The Eli Young Band has come a long way from the year 2000 when they were playing at local bars while attending the University of North Texas (UNT) together. Mike Eli (vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drums), have been writing, singing and touring together for fourteen years. Just a month after the announcement of their first ever CMA Nomination, for Vocal Group of the Year, New England Country Music had the opportunity to speak with Chris Thompson and discuss the journey that led the Eli Young Band to the honor of being nominated for “one of the most competitive categories in country music right now.”
Jon, James and Chris were all freshmen together at UNT and would jam together to “just have fun and blow off steam.” During their sophomore year Mike (Eli) came along and he and James (Young) started writing country music together. “Mike and James used to do these acoustic sets at this local bar and Jon and I got up and we played with them, and we just never stopped playing together after that.
Five studio albums and three number ones (and a fourth, ‘Dust,’ which is heading up the charts) later, we are so glad they decided to play music together and I’m sure they feel the same way because in 2013, the EYB got to tour the country with Kenny Chesney on the No Shoes Nation tour and got to play at several NFL stadiums. “Touring with Chesney, it’s the top level of touring you can do with anybody. He’s like the biggest act ever.” Gillette Stadium in Foxboro being one of the stops on the tour, I asked Thompson what it was like playing there. “It was fantastic. It was insane, they were all just completely nuts because Kenny puts on a great show and he has such rabid fans and they were embracing us too. It was something really special.”
While touring with Chesney, the band was writing and choosing songs for their new album, ‘10,000 Towns,’ which was released in March of this year. Coming from different musical backgrounds, Mike, Chris, Jon and James brought a variety of musical talent to the table. The band wrote almost half of the songs on the album together and it debuted number one on Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and sold over 36,000 copies the first week as well. But getting together all at once was a challenge for them. Between touring, recording and finding time to be home with their families, they made a really concerted effort to all sit down and to write together. “With this album we tried to make a really positive record. Everyone was in a really good place when we were making it, writing it and I think you hear a lot of that (in the songs) and making it was more fun. ‘Drunk Last Night’ and ‘Dust’ were two songs we did like that.”
The song the band most likes singing live from the album is ‘Prayer for the Road.’ “The audience every night responds to it really well. It’s a song where all the cell phones come out. We are really excited about that song and it’s a song about being away from home and traveling and how that impacts your family. It hits home really.“
The Eli Young Band recently had a show at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.
They are all married now, have three number one singles in the record books, and have been recognized as one of the best country bands in the business. Life has certainly changed for the members of the EYB from those long ago college years to becoming the currently nominated Vocal Group of the Year. Thompson shared his reaction to the nomination.
“It’s incredible. I think it’s one of the most competitive categories in country music right now. We are up against some real heavy hitters. We look at those lists of nominees and say how in the world we go from being a garage band in Texas to being on a list with these guys. Every time we get those kinds of nominations we have no idea how it happened.”
Thompsons’ apparent passion for country music shows through with his thoughts on what he hopes the future will hold for the band. “I just want to make good music too. I just want to have a lasting impact in country music that would be the greatest thing. There are so few bands out there, like true bands that started together and toured together and record together that I think that it would also be nice to leave a legacy for younger people to know that you can do that. You can pick some guitars and drums and you can write songs together and hit the road. It may be a long road but eventually you can be successful at it. I think that is really important.”
They are four friends (who feel more like brothers) from Texas who share their talent as musicians, their love of music and their lives with us in their songs. In their performances, they show genuine appreciation for their fans and if record sales and sold out shows say anything, it would say that is exactly “how it happened.”
New England Country Music would like to thank Chris for taking the time to speak with us. We can’t wait to see what the future will bring for the EYB. Our guess is that there will be more number ones, more sold out shows and many more music award nominations for sure.
You can follow The Eli Young Band on Twitter, on Facebook, and on their official website.
This article was written by NECM contributing writer Lorraine Frigoletto You can follow me on Twitter.