The Go

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Photo of the Dalai Lama with Detroit rock band The Go (current lineup)

The Go is a garage rock band from Detroit, composed primarily of Robert "Bobby" Harlow (vocals), John Krautner (guitar, bass), Marc Fellis (drums), James McConnell (lead guitar), and a rotating cast of other band members, most notably, Jack White (later of the White Stripes), who was with the band from mid '98 - early '99.

Part of the emerging Detroit garage-rock scene of the late '90s along with their more famous brethren, the White Stripes, the Go formed in 1998. Harlow, Krautner, and Fellis grew up together as kids -- the addition of guitarist Jack White and bassist Dave Buick made the band complete and they began playing gigs in the Detroit area. An opening slot for fellow Detroiters ? and the Mysterians helped get them the attention of Sub Pop, who signed the band and issued their debut album, Whatcha Doin, in 1999.

The Go's debut disc has an aggressive, noisy sound that still manages to work in a lot of references to R&B and soul. Their trademark gritty, low-fi-by-design sound was continued on their never-to-be second album, Free Electricty, which was rejected by Sub Pop as being too noisy. In 2003, the U.K. based Lizard King label released the group's second official full-length release, self-titled The Go. Their third album, Howl On The Haunted Beat You Ride is due in 2007 from Ben Blackwell's Cass label.

Particularly noteworthy is the guitar choice by their current lead guitarist, James McConnell, specifically, a vintage 1970's Gibson Marauder, rarely seen by in use by most rock bands nowadays. The Marauder was part of a short-lived series of solid-body electric guitars produced in the 1970s. These guitars were an attempt by Gibson to break into the single-coil, bolt-on neck guitar market dominated by Fender. McConnell's features a potentiometer that allows for any combination of sounds between the trebly single coil pickup at the bridge and the humbucking pickup at the neck. James says that it serves as an all-purpose guitar by offering the "heavy" sound of a Gibson Les Paul through the humbucker pickup, or the cutting treble of a Fender Telecaster through the single coil bridge pickup, while still being fairly lightweight to hold.

James McConnell borrows influences from an eclectic variety of sources that are ever-changing. These have included, but are not limited to, Keith Richards, John Lee Hooker, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Hound Dog Taylor, Sonny Sharrock, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap, Pharoah Sanders, Curtis Mayfield, and, in particular, ex-Rolling Stones lead guitar virtuoso, Mick Taylor.