Gilmore sets sights high for her band and its new EP

When Mary Gilmore started playing music with her childhood neighbor, guitarist Pete Ballou, neither one of them realized that it was the start of something bigger.

"I really just started hanging around with Pete for fun when he lived across the street from me in high school," Gilmore said. "I was just singing some songs he had written in the past."

Years later, Mary and Pete picked up drummer Preston Barnes, guitarist Shamus Gillen and bassist David Knight, forming the musical ensemble Mary's Got a Band. The band started playing shows last August, and since then have gigged out at The Pour House, the Music Farm, O'Malley's and Art's in Mount Pleasant. This Friday, they take the stage at Midtown Bar & Grill on Upper King Street.

The Americana-rock outfit just released its first EP, "Satellite Rodeo." The five-song record was mixed, recorded and mastered at Charleston Sound. The songs resonate Gilmore's country twang but maintain an accessible sound and a pop mentality.

The songs on the record were written by Ballou for Gilmore to sing specifically, which ultimately were tweaked by the other band members to make them their own. Although the group is happy with the album, Gilmore and the gang intend to start making the songwriting process more of a joint venture on their newest material.

"We're figuring out how to make our system more collaborative," Gilmore said. "The band is still new. We're still working out the process."

With a handful of live performances and a five-song album within the first year, Mary's Got a Band isn't slowing down, either. Gilmore has set her goals high for the year to come, hinting at another record, regional touring and wooing Charleston concertgoers.

"In the next six months, realistically, I'd really like to conquer Charleston," Gilmore said. "I'd like most of the city to have heard us and seen us. I want to start venturing out to Charlotte, Greensboro and Jacksonville."

The band's name came

about last summer. The group was playing shows under the moniker Mary Gilmore because it was having trouble deciding on a name that embodied its sound. The members got the idea from something that was shouted at band practice before a gig.

"A year ago, the band members couldn't come up with a name. It's really hard to find a good name that fits the music and the people that's not cheesy. One day at practice, somebody said, '... Yeah! Mary's got a band!' We liked it and it stuck."

The band has found the ever-growing Charleston music scene very inviting throughout their musical adventures.

"I think that there are a lot of good musicians here. It's still growing and becoming a music city. It's not really a competition because you have to look out for the artist. Sometimes it's discouraging that there's a million bands, but you just have to push through."