokaw text:"Chris Brokaw" bar:O'Brien text:"Sean O'Brien" bar:Bramen text:"Winston Bramen" bar:Johnson text:"Arthur Johnson" bar:Coughlin text:"Daniel Coughlin" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Zedek from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2001 color:Vocals bar:Zedek from:01/01/2013 till:10/07/2022 color:Vocals bar:Brokaw from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/2001 color:Guitars bar:Brokaw from:01/01/2013 till:10/07/2022 color:Guitars bar:O'Brien from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1995 color:Bass bar:O'Brien from:01/01/2013 till:10/07/2022 color:Bass bar:Bramen from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2001 color:Bass bar:Johnson from:01/01/1990 till:01/01/1995 color:Drums bar:Johnson from:01/01/2013 till:10/07/2022 color:Drums bar:Coughlin from:01/01/1997 till:01/01/2001 color:Drums

Discography

Albums

*''

'' ( Matador Records/Placebo, 1992; Reissue: Matador Records, 2013) *''

'' (Matador Records/ Beggars Banquet Records, 1994; Reissue:

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the la ...

, 2021) *''

'' (Matador Records/ Domino Records, 1996) *'' Gently, Down the Stream'' (Matador Records/Domino Records, 1998) *''

Peel Sessions John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

'' (Fire Records, 2022)

Singles

*''Car'' 7" (

, 1991) featuring ''"Car"'' * and ''"Last Mistake"'' * (August installment of Sub Pop's Singles Club) *''Car'' 12"/CD (

, 1991) featuring ''"Car"'' * ''"Last Mistake"'' * and ''"Submerge"'' * (original pre-album version) *''Fast Piss Blues'' 7" ( Matador Records/Placebo, 1992) featuring ''"Fast Piss Blues"'' and ''"I Got The Blues"'' *''Fast Piss Blues'' 10"/CD ( Matador Records/Placebo, 1992) featuring ''"Fast Piss Blues"'', ''"I Got The Blues"'' and ''"Brand New Vein"'' *''Wrong Side'' 7"/CD ( Matador Records/ Beggars Banquet Records, 1994) featuring ''"Wrong Side"'', ''"Loin of the Surf"'' * (cover of Swell Maps) and ''"SVK"'' * (note: SVK is short for ''Sharon Vs Karen'' ) *''In/Out'' 7" ( Matador Records, 1994) featuring ''"In/Out"'', ''"Yr Reign"'' (limited edition promo vinyl) *''String'' 10" ( Matador Records/ Beggars Banquet Records, 1995) featuring ''"String"'', ''"Who Jumped In My Grave"'' *, ''"German Song"'', ''"Angelhead"'' * *''String'' CD ( Matador Records/ Beggars Banquet Records, 1995) featuring ''"String"'', ''"German Song"'', ''"Fast Piss Blues"'' and ''"City Of Fun (Peel Session)"'' * (BBC radio session cover of

The Only Ones The Only Ones were an English rock band formed in London in 1976, whose original band members are Peter Perrett, Alan Mair, John Perry and Mike Kellie, they first disbanded in 1982. They were associated with punk rock, yet straddled the music ...

) *''Secret Number'' 10"/CD ( Matador Records/ Domino Records, 1996) featuring ''"Secret Number"'', ''"Prize"'' * and ''"Hurricane II"'' * (piano version of

's opening track) *''Preaching the Blues B/W Sex Beat'' ( Chunklet, 2021) attributed to "Come (AKA the Come Club)," an homage to The Gun Club, who originally recorded both songs (* indicates track unavailable on any Come album)

Contributions to compilations

*''"Car"'' on ''Afternoon Delight!: Love Songs From Sub Pop'' (

, 1992) *''"Orbit"'' on ''Altered States Of America'' (Lime Lizard, 1993) *''"Fast Piss Blues"'' on ''Independent ²⁰ Volume 16'' (Beechwood Music, 1993) *''"Fast Piss Blues"'' on ''The Beggars Banquet Collection'' ( Beggars Banquet Records, 1993) *''"City of Fun"'' (BBC radio Peel session cover of

) on ''Volume Eight Compilation'' (Volume, England, 1993) *''"Submerge"'' on ''The Day We Killed Grunge'' ( Caroline Records, 1994) *''"In/Out"'' on ''Cortex Sampler'' (Cortex, 1994) *''"Wrong Side"'' on ''Play It! Vol. 3'' (PIAS Benelux, 1994) *''"Wrong Side"'' on ''Rough Trade: Music For The 90's, Vol. 6'' (

Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: * Rough Trade Records, a record label *Rough Trade (shops) Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London. The first Rough Trade shop was o ...

