With roots firmly planted in the fertile musical soil of Texas, the Eli Young Band is a little bit country and a helluva lot of guitar-driven rock & roll. Their Carnival Recording Company debut, Level, finds them poised to bust out of the Lone Star State and bring their brand of music to a wider audience, as they make inroads into neighboring states like Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.
The band was formed almost five years ago by Mike Eli who grew up just outside of Houston and James Young who hails from Irving, TX. After playing together as a duo they were later joined by drummer Chris Thompson and bassist Jon Jones, who all met while students at the University of North Texas at Denton, about 50 miles north of Dallas/Forth Worth. After graduating the group decided to stay in Denton and to this day make their home in the town.
Late in 2003 producer Frank Liddell (Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Chris Knight) attended a show at the Gypsy Tea Room where EYB was playing on the bill with Miranda Lambert. He was blown away by their live show and wound up signing them to Carnival Recording Company soon after. This April, Eli Young Band will release Level, marking their debut on Carnival.
Level has drawn comparisons to The Jayhawks in the plaintive “When It Rains”. The band members, all in their early 20s, have proven to be adept at blending their musical influences into a cohesive sound on this effort. You can hear the heartland rock of John Mellencamp in the autobiographical “Small Town Kid” and the crying-in-your-beer band on the road saga “Highways and Broken Hearts.” There’s the grinding blues of the Black Crowes in “Bring It on Home,” and the romantic lament of “That’s the Way” and “Everything Is You.”
“I wouldn’t exactly label us as country or rock. While we’ve been influenced by artists in each of those genres, we lean more towards Alt Country, our music fits in best with artists you hear on AAA radio.” adds Young. “Our sound is a blend of all of our influences. For example, I was raised on blues and rock, guitarists like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Perry, Jimmy Page… all the greats. Mike grew up on singer/songwriters like Rodney Crowell and Paul Simon.”
“Jon’s major influences on bass were Jaco Pastorius and Stefan Lessard and Chris studied drummers like John Blackwell, Matt Chamberlain and Steve Gadd,” said Eli. “Whether we’re playing ‘When It Rains’ or a track with a blues edge like ‘Bring It On Home’ the blend of my vocals, James on guitar with Chris and Jon laying down the rhythm makes each song sound distinctly like EYB,” adds Eli. In the end, the Eli Young Band is about going out on the road and playing their music for their fans. You can hear that in the lonesome twang of “Highways and Broken Hearts” and the undaunted optimism of “Bottom Line.”
“There are a lot of ups and downs being on the road in a working band,” says James, adding with a laugh. “But I can’t think of anything I would rather do.”
“We love getting out there and exposing new people to our music. That’s why we play four and five shows a week. We’re in this for the long haul, building up our fan base one audience at a time…and that’s our bottom line.”
Official Website: http://www.eliyoung.net/