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 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 of Colleyville, TX and bassist Jon Jones of Omaha, NE, 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. You can hear a bit of James's
early influences on Level's title track, a blues-rocker that lends
itself to the sound of Lenny Kravitz, ending with a rave up guitar riff
that sounds like a tribute to one of Young's guitar heroes, Jimmy Page.
You can also hear that he was inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan when
listening to the solo in "So Close Now."
"We really wanted to stretch and push ourselves," says Eli about the
band's approach to recording the album, co-produced by Texas native Erik
Herbst in his Denton studio as well as JJ Lester.
Indeed, Level is a search for higher ground after years of playing
before larger and larger audiences, both on their own and opening for
bigger acts. In five short years the Eli Young Band has gone from small
club dates to playing in front of 6,000 people at a time opening for the
likes of Jack Ingram, Pat Green and Cross Canadian Ragweed.
Songs like "Small Town Kid" and "So Close Now" capture the frustrations
of being trapped in a small town and wanting to get out ("I've got the
streets memorized/I see the faces in my mind… I have nothing in common
with the town I've come to know").
"Oklahoma Girl," "Bring It on Home" and "Girl in Red" deal with the
titillation of love at first sight. "When It Rains," "That's the Way"
and "Everything in You" capture the downside of relationships, the
loneliness after they end, while "I Call The Tune" is a lighthearted
track written in a tongue and cheek manner that has become a crowd
favorite.
"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," says Eli. "Music is a great outlet; most of the songs on
Level are a reflection of the bands personal experiences over the last
few years."
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." |
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