, 1994) *''"String"'' on ''The Day We Exhumed Disco'' (Caroline Records, 1994) *''"String"'' on ''Menú'' (Everlasting Records, 1995) *''"Off to One Side"'' on ''This Is Fort Apache'' (

MCA MCA may refer to: Astronomy * Mars-crossing asteroid, an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mars Aviation * Minimum crossing altitude, a minimum obstacle crossing altitude for fixes on published airways * Medium Combat Aircraft, a 5th gen ...

, 1995) *''"Cimarron"'' * (recorded Jul-1995) on ''Ain't Nuthin' But a She Thing'' (

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

, 1995) *''"Weak as the Moon"'' on ''Audio Compilation'' (Audio Magazine reece 1996) *''"Brand New Vein (radio session)"'' * (recorded 17-Sept-1991) on ''Pipeline! Live Boston Rock on WMBR'' (Kimchee, 1996) *''"In/Out"'' and ''"Strike"'' * (recorded Nov-1995) on ''What's Up Matador'' ( Matador Records, 1997) *''"Madroad Driving..."'' * (with

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

) on '' Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness'' ( Rykodisc, 1997) *''"Hurricane II"'' on ''Hits Hurt'' (Domino, 1997) *''"Recidivist"'' on ''The Sell Texas To Mexico Fund-Raising CD'' (Matador, 1997) *''"String"'' on ''Twenty-one Years Of Beggars Banquet Records'' ( PIAS/Beggars Banquet, 1998) *''"Hurricane (acoustic radio session)"'' * (recorded Mar-1998) on ''Drinking From Puddles: A Radio History Compilation'' (

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally kn ...

, 1999) *''"Do You Love Me?"'' * (recorded Oct-1999) on ''Knitting On The Roof - Songs from 'Fiddler On The Roof'' (

Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

, 1999) (Voice & Clarinet: Thalia Zedek, Voice & Guitar – Chris Brokaw) *''"

I Got The Blues "I Got the Blues" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it appears on their 1971 album ''Sticky Fingers''. It is a slow-paced, bluesy song featuring languid guitars with heavy blues and soul influ ...

"'' on ''Gimme Shelter Vol. 1'' ( Uncut Magazine, 2002) *''"Fast Piss Blues"'', ''"String"'', and ''"New Coat (live)"'' * (recorded 1999) on the ''Matador At 21'' box-set (Matador, 2010) (* indicates track unavailable on any Come album or single)

Non-album tracks

* ''Car'' * ''Last Mistake'' * ''Submerge'' (original pre-album version) * ''Brand New Vein'' (radio session) * ''SVK'' * ''Loin of the Surf'' ( Swell Maps cover) * ''City Of Fun'' eel Session(

cover) * ''Who Jumped In My Grave'' * ''Angelhead'' * ''Cimarron'' * ''Strike'' * ''Prize'' * ''Hurricane II'' (piano version) * ''Hurricane'' (acoustic radio session) * ''Madroad Driving...'' (with

) * ''Do You Love Me?'' * ''New Coat'' (live) * ''Clockface'' (live)

Music videos

* ''Car'' (1991) Directed by Julie Hardin * ''Submerge'' (1992) Directed by Jesse Peretz * ''String'' (1994) Directed by Sadie Benning * ''In/Out'' (1994) Co-directed by Julie Hardin and Amanda P. Cole * ''German Song'' (1995) Directed by Sadie Benning * ''Cimarron'' (1995) Directed by Sophie Muller

References

External links

Come biography on Matador's website

Come 2013 band interview on Quietus looking back at the band's history
* Come entry on Allmusic website
Come entry on TrouserPress website

Video of Come's first public performance

Thalia Zedek page on Matador's website

Chris Brokaw's official website

Thalia Zedek fan site
*
Come at MySpace.com

Listings of Come's two BBC Radio Peel Sessions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Come Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts American blues rock musical groups Indie rock musical groups from Massachusetts Musical groups from Boston Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Musical groups reestablished in 2008 Musical groups reestablished in 2010 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2013 Musical quintets