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G.E. Underground
And interview with drummer Brian Mayes
By Ben Albaugh
The George Elliot Underground is made from fragments of bands broken by time, space and even a fire. But when these five musicians moved into an off-campus house together in 2005, there was no stopping the music that erupted from their basement in late night, alcohol-infused jam sessions.
Over the years, the band’s sound matured into a cohesive revival of classic rock with “more electricity than AEP can handle.” With a demo in the works and a show at Sloopy’s on Saturday, members of the George Elliot Underground are working harder than ever to make the music they love.
UWeekly spoke to drummer Brian Mayes about the band’s origins, alcoholic mayhem and aliens.
UW: What is the story behind the band name, the George Elliot Underground?
When I lived in Cincinnati, I worked in a restaurant, and the manager was named George Elliot. He was a Vietnam vet who was heavily addicted to psychedelic drugs. He was really burned out and couldn’t speak very well, so it’s kind of a tribute to him.
UW: What made you want to form the GEU when you guys were already in other bands?
The other bands we were in all sort of just fell apart, and people went their own ways. The bassist of the Sheens/Heavy Shakers ended up living in North Carolina after he graduated. The drummer for Starboard Fluke moved to Florida and then traveled the world after he graduated. We were all sitting around one day and said, “Well, why don’t we just start playing music together?”
UW: How would you describe your music, and what should people expect from your live show?
Rock and roll. Classic rock, like Rolling Stones combined with Aretha Franklin and CCR. We are just going for a classic rock sound in the city that that has nothing but art rock and emo/pop/punk bands. People don’t come see us to hear some artsy new wave music. They come see us for the show, to be entertained
UW: What are some of your favorite bands on the local scene?
Hotel War, Main Street Gospel, and I like Pirate. Our guitar player is actually in a fight with one of their guitar players. They were sleeping with the same girl at the same time.
UW: Both locally and nationally, are there any bands out there that you just cannot stand?
Anything that you hear on the Blitz [now called the Rock]: Nickelback, Godsmack, Creed, Hinder, Alter Bridge, 3 Doors Down, Three Days Grace and all those shitty bands. We could throw Plain White T’s in there too.
UW: What are the last three albums you bought?
Kings of Leon’s “Only By the Night,” Oasis’ “Dig Out Your Soul” and the Raconteurs’ “Consolers Of The Lonely.”
UW: Why did you record your demo at Analog Sounds?
It is really about the sound David Wesley gives you on the finished product. He is really into our music and came to a few of our practices, took a bunch of notes and got our input on how we wanted it to sound. He’s taken a personal initiative and extra time out of his busy day to work with us.
UW: Do you have any crazy stories from life in the GEU?
[laughs] There are a few. There’s always the classic, Derek, our bassist, passing out at the bar at 9 p.m. Most of them involve alcohol. Marlin likes to disappear and then come back randomly and have sexual relations with fat people. We went to Lollapalooza and the whole Chicago weekend was nuts, for example, puking over bridges in the middle of the day.
UW: What is next for GEU?
Start playing a lot more shows, get signed to a deal and do a tour. We want to go until we can’t go anymore and take this to the top.
UW: Do you believe in aliens?
Absolutely. I think aliens built the pyramids.
The George Elliot Underground will perform at 9:15 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 6 at Sloopy’s. Tickets are $3.
Originally Published: December 3, 2008
