Tag/UR/It band forms unexpectedly, experiences success
(Photo: Keaton Kendrick)
After a group of musicians came together for one coffee-shop performance, the band Tag/UR/It was created. The four-person band, led by junior Cole Tague, has gone from getting to know each other, to performing original songs together, to having the opportunity to soon record in Nashville.
The band members ' lead vocalist Tague, backup vocalist Jenna Transki, electric guitarist Darius Hairston, bass guitarist Victor Johnson, and drummer Laud Vaught ' first shared a stage together at BonLife Coffee's Java n Jams in October.
'We didn't have any expectations in mind getting up there,' Tague said.
It wasn't until after signing up for event that Tague realized he needed a band. Tague collected his friends from a variety of places, including the choir he's involved in, Lee Singers, from which he recruited Transki and Vaught.
'I knew how talented they were and I just reached out to them,' Tague said.
Johnson and Tague had played together for a wedding last year and have played other events together since then.
Hairston stepped into the picture after Tague asked his roommate to play for Java n Jams, but he couldn't and suggested Hairston.
Tague texted Hairston and asked if he could get involved; the band took off from there.
Hairston was expecting to play that one night, but did not realize at the time that he would become a part of an actual band.
In the few short months that they became a band and have been creating music, Tag/UR/It has had roughly six performances and the response from people grows with each performance.
'It started out as a bunch of friends playing together for a show at BonLife, and it has kept that 'coffee house' vibe ever since,' Vaught said. 'Playing with these guys really feels like sitting down at a table with old friends.'
The band was originally named 'Tague you're it' as a joke between Tague and a friend at the band's first performance. The spelling was changed to Tag/UR/It after realizing that people may not know the correct pronunciation of Tague.
Tague said having the band play the songs he's been writing for years has been a surreal experience.
'When I would write music, it would just be me and my acoustic guitar,' Tague said. 'I would write these songs and just be like 'Man, this song needs a full band.' '
As he looks back on the songs he's written, Tague said he realizes they show his own personal transformation. He looks forward to recording a whole album that shows the progression from not being sure of who he is, to hitting rock bottom, to then finding God.
'It's cool, because I didn't plan that. God had his hand in that without me even knowing it,' Tague said.
While he said the band's hope is to let faith be evident, they don't want to limit their music to solely Christian songs. The band still plays covers along with the originals in order to form a connection with the audience.
'Cole's passion and drive fuels us all but another thing Cole is sure of is that we're fueled by God,' Johnson said. 'His whole premise is that no matter what we play, whether it be Gospel, a funk cover, or some new country tune, we are doing it in a light that allows people to see Him through us.'
While Tag/UR/It is still in a way getting to know each other, Hairston says that the dynamic is creative and that each person builds off of each other, while also having the end-goal as glorifying God.
'We add our own little flavor ' it's cool because back home there are talented musicians but none of them can really vibe off each other,' Hairston said.
As the band grows in the future, Tague said their ultimate goal is to 'go places where people aren't looking for Jesus, and they find him.'
In time, they hope to create originals together and continue to hone the chemistry of their different talents.
'If you looked at our iPods, we'd probably have completely different music, but when it comes down to the core of who we are, that's what I feel like connects us the most,' Tague said.
Plans are in the mix for meeting with producers to professionally be recorded in Nashville with Leroy Hamp, the lead singer for War of Ages and who is signed by Solid State.
As things are beginning to move faster and more opportunities continue to surface, Tague said the band is jogging to keep up, but that he is expectant of what the future will hold for the band.
'It'd be really cool if the band went somewhere ' but if we were able to impact people in some sort of way, then I'd be completely content with that," Tague said. "But my vision doesn't stop there. I would love the band to continue to build a fan base and get to the point where we could travel so the world can hear the music that we have to offer.'
Tag/Ur/It will play on April 14 at SAO's Live on the Green, a benefit for ovarian cancer, and on April 30 at Cleveland's Relay for Life event.
