Jamie Todd and his band, ByGod (Lead Guitar, Vocals)
Rich Reitz (Bass Guitar)
Lee Ingram (Drums)
Each of us have our walks in life to forge, and totes to carry; we just so happened to be here now.
Jamie Todd has called Lafayette County home for years, and has engulfed bloating amounts of time and energy in honing the craft of the region’s long blues music, and likewise as a musician, continues to give homage to North Mississippi’s hill country heritage and its neighbouring region known world-wide, the Mississippi Delta.
Along the way, “ByGod” encounters first Rich Reitz of Fresno, California, in 2015; who was visiting to take an adventure through the Delta Blues Trail with his musical cohort “Chi-Chi” Rodriguez. They meet in the most stereotypical place to meet a bluesman: an empty parking lot at 2 in the morning, with a buzz on the brain, and songs from the heart, Fred McDowell that is… The 2 began what became a blossoming bond over the perfecting and hours upon hours spent critiquing the records of Furry Lewis, Fred McDowell, and the Kimbrough/Burnside standards.
And just before the inevitable global lockdown of COVID-19, the gruesome twosome met glue to bind the clue, Lee Ingram of Madison, Mississippi. An Oxford entrepreneur, graduate of Ole Miss Accounting, and overall force and slave to the rhythm. We began as a 3-piece for a gig at Moe’s Penny Bar open-mic, and was nipped by quarantine. During which time, rehearsals were scarce, personal/professional losses were endured, and sparks of rapid change hit like none of us had endured before, let alone us as a band..
Now, with things, especially venues and festivals, beginning to re-open, Jamie Todd and his Band, ByGod, wish to bring a new level of confidence and energy to Oxford’s live music scene with homegrown music of old and new. Like dogs with their bones, it’s “in your face” home.