The Elms (band)
Encyclopedia
The Elms were an American rock and roll
band known for their breed of rootsy, blues-based rock, with the essence of the music of the 60's and 70's. Although the band had been in existence since 2000, 2001 saw the release of their first full-length album, with the first musical contribution from Thomas Daugherty on guitar. Thus, 2001 is widely considered The Elms' first fully functional year in existence. Some members reside in the southern Indiana city of Seymour, Indiana
. The Elms have drawn stylistic comparisons to The Black Crowes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Kinks, and The Beatles.
The Elms released their major-label debut album, The Chess Hotel, on May 2, 2006. The band's final album, The Great American Midrange
, was released on September 15, 2009. It peaked at #18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and was The Elms' highest-charting album to date. The only officially released single from The Great American Midrange was the song "Back To Indiana," and the track's music video premiered online in November 2009. On June 1, 2010 the band announced via their web site that they would disband in July 2010.
. The two shared a passion for music, and often recorded original songs into handheld tape recorders as a hobby. Following grade school, Owen and Christopher Thomas relocated to Seymour, Indiana.
Following their departure from the band Just Visiting in 2000, the Thomas brothers signed a recording contract with EMI
-owned Gospel music label Sparrow Records
to launch their next endeavor, which they named The Elms after their relatives' coaching house in London, England. They solicited the involvement of Daugherty, who had been playing in various bands in his home-state of Missouri. Daugherty joined The Elms in mid-2000, and contributed guitar to the completion of The Elms' debut album, The Big Surprise. The band offered the role of bassist to Nathan Bennett, whom they had known for several years because of his involvement with Indiana-based rock band A.M. Drive. Bennett declined the initial offer, as his own band was in the midst of creating new material. Keith Miller joined the band on bass guitar after meeting the band at a concert on New Year's Eve 2000.
The Elms rapidly began to amass critical praise for their raucous live performances, the unit's tight musical presentation, and for Owen Thomas' mature lyrical content and melodic sensibilities. Keith Miller departed The Elms in Summer 2003 to return to college. Nathan Bennett was announced as the band's new bassist in late 2003, and the lineup went unchanged throughout the duration of The Elms' existence.
On June 1, 2010, The Elms announced on their website that the band would be disbanding in Summer 2010. Owen Thomas said of the split:
, was released on May 22, 2001.
The band's second full-length album Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll
was released on October 22, 2002. The first single from the album, "Speaking In Tongues," saw its music video air on MTV2's "120 Minutes." The album's second single "Burn & Shine" reached number 24 on the American CHR airplay charts in 2003, and the band embarked on a 30-city U.S. tour with rock band Jars of Clay
from Fall 2002-Spring 2003. The Elms performed their first-ever headline tour, The Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll Tour, from May–November 2003.
In 2004, a sold-out concert appearance in Muncie, IN was filmed as the Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll Tour came to a close. A limited edition live concert DVD of the event entitled, "Burn The Fields: The Elms Live In Indiana" was released in 2005 through The Elms' official website.
The Elms released their third album, The Chess Hotel
, on May 2, 2006 via Universal South Records. The album was met with critical acclaim, citing the album's rawness and songcraft as primary virtues. The band spent the Summer and Autumn of 2006 touring with Cracker, Shooter Jennings
, Peter Frampton
, and Goo Goo Dolls
.
The Elms' fourth studio album, entitled The Great American Midrange
, was released on September 15, 2009. The album was the first to be released via the band's own Trust Incorporated label, and opened to the highest chart position of the band's career, #18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
The Elms' song "This Is How the World Will End," written by Owen Thomas, was used by Indianapolis
NBC
affiliate television station WTHR
in 2008-2009 to promote its reportage. The music video for "This Is How The World Will End" was released online on January 16, 2010. The video features footage shot in Cité Soleil
, Haiti
, and the band has pledged to donate all proceeds from digital sales of the track to Care International to assist in relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010. It was announced on March 1, 2010 that The Elms' song "Back To Indiana" would be used as the theme music for the 2010 Big 10 Conference college basketball tournament.
On November 7, 2011, The Elms announced the November 25, 2011 release of the live concert film "The Last Band On Earth: A Film About The Elms." The film was shot at the band's last show in Indianapolis, IN, on July 30, 2010.
The Elms performed their final concert at Indianapolis
rock club Radio Radio on July 30, 2010. Tickets to the concert were sold out five weeks prior to the event taking place. The show lasted more than four hours and contained nearly 40 songs from the band's 10-year repertoire. The band has stated that the show will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, along with documentary footage. In summer 2011, The Elms' official website revealed an opening page including an abstract one-minute teaser for the concert film, with news that it would be entitled, "The Last Band On Earth: A Film About The Elms."
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band known for their breed of rootsy, blues-based rock, with the essence of the music of the 60's and 70's. Although the band had been in existence since 2000, 2001 saw the release of their first full-length album, with the first musical contribution from Thomas Daugherty on guitar. Thus, 2001 is widely considered The Elms' first fully functional year in existence. Some members reside in the southern Indiana city of Seymour, Indiana
Seymour, Indiana
Seymour was the site of the World's First Train Robbery, committed by the local Reno Gang, on October 6, 1866 just east of town. The gang was put into prison for the robbery, and later hanged at Hangman's Crossing outside of town....
. The Elms have drawn stylistic comparisons to The Black Crowes, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Kinks, and The Beatles.
The Elms released their major-label debut album, The Chess Hotel, on May 2, 2006. The band's final album, The Great American Midrange
The Great American Midrange (album)
The Great American Midrange is the fourth and final original full-length album from American rock band The Elms. The album was released via the band's own Trust, Inc., label on September 15, 2009, and is the highest-charting album of The Elms' career, entering the Billboard Heatseekers chart at #18...
, was released on September 15, 2009. It peaked at #18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and was The Elms' highest-charting album to date. The only officially released single from The Great American Midrange was the song "Back To Indiana," and the track's music video premiered online in November 2009. On June 1, 2010 the band announced via their web site that they would disband in July 2010.
Band members
- Owen Thomas (vocals, guitar)
- Christopher D. Thomas (drums, vocals)
- Thomas Daugherty (guitar, vocals)
- Nathan W. Bennett (bass guitar, vocals)
Discography
| Title | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| The Elms EP | 2000 | EMI/Sparrow |
| The Big Surprise The Big Surprise (album) The Big Surprise is the debut full-length album by American rock band The Elms. The album was released on May 22, 2001 on Sparrow Records/EMI. Singles from the album were "Hey Hey" and "Lifeboat"... |
2001 | EMI