History
Follow for Now was formed in 1987 by guitarist/vocalist David Ryan Harris, guitarist Chris Tinsley, bassist Justin Senker, and drummer Enrique (real name "Bernard Coley"). The band immediately earned a dedicated following in the southeast United States due to their manic live shows, which would feature several genres of music (rock, jazz, heavy metal, soul, R&B, ska, etc.) and call-and-response audience participation. Harris would lead the audience in a chant of "Is there unity in this house? Hell fuckin' yeah!".
Early Follow for Now music also had indie rock and folk elements, not unlike The Connells or Drivin N Cryin. This changed with the arrival of bassist Jamie Turner (replacing Senker, who would join the Atlanta Rhythm Section) and keyboardist/vocalist Billy Fields. The band experimented more with heavy metal and punk without ever losing sight of their soul, R&B, and funk roots. The group's concert anthem became a reworked version of Public Enemy's "She Watch Channel Zero?!".
Several record companies got wind of the band's enormous live following, leading to the group's signing to Chrysalis Records in early 1991. There were problems from the very beginning as Enrique, considered by many to be one of the best drummers in the entire East Coast music scene, was forced to play simple beats along with a metronome. Enrique's unorthodox, odd-meter drumming style was one of the band's trademarks. In a move that would signal the beginning of the end, producer Matt Sherod played drums on the entire album with the exception of "Time," taken from an earlier demo.
Upon the album's release in September 1991, reactions were positive from critics that had never heard the band before, but fans and local critics were dismayed at the slick, polished release that seemed to echo none of the manic energy the band was known for in concert. Even though Chrysalis Records launched a huge promotional campaign for the album (the videos for "Holy Moses" and "Evil Wheel" appeared on MTV), the Seattle grunge movement of 1992 single-handedly engulfed the music business just months later, nearly destroying Follow for Now's career.
Despite the disastrous experience with their debut album, Follow for Now remained a powerful concert attraction. However, the group did not release another album in 1992 or 1993, and interest in the band began to wane. They officially broke up in the spring of 1994.
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