This country band has performed all over, but Baton Rouge is still home
This time last year, almost no one knew who The Gillis Silo was.
Today, the band’s music video for “She’s My Hurricane” has been on CMT. It’s been played 3.8 million times at retail outlets in the U.S. And they have toured all over the country, opening for big names such as the Florida Georgia Line and Aaron Lewis.
Since playing their first gig at Huey’s Bar last January, the four-piece band has had big break after big break.
By the time The Gillis Silo got together in late 2013, the members had all known each other for years; some had even played together in bands before.
But when guitarist Jared Daigle, 34, heard singer-songwriter Caleb Paul’s newest material, he knew he had to work with him again. “Raw talent is raw talent. When three or four of his songs are stuck in your head for weeks afterward, that speaks for itself,” Daigle says.
After just a few rehearsals, The Gillis Silo’s chemistry was immediately apparent. It’s like a football team: The right players and the right circumstances will line up for a championship.
Before they ever played their first show, they had promo photos shot, logos made and two songs recorded. In their first two months, they shot a first music video, rehearsed twice a week and learned 75 covers. They built an identity—and a polished one at that.
They were ready for a championship.
In the spring, they quickly gained exposure when they became the only country band to finish in the top 25 in the Hard Rock Rising Global Battle of the Bands. Then, they won a contest to open for Florida Georgia Line at The Country Explosion music festival in Salt Lake City in front of 30,000 people.
Baton Rouge’s 100.7 The Tiger started playing their single, “She’s My Hurricane”—along with radio stations at more than 40 cities across the country.
Whatever the next level was, they’d achieved it—and with no record label or financial backing.
The band won fans with their catchy love songs, “Listen for My Truck” and “She’s My Hurricane,” but they delve into some heavier subject matter, too.
At 29, Paul has seen more than most people his age have—a former cop, he was also deployed to Afghanistan with the Army in 2012. When he left the U.S., he thought he would never come back. He could picture his face on the cover of a newspaper, with a headline about soldiers dying at war.
During his 10 months in Afghanistan, he filled 15 notebooks with more than 80 songs.
“I don’t believe someone can effectively write a song unless they’ve experienced the emotion they’re writing about. That’s the difference between a random love song by a pop star and the love song I wrote,” Paul says. “When I get a piece of paper, I can’t wait to write because I have too much to write about.”
One of the songs he wrote while deployed, “Home,” details a dream he had about coming home. The National Guard has expressed interest in using the song in a commercial, though nothing is official yet. Another song, “Still Got the Gun,” is about PTSD. The band is named after a bar called The Silo at the Gillis W. Long Center military base in Carville.
Though they have accomplished a lot in a short time, the group agrees they have a long way to go before they “make it.” Last year was a sneak peek at what they could have if they keep hustling.
“For some local bands in Baton Rouge, they’d get to this point and they’d be done,” drummer Karl Boudreaux, 38, says. “We’re still in elementary school.”
Paul adds, “My definition of success is standing in front of an arena of people and having them sing my song back to me.”
Daigle chimes in. “Success is about freedom and stability. Success is, ‘How you like me now?’”
Where to get the Gillis Silo’s music
The Gillis Silo’s singles are available on iTunes and Spotify.
Where to see the band perform
The band performs April 18 at the Riverfest Music & Arts Festival in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and in Baton Rouge on May 7 at MPAC at the Shaw Center. Check thegillissilo.com for updates.
