(CSC) 1. Please tell us about your debut album, “Jet Black & Jealous” that was just released Universal Records South this past week. I’m aware that this isn’t the first record you’ve made?

(Eli Young Band)

That’s right! We put out three records before this release. They were self-titled records. Our first show together was back in October of 2000, and we had a self-titled album that came out in 2002. There wasn’t any distribution or anything with it; it was just us selling a record that we made in our house, selling it out of the back of our trucks. (Laughs) It sounds cliché, but that’s what it was! We released an album called “Level” in 2005, which we had distribution on. That was the original album that featured the song, “When It Rains.”

(CSC) 2. How would you compare the recording process of this album to your past albums? Did you have the same freedom with it in the studio?

(Eli Young Band)

Yeah, with this album we made the majority of it (Nine tracks) about a year before we even started talking with Universal. We pretty much had all the freedom we needed. (Laughs) We signed with Universal in May, and when we delivered those nine songs to them, they told us they liked everything we had already done, and told us to go in and finish the record.

(CSC) 3. Tell us about the two different videos you made for your hit song “When It Rains.”

(Eli Young Band)

We made one that was back when we did “Level.” That video had a zero budget, and it was basically walking around with a camera pretty much. When “When It Rains” hit Billboard, it hit the charts on its own. We didn’t have a promotion staff or anything like that. So some programmers got a hold of the song, and it started spreading. At that point, we hired an independent promoter to promote it for us, and ended up getting the song up to #34 on the charts. When we got signed, we asked Universal since this was our first national release to put the song on this latest record as well.     

(CSC) 4. What was it like being produced by Frank Liddell, who is also the husband of country star Lee Ann Womack? Haven’t you done some shows with Lee Ann & recordings in the past?

(Eli Young Band)

We’ve done some shows with her, but we actually met her because of her husband Frank. We were friends with Miranda Lambert before she did the Nashville Star show. After she did that show she asked us to come and open up her show for her in Dallas, TX at a place called the “Gypsy Tea Room.” We opened up that show, and Frank came out and liked what he heard. That was back in 2003, and he helped us secure distribution on “Level” and “Live at the Jolly Fox.” The goal was to always make a record with him. Mike Rookie produced the album, and Frank co-produced; He also worked on Miranda Lambert’s first two records as well.   

(CSC) 5. You just recently finished a tour with the Dave Matthews Band, a pairing most wouldn’t expect in Country Music! How did that come together, and what was that experience like for all of you?

(Eli Young Band)

It was pretty cool! We were always fans of Dave Matthews. His music is very cross genre, and their appeal is very broadly based, so to be able to play with him was amazing! We still don’t know how to talk about being asked to be on tour with him. Our agent called his agent, and our agent sent him a record and told him that he thought Dave would like our band. Dave’s agent called our agent back and said that Dave really liked our album. (Laughs) So they asked what dates we were available to tour with him, and open up his shows. It was a pretty cool thing that had happened. We are very grateful for that.

(CSC) 6. You’ve worked very hard for many years playing small clubs all over Texas, and have sacrificed your personal lives for the sake of your band. What have you learned these past eight years of your lives?

(Eli Young Band)

We’ve kind of just been living our lives. Being in a band these days, and going out and making a music career isn’t exactly one of those overnight things you know, you just have to keep your brain thinking that something bigger is around the corner. The first five to six years were incredibly tough because we were all putting ourselves through college, and none of us had a ton of money growing up. We were all working two or three jobs while being in a band, and going to school. It was a really hard time, and we really latched onto each other to help us get through it. Eventually our music began to spread, and the fans started coming out, and we actually started making a living at it.  That was really where we realized that all the hard work was really going to start to pay off for us. We’re able to make a living doing something that we love, and we get to look out into the audience each night and see fans sing back to us; that’s pretty incredible.

(CSC) 7. You’re coming back to Chicago this month to perform at the Chicago Country Music Festival. What are you looking forward to most about this show?

(Eli Young Band)

We’ve been playing in Chicago for a long time. For some reason that was one of those places that we started playing outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, where we initially began to play. We got a call from this club called Joe’s, and they wanted us to come there and play, and we went. We’ve been going there and making one fan at a time for a long time now. Finally with the national record and national promotion, and hopefully some national radio play there in Chicago, this show will really help us step up our shows there! We love playing there; we opened up for Pat Green at House of Blues. The House of Blues in Chicago is probably one of my favorite venues because of the way that it sounds; it just sounds incredible in there. We enjoy Joe’s for the reason of it’s just always a really good time.   

(CSC) 8. Do you get to hang out around town when you’re not working?

(Eli Young Band)

It depends on where we are the day before and the day after. (Laughs) Sometimes those drives are long ones. 

(CSC) 9. Who are some country artists that have had a major impact on your style of performing? (Both Modern-day and legendary artists)

(Eli Young Band)

It’s all over the place for us! Growing up my dad’s record collection consisted of Ronnie Milsap, Charley Pride, Charlie Rich, and Conway Twitty which I really latched onto. Those guys were vocalists, they got up there and they had these big strong voices. I also love Rodney Crowell. I’ve bought every album of his that he’s ever put out, so I was always a huge fan of his.

(CSC) 10. Being that there are four of you out on the road together, does it get a little tough living in such close quarters on a tour bus at times?

(Eli Young Band)

For us, everything we’ve done has been built really slowly, and for seven years we were in a van and trailer, so while the bus may be tight quarters, it’s nothing like being in a van for hours and hours. It’s actually pretty nice, we’re a family, and we’ve been friends for decades. It’s like a big fun party, and it has been for many years!  

(CSC)11. For people who have not heard you before, or may not be aware of your sound, how can you best describe it to them?

(Eli Young Band)

Obviously if you listen to this record it’s a combination of rockin’ country. That’s just the kind of music we make. We get up on stage and we’re not afraid to make different sounds with our guitars, and write a melody because it may be a little left center. There are stories and songs on this new record that aren’t your same old songs.

(CSC) 12. Moving forward, what are three goals you hope to achieve in the next few years with your career?

(Eli Young Band)

First our biggest goal is with this record, for our current fans to believe in it and love it as much as we do, second we hope that people who are hearing us for the first time love this record, and love it so much that they go back and get some of our earlier music. Our earlier music is such a huge part of who we are. Third, I hope we can continue doing that because we are very fortunate to have this job in the first place. I hope that we can do it for a long, long time. 

For the latest on the Eli Young Band, please visit their official website here; http://www.eliyoungband.com/