Two decades later, band ‘just getting broke in’
JOCELYN MURPHY
jmurphy@nwadg.com
Eli Young Band members are always excited to see Fayetteville come up on their touring schedule, guitarist James Young assures.
The muli-platinum Texas foursome returns to George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville for back-to-back performances March 14 and 15, and the country rockers couldn’t be happier for the rare(ish) chance to be in town longer than one night.
“Fayetteville’s kind of like a second home,” Young confirms. That is especially true for the guitar player who shares that his aunt and uncle were so fond of the area, they moved from Dallas, and his whole family stayed in cabins together last year on Mount Sequoyah for a family gathering.
“Fayetteville will always hold a special place in our heart. Even when we were just a Texas band and playing kind of regionally, man, the crowds were always amazing — even before we had a song on the radio,” Young says. “And it’s still that way.”
The group has more than a song or two on the radio now as they reflect back on two decades of performing together. And, after a three-year hiatus from new material, the guys enjoyed another moment at the top as their 2018 single “Love Ain’t” became their fourth career No. 1 release and the first to top the charts in six years.
“The world has changed — everybody wants it now, now, now,” Young says of recording singles for a while rather than waiting to produce a whole album. “We love making records, but you can get caught up in making an album, and it’ll be a year and a half or longer before it even sees the light of day. So it’s great for us that we can cut a song and it can roll out quicker than an album would.”
Thus, their next single, “Break It In,” followed “Love Ain’t” last summer. The video for the introspective tune digs back through the band’s archives, showcasing career highlights as well as each member’s personal milestones.
“Like a car with a 100,000 miles on it, my dad always used to say, ‘It’s just getting broke in.’ So that’s kind of the thought behind the video,” Young shares. “We went and dug up some old pictures, and we had to find a VCR to even play some of those old tapes, but we hung on to all that all these years.
“There’s a lot of those nights I don’t remember too sharply,” he adds, laughing. “That was fun [to revisit those memories], but it’s funny how time flies. When you’re having fun, it doesn’t really seem like work. And we’ve definitely had a blast doing what we love all this time.”
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FAQ
Eli Young Band
WHEN — 9 p.m. March 14 & 15
WHERE — George’s Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville
COST — $25-$30
INFO — eliyoungband.com, sixforty1.com
FYI — SixForty1 will also perform.
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FYI
3×3:
Meet SixForty1
Nashville duo SixForty1 will join the Eli Young Band in Fayetteville. Austin Gee, one half of the pair of Kentucky natives, answered these questions for What’s Up! ahead of the show:
Q. You’ve said the goal of the band is to bring people together through the music, the way US 641 does. How so? For those of us not from Murray, can you explain the significance of Highway 641 to the town and how it brought you two together?
A. If it wasn’t for Murray State University, the town of Murray, Ky., would be just like any other rural small town — only a few stoplights, places to eat, and music venues that people would go to on Friday and Saturday nights. US 641 is the main road that cuts through the middle of Murray. This is where we got our start playing in bars and corners of restaurants, playing for anyone that would listen, and getting paid just enough for gas money until we played the next weekend. Having friends from school come out for support meant the world to us, and we constantly remind ourselves of the journey we’ve been on these past couple of years. We decided to name ourselves “SixForty1” to pay homage to the road that brought us together.
Q. How has the energy of Nashville — being at the center of where country music is created — affected your process? Where are you finding inspiration these days?
A. Since moving to Nashville in the fall of 2017, we’ve been exposed to so much talent and have gotten the opportunity to work with some of this town’s best artists and writers. It’s helped us hone in our craft and really push us to give it 110% every day, because there is always someone else working when you’re not. We still find inspiration the same way we did when we began writing in our fraternity houses back in college, just a little more structured now. We never thought we’d be in this position when we started, so we don’t take it for granted.
Q. What can you share about your forthcoming music?
A. We have a big year planned! Lots of new music coming out in 2020 — more than we’ve released since moving to Nashville — so keep an eye out for that. We write all of our songs from real life experiences. It can sometimes be difficult being so vulnerable in a writing room, but we want to open up our lives to our fans and show them what we’re all about. We’re also planning our very first headlining tour, so come catch us in a city near you!
