The Go Ahead

7 year Bay Area music scene stalwart The Go Ahead has evolved a lot from the early, funk-jam-band side project featuring a motley crew of best friends. Since their start, they have matured into a sound that mashes the glossy distortion you’d hear at The Bronze nightclub in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while tossing out angsty harmonies that would pleasantly float around the dock of Dawson’s Creek. And in that time, they have steadily gained a following.

While there are a few eye-and-ear catching features to their sound and live shows (lead singer Kyna Wise’s gritty exuberance, for starters) The Go Ahead isn’t the vision of a singular individual with backup pieces. Rather, the band employs a more decidedly egalitarian mode of music making. Every member has equal ownership of the band: No one is the designated writer or composer, so they all, in turns, pull their creative weight and lend their unique perspective to the music. The result is work that can range from brooding, to grungy, pop-y and everything in between, all in a 45 minute set.

In Harms Way (set to be released on December 15, 2017) is a collection of songs dealing mostly with the joys and anxieties of solitude, loss, and humanity. This is in stark contrast to their 2014 release Cycles which was a very specific map of the lifecycle of a bittersweet romantic relationship.

This last year has been one of heartbreak and frustrations for The Go Ahead. They lost their very close childhood friend, Jon Harms, suddenly due to exceptional complications while in hospital. The EP has been named In Harms Way to honor his life.

Despite all the hurdles—mourning their friend, major surgeries, relocations—The Go Ahead has evaded the normal cycle of entropy that has ended countless other bands. They stick together like glue with one goal in mind: To make music together. For them, there is no other option.