The By Gods released their Phone Calls EP in early July, and we’ve been playing it on repeat here at IMPOSE. An incredible display of alternative rock if ever there was one, the four tracks on this EP give telling insight into the band’s influences and where they may be headed moving forward.
We sat down with The By Gods’ frontman George Pauley to get a little more background on their work. Surprisingly – but understandably so – influence stems as far as “stupid people on Facebook.” We’re in love.
Where did the name “The By Gods” come from?
I don’t think the genesis of this name was ever really fully discussed. It was an homage to the colloquialisms in our hometown. Coming from a small town in the South, we had a lot of idioms to choose from. It also makes me laugh a little when I hear people say it.
How would you describe your music?
Most people say we are like a 90s revival à la early Foo Fighters. It’s what we all grew up on, so I don’t argue with that. The music that came out of that era is something we still revisit consistently, so that’s really no surprise. We use volume as an ally and try to squeeze as many hooks in there as we can. Our sound is familiar but has just enough of us in there to make it our own.
What’s the story behind your latest song “Good Lie?”
Lyrically, it’s just about stupid people on Facebook. I’m older now, so my whole online friend circle is less about fun stuff and more about opinions, religion, and/or children – all stuff I really don’t care to read about. Unfortunately I have to have a personal Facebook account in order to have a band page. And I feel bad if I “unfriend” my mom and dad. Haha.
What bands influence your music?
This particular EP I was listening to a lot of Tigercub, Dinosaur Pile-Up, and revisiting a lot of old Pumpkins records. I’m sure if you dig deep enough you’ll really hear that in some of the songs.
What was the process behind your EP?
“Where Do You Come From” is the song that started this whole project and kicked off our relationship with Mike Purcell (Lees Of Memory, Hurts To Laugh, Tom Pappas Collection). The first time we played the song live we butchered it. The whole thing just fell apart. Afterwards, some skinny white-haired J Mascis looking guy came up to us saying he wanted to record “that song!” “Are you sure you mean that song?” we asked. So, we went to County Q and recorded it the next weekend.
Around the same time, Erik Dail (Hurts To Laugh) was starting up a new label to showcase Nashville bands. He wanted to include us but we needed two songs. I had this melody for “Something Real” I was sitting on and this felt like a good time to try it out. Mike suggested we do more and over the next week or so we recorded the EP. Working with Mike is so much fun and he’s so easy going. He really just lets us do our thing and captures it really well.
This EP is sort of a big leap for us. These are the first recordings where we get to showcase Natalie’s voice. It’s a direction we really want to explore more of.
Which track was the most fun to create?
“Something Real” has probably been my favorite song we’ve recorded thus far. We don’t have any speakers for me to sing through in our practice space so we never really know what a song sounds like until we record it. And when we first heard that song played back we all felt really good about it. “Something Real” and “Get Gone” from our first record are the only two songs Tye’s ever went out of his way to express how much he liked.
Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
Oh I dunno. Probably similar to now – playing music and living in Nashville. But five years ago I never thought I’d be where I am now. Ten years ago I never thought I’d leave Louisiana. I’m excited to see what comes next for the band.
Pokemon Go has just come out. If you were a Pokemon, which one would you be and why?
I don’t know what any of that means.
If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
A fast metabolism, duh. So I could eat anything.
What’s coming up next for The By Gods?
We recorded our third record in January. We’re gonna tour in October and start getting the word out on the new record. It’s gonna be different and I can’t wait to get it out there.
We’ll let The By Gods be [The] By Gods (See what we did there?), and keep up to date with them religiously (See what else we did there?) here.
