Hello and welcome to College Radio Charts! For readers who are just discovering you, can you introduce yourselves and tell us a little about IOCBYSTWBAD?
We’re “I only came cause you said there would be a dog.” or IOCBYSTWBAD for short. We’re a three piece Midwest emo band from rural Michigan.
We have to start with the obvious question. I Only Came Because You Said There Would Be A Dog is one of the most memorable band names we’ve come across. What’s the story behind it, and when did you realize it was actually going to stick?
Honestly, we just kinda shot goofy names back and forth for awhile via groupchat. This one was sent and it just kind of clicked. Our generation grew up with these long silly track names. We thought we should have our band name be long and ridiculous too. You can kind of see our generation longing for that feeling of the 2000s warped tour vibe. We really wanted to emulate that into the band name.
You all come from rural Michigan, which isn’t necessarily the first place people think of when they think of Midwest emo. How has growing up there shaped both your music and your identity as a band?
Being from the Upper Peninsula changes things, because frankly, it’s dead and brutal up here. Half the year you’re dealing with isolation, sub-zero winters, and staring at endless trees with nothing to do. There were no real shows, no real scene. You’d hop on bandcamp or find cool bands on YouTube. Discovering alternate tunings was huge too. Hearing bands that used open A and open C were hugely influential.
Every band has that moment where it goes from friends making noise together to realizing, “We might actually have something here.” What was that moment for IOCBYSTWBAD?
It didn’t happen overnight, but it really clicked when we finished writing our self-titled material. There was a specific point during arrangement where the intricate guitar lines, bass interplay, and rhythms all locked into place simultaneously, and we looked at each other and realized we had built something cohesive, heavy, and genuinely moving.
Your music avoids conventional verse-chorus structures in favor of winding arpeggios, shifting rhythms, and intricate interplay between the instruments. Was that always the vision, or did your sound evolve naturally as you played together?
C#G#D#G#C D# lets the open strings ring out and drone constantly, which creates a massive, wall-of-sound effect that makes a three-piece feel way bigger than it actually is.
There’s an interesting tension in your songs—they’re technically demanding, but they never feel like they’re showing off. Instead, the complexity seems to serve the emotion. How conscious is that balance when you’re writing?
I just really wanted the emotion of the instruments and lyrics to flow simultaneously. I want it to create a beautiful piece of art people can enjoy.
You’ve described your songs as being about trying to hold things together, whether that’s a house that’s falling apart or memories beginning to fade. Where did that central theme come from, and why did it resonate with all three of you?
Everyone has experienced loss/grief in some way, if not it’s coming eventually. I just wanted to throw some of my past loss into something people can listen to. I hope that our music resonates with someone. Even if the contextual meaning is something different to them.
Are there plans to play out live and tour at all?
Fuck yeah there are.
What’s the songwriting process like within the band? Does someone usually bring the skeleton of a song into rehearsal, or are these intricate arrangements something that grows organically from the three of you playing together?
Usually we have some sort of melody or idea and when we get together for rehearsal it usually explodes into something.
As listeners, we often wonder which arrives first. Does an emotional idea inspire the music, do the lyrics come first, or does someone stumble across a guitar part that opens the door to everything else?
It honestly happens either way. A lot of the times a guitar riff will happen and lyrics will follow.
You’re heading into the studio in August to record new material. What excites you most about capturing these songs, and are there things you’ve learned from your previous recordings that you’re eager to apply this time around?
We’re just super stoked to share what’s been brewing for some time with everyone. I’d say just adding a lot of different instruments and really creating a full sound.
Are you working with a producer with these new songs?
We’re working with Doglike Recording.
When you’re not writing or rehearsing, what does inspiration look like for the three of you? Are there books, films, visual artists, or even places around Michigan that find their way into your music?
I watch a lot of Bluey.
Finally, if someone has never heard IOCBYSTWBAD before, what’s the one song you’d ask them to start with, and what do you hope they’re feeling by the time it ends?
“Smile estaban your family is rich” I hope you can take my loss and grief and use it in a way to heal yourself.
Thank you so much for spending some time with us today. Where can people go to find out more about you and your music?
You can follow us on our socials and our self titled EP will be out on all streaming platforms this fall.
