The six members of Eastern Regional Jam — Todd Cotgreave, Aaron Collins, Will Wooton, Mike Winters, Creighton Workman and David Billmyer — stand together in front of the garage, which serves as their practice space, in Shepherdstown. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Three years ago, a group of friends in Shepherdstown founded the band, Eastern Regional Jam, out of one of their garages along the Potomac River.

“We sit along the river around a fire nonstop after work and on weekends. We go snorkeling in the Potomac. We spend a lot of time on the river,” said Todd Cotgreave, mentioning the weather is what caused the friend group to go from only hanging out to making music together. “It got very, very cold one December and we knew that everyone played an instrument, so we said, ‘Instead of standing around in the cold, why don’t we just go up and play music in the garage?’ That’s how it all came to be!”

The group of six friends — Cotgreave (vocals and baritone saxophone), Aaron Collins (vocals and rhythm guitar), Will Wooton (lead guitar), Mike Winters (rhythm guitar), David Billmyer (bass) and Creighton Workman (percussion) — found they enjoyed playing together so much, that they should form a band.

“We’re all just dudes that play music,” Cotgreave said.

Cotgreave noted that the band takes a lighthearted approach to music, both in the choice of its name — inspired by the name of the Eastern Regional Jail — and by the kinds of original songs it creates. The punk rock songs have covered a wide variety of subject matter, from lime truckers to food to, most recently, Gov. Jim Justice’s English bulldog, Babydog Justice.

Babydog Justice is pictured at an awards ceremony in 2021. Courtesy photo

“The song’s not political. It had nothing to do about a political agenda,” Cotgreave said. “We’re a West Virginia band and thinking about things in West Virginia that catch people’s attention. Babydog certainly does that! The dog is like the state’s mascot.”

Cotgreave, who wrote the song lyrics, did extensive research to ensure its accuracy.

“Fifty percent or so of that song’s lyrics are direct quotes from Justice,” Cotgreave said. “It was just about finding the quotes that I liked. The song easily wrote itself.”

Earlier this month, a recording of “Babydog” was released on all music streaming platforms. Then on Oct. 13, a music video of the band performing “Babydog” was published on the band’s YouTube page. This was the first time the band has recorded any of its songs, but it will not be the last, as they are currently working on producing an album of their original music.

In the meantime, the band has been excited to see its single gain attention from all across the state. As of press time, the music video had been played over 5,000 times, including by Babydog’s owner.

“You guys are really talented! Great work. I cannot believe you put in that much work for Babydog,” Justice said in a message to the band. “She is my buddy, but she is also a great celebrity for all the state of West Virginia. I want us all to feel like she is all of ours.”

Over the past year, Babydog has been seen at many of the campaign stops, during Justice’s race for the open seat on the U.S. Senate. The significance of the dog to Justice and his campaign has led to an exciting development for the band.

“The governor has invited us to perform at The Greenbrier and to play ‘Babydog’ after the election results are announced at his election headquarters on Tuesday night,” Cotgreave said. “It’s crazy big for us.”

Previously, the band had only performed at events, bars and house parties in the Shepherdstown area. But with this statewide exposure, they are now hoping to begin touring around the state.

In the meantime, they are looking forward to meeting the subject of their song on election night.

“We really want to meet Babydog in-person!” Cotgreave said.