Biography:
Fusing a young man`s take on heartland rock with the tougher side of Texas country music and the cocky enthusiasm of alt-country firebrands, the Eli Young Band have become a potent draw in the Southwest on the strength of local airplay and extensive touring. The Eli Young Band`s story began when Mike Eli and James Young both enrolled at the University of North Texas and found themselves sharing a dorm room as freshmen. Both played guitar, and the two new friends starting writing and singing songs together. Under the name Eli & Young, they began playing acoustic shows at local bars and coffeehouses, and in time they expanded the band into a full electric quartet with the addition of fellow students Jon Jones on bass and Chris Thompson on drums, thus giving rise to the Eli Young Band.
The group became a potent local draw, and in 2003 they opened a show for rising star Miranda Lambert. Producer Frank Liddell saw the show and was impressed enough to offer the band a deal with his independent label, Carnival Recording. The Eli Young Band`s debut album, Level, appeared in 2005, and the songs "That`s the Way" and "When It Rains" began scoring significant airplay in the Lone Star State. The Eli Young Band`s enthusiastic live show helped them draw a large and loyal audience in the Southwest, where they were able to fill 2,000 seat venues as a headliner, and they toured the country as an opener for the likes of Pat Green, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and Jack Ingram. In 2006, the group`s live show was captured for posterity on the concert recording Live at the Jolly Fox, taped during a gig at a club in Huntsville, TX. The Eli Young Band then landed a deal with the Universal-distributed Republic Records; a video for a new recording of "When It Rains" subsequently received extensive play on Country Music Television, and the group`s first album for Republic, Jet Black & Jealous, was released September 2008. Several of the band`s older releases were then reissued in early via iTunes, including the self-titled effort Eli Young Band.
