About Me
THE ELMS: A self-penned biography by Owen Thomas, Summer 2008.
Well, I suppose that somewhere in the rock and roll biography, accomplishments must be lauded. A band's critical mass, if it exists, must be made evident. Suitors must be impressed, critics appeased, supporters emboldened.
But I think, should you happen to meet one of the members of THE ELMS, we'll be less inclined to tell you what you might expect to hear.
Before we would ever tell you about any accomplishments we've been able to accrue in the last five years, we would inform you that the relationships in our band run thicker than blood, and that our brotherhood began in grade school, far before music ever came calling. We'd let you know how proud we are to have each other, and how important it has been for us to endeavor together in a noble way, the only way we've known how: making music that first inspires us before it ever leaves our care for the scrutiny and criticism of others. It has been important to us to remain firmly united to the convictions about music that we were born with. If it gets us off, it passes the test.
But, this is a rock & roll bio. I suppose it's my responsibility to tell a bit about what our band has been up to, and where we came from. All four members of THE ELMS were born in blue-collar, rustbuckle towns, and have lived in towns like these our whole lives. The music we make together is sparse, dense, and a bit gruff -- sonic comparisons have ranged from Crazy Horse to The Kinks. We like the philosophies of pop music structure in the purest sense. We like how it feels when a verse takes you to a big chorus. We also like the inherent feeling of risk that comes with rock & roll music, and like to keep things simple and raw musically. So, if you're doing the math and coming to some conclusions as to how we sound, you're probably not far off.
At times on our musical journey, we've tried to embrace the delicate, the dainty, and the ambient. But our experiments kept reminding us that we're just a loud, hearty American rock band... and we've got the battle scars to prove it. Right now, we all live in Indiana, within an hour's drive of each other.
We've released three records. They're called "The Big Surprise", "Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll", and "The Chess Hotel". All three of these records were released on major label imprints. We've sat in the atriums, drank the wine, shook the hands, and had a good laugh afterwards. It's an unbelievable place for a few buddies from Indiana to find themselves, for many reasons.
These records have allowed us to tour with some incredible people, from pop stars like Goo Goo Dolls to blues icons like Buddy Guy. We've done over seven hundred shows, and played to nearly a million people. This suits us fine. Some bands exist for the production of records, the process of deep creative exploration. We exist, primarily, to ramble out onto the stage together and try to lift people's feet up off the ground. We've been incredibly fortunate to play some of the finest rooms in the USA, and incidentally, we'll tour Europe for the first time in Summer 2008. We've connected with a lot of people from the stage, and a surprisingly large number of them have bought our records and taken the music into their hearts, for which we're grateful. The road is what we know, why we do this, and a place we feel we were born to live.
Our music has been used in film and television mediums around the world, including uses or video plays on NBC, CBS, ABC, ESPN, WB, FOX, MTV, MTV2, FUSE, and MuchMusic. The NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, and USTA have used our tunes in their events. EA Sports is using one of our new tunes called "The Shake" in their NHL 2009 game.
The press has been kind to THE ELMS, from gigantic dailies to influential magazines and sites. Words are nothing to hang your hat on, but it's nice when people respond generously.
At the moment, we're making the best music of our lives, and are working on a new record as we speak. The music we're creating is for the people who we love and are closest to, who understand the culture we live in and the personalities and spirit that make it tick. The goal here isn't, and was never, to sound like the scenester rock of coastal U.S. cities, or to use the music as a vehicle to brush elbows with 20-something Hollywood debutantes. But I'm sure they're nice girls.
We hope you like what we do, and understand that we're always trying harder, getting better, and digging deeper to craft our collective legacy. What happens with THE ELMS begins, and ends, with a camaraderie that far predates the love of making music. The band were friends and brothers first, and will remain so.
THE ELMS, selected press:
"Terrifically entertaining." -Billboard
"Stunning." -The San-Antonio Express-News
"Fabulous." -The Chicago Sun-Times
"A stellar group." -The Tennesseean
"Clever and brooding..." -Dayton Daily News
"Bold, swaggering rock anthems." -Courier Press
"Rare power and guts." -Amplifier Magazine
"Incendiary, anthemic, inspired." -South Florida Sun
"Stomping roadhouse rock." -HARP
"Spine-tingling." -The Indianapolis Star
"Energetic, unadorned rock & roll." -Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
"Stirring, visceral observations of blue-collar life." -Hybrid Magazine
"Buzz-saw, straight-ahead rock & roll." -Lafayette Courier-Journal
THE ELMS' video for "Nothin' To Do With Love."
Directed by Luke Renner.
MONOFILM 002.
MONOFILM 001.
For more videos, including exclusive live footage, video blogs, films from the studio and more, visit THE ELMS' Official YouTube Channel by clicking HERE .
