I had the pleasure of sitting down with 4 fellow Beatlemaniacs on Friday night when I met with Come Together, a Beatles tribute band from Omaha. Come Together is Steve Glandt on drums, Steve Bowder on keys, Kelly Evans on guitar & the “new guy” Max Brochtrup on bass. These guys don’t put on costumes or use fake accents, but they do have matching shirts. The band formed in 2013 when the Steve’s got together and decided to do something with their mutual love of the Fab Four.
Q: How did you all come together?
Steve B.: It all started with a dream that I was playing with the Beatles. It was a recurring thing that just kept popping up. I told my wife that playing Top 40 wasn’t cutting it anymore, my passion was The Beatles. Being driven from the dream lead me to make a couple of calls and reach out to some contacts. We put together a few songs and from that we formed a band. Everyone melded together, and we wanted to make the songs perfect, not album perfect but live performance perfect because that’s how everyone wants to hear them. It was originally with a different guitar player, Dave Powell, that moved away to Mississippi. Originally, we were a 3 piece with me, Steve & Dave, but we decided we could probably play more places as a 4 piece, so we eventually hooked up with Kelly & Max and it’s been non-stop since. For places that can’t afford the 4 piece, we have a trio and a duo just so we can make sure everyone can hear this music.
Q: Did you all know each other from the local music scene?
Kelly: We (Steve B & Kelly) played together in the 80’s when we all had long hair and wore spandex.
Steve B: It’s funny, we played the 80’s stuff when it was new music and there are bands that are still playing that stuff now.
Steve G.: We (the Steves) were in another band when Steve started to think about wanting to do something else and mentioned this Beatles thing. I said hey, I love the Beatles, I’d love to do that so if you need a drummer. Steve said they had a drummer, but a couple weeks later they called and said let’s try it out. What amazed me is how easily we all meshed together vocally. Everyone just intuitively knew where you needed to be. It’s not that I only sing Ringo and he only sings John, we just knew based on the song where we should fit. It’s crazy and it’s still like that.
Q: Everyone has a favorite Beatle, who is yours?
Steve G: Paul, I knew of the Beatles through Paul McCartney & Wings.
Max: Paul, being the bass player, definitely Paul.
Kelly: John or George
Steve B: First time I saw them on Ed Sullivan being a little kid, it was John. It was like oh that guy, he rocks.
Q: What are your favorite songs to play?
Steve B: All of them. I like to tell everyone before each song that this is my favorite. It’s an ongoing joke, now everyone in the band does it.
Steve G: Mine is the Abby Road Medley. That’s one thing I always wanted to do as a musician but was never able to accomplish that until I met these guys.
Max: Should’ve Known Better, no real reason, I just like that song.
Q: You guys have played consistently all summer with standing monthly shows at Soaring Wings as well as other stuff. Are you looking to book a consistent show during the winter or are you looking to take that time as a break?
Steve B: We won’t ever break. Most of the people that book us are for events. Sometimes it’s for clubs, but we like to hold out for events. People really know what to expect, going into a bar they are expecting everything they’ve heard before, except for Beatles music.
Kelly: You can really tell if people are here to hear Beatles music or if they are just here for a drink.
Q: Are there any songs that you haven’t mastered yet that you are chomping at the bit to learn?
Kelly: Oh Yeah, there’s a hundred of them.
Steve B: We are about 138 songs in and we would like to complete the library. It’s amazing how many people request songs we don’t know yet.
Steve G: We are always thinking OK, let’s remember this, when can we sit down and practice this, but we are all so busy.
Lucy: What one song have you decided you all have to sit down and put together next?
All: Taxman
Kelly: We all know the parts we just need to get together and rehearse it once before we play it live.
Steve B: For the past 8-9 months it’s just been gig, gig, gig, we haven’t actually had time to sit and practice. We’ll take a couple weeks off from shows at some point to practice.
These are 4 of the nicest guys I’ve had the pleasure to meet and talk to. A group of people that do this purely out of the love of Beatles music and wanting to get it out to as many people as possible. Check out their website or Facebook for a list of upcoming shows or to book them for your next event.