By Megan Wittie
Special to LIVE!
May 2, 2007

What do you get when you mix a jazz, country, and rock sound with four music majors from the University of North Texas in Denton? You get an up-and-coming Texas country music group that call themselves the Eli Young Band. With influences of Tom Petty, Aerosmith, and Hall & Oates, the group crosses rock with soul sounds and good old Texas country lyrical poetry. “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,” said lead guitarist and co-founder James Young.Formed by lead singer Mike Eli and lead guitarist James Young about 6 years ago, while attending school at the University of North Texas in Denton, the Eli Young Band became complete with the addition of drummer Chris Thompson and bassist Jon Jones. Even though all four guys have since graduated from UNT, they still make their permanent residence in Denton.

After mastering the club circuit in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the band accepted an opportunity to open a show at Blaine’s Pub in San Angelo, Texas in March. They call this gig their first “out-of-town experience.” “We definitely knew we weren’t in DFW anymore,” Jones said. “We thought we had made it,” added Thompson. The guys claimed that San Angelo is one of the most fun places they play. On March 8, the band headlined a show at Graham Central Station of San Angelo on day 5 of a 31-day tour.

Even though the group opens and headlines shows all over the country including Nashville, Tennessee and Chicago, Illinois, they never forget where they call home. “Just ‘cause we’re going out and playing the shows [out of state] doesn’t mean that we’re leaving our foundation behind. Texas is always going to be home,” Eli said. “Just because we wanna go and find more and more fans and keep making this happen for ourselves, doesn’t mean that we don’t call Texas home. That foundation, that music scene, those fans are a part of what we built. A big part of it.” They play around 250 shows a year, each time attracting bigger and bigger crowds.

Not only are the venues expanding out of state, but the number of fans is also expanding. That’s no surprise given the amount of energy and passion put into each performance. “If the energy is coming from the crowd and the energy is coming from us, it’s going to be a really cool show,” Eli said. It doesn’t take much for the band to feel the energy, just those diehard fans singing along that make it easy to connect to the crowd.

Going from hauling a trailer behind a passenger van packed with seven guys to touring on a customized bus has certainly made these down-to-earth Texans thankful for every opportunity they have received. “We’re four very lucky people,” Jones said. Surviving such cramped quarters while touring also allowed the guys to really get to know each other. They are truly like a family. Not only do the guys travel together, they also live together off the road. “There are a lot of ups and downs being on the road in a working band, but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do,” stated Young.

This past year, the Eli Young Band was successful at putting their name out in the music scene by opening for some big names such as Gary Alan, Dierks Bentley, and Cross Canadian Ragweed. “Miranda Lambert is a friend of ours. We’ve done some shows with her. That was kind of what lead us to the point of meeting our producer Frank Liddell, who owns Carnival Recording Company,” said Eli. Even though Carnival is the label for the debut album Level, the guys are shopping around for another label.

The chart topping Level includes the single “So Close Now” dealing with the battle of leaving the small town black hole. All four members have song credits on the album. “Whether I’m having a bad day or going through a difficult time, writing has become a way for me to deal with my frustrations and work through my emotions,” Eli stated. Also on the album are broken-hearted ballads such as “Everything is You”, “Highways and Broken Hearts”, and “When it Rains.” And then there are lighthearted tracks such as “Bring it on Home”, “I Call the Tune”, and “Girl in Red”. The band writes about what they know, combining personal experiences to make their lyrical poetry.

For tour dates, more photos, and to listen to songs, check out the Eli Young Band at www.myspace.com/eliyoungband or at www.eliyoungband.com.

Eli Young Band music video of "When it Rains"