Kaia Anderson, online publishing coordinator

The Schwartz School of the Arts’ First Friday Lecture series held their second lecture on Oct. 2, featuring The Gully Boys. The Minneapolis-based band was interviewed by Scott LeGere, a Music Business professor at Augsburg University. The Gully Boys are made up of four members: Kathy Callahan, Nadirah “Nadi” McGill, Natalie Klemond and Mariah Mercedes. McGill, the drummer of the band, is an Augsburg alum. The interview consisted of three overarching themes: courage, commerce and resilience. 

Courage was the starting point, touching on the courage to start a band and the courage to perform in front of a crowd, especially when you are away from home. The consensus from the group was that you have to do it afraid; you have to book the gig before you are ready, you have to go on stage even if you feel like throwing up. If you wait for the perfect moment to start, you are never going to start. When answering where their courage came from, Callahan said, “Courage comes from the people around you,” if you are surrounded by people who do not believe in you or what you are doing, success becomes increasingly difficult. The Gully Boys draw their courage from having each other’s backs—McGill spoke of the moments when you mess up on stage and the shared looks and smiles that are shared between the band. “We’re not alone on stage,” said Callahan. 

Commerce was the next theme of questions. Starting a band is hard, time-consuming, and expensive; how do the Gully Boys manage money and what advice would they give to other musicians? Klemond said not to buy expensive equipment first and instead use what you have. If you have a friend who is really good at recording, or has equipment, ask for help. All four of the Gully Boys also work day jobs, a fact that was surprising to many. However, without these day jobs, the band would not be able to function, as the budget is very tight. For their upcoming 32-stop tour, their plan is to sleep on as many couches as possible.

Resilience was the last topic for the interview and a theme of the lecture series. What keeps them going as a band? McGill says they are “going to keep doing it until it stops being fun.” This stood out as a shared viewpoint among the group; if the band stops being fun and fulfilling, the plan is to stop. However, this does not seem likely to happen anytime soon. The Gully Boys, according to Klemond, are “much bigger than what we do after work […] these are my best friends.” And from an audience perspective, this was clear. The four were constantly smiling, joking and laughing with each other.

The Gully Boys will be playing in Minneapolis on Dec. 4, 11, 18 and 19 on the last stops of their tour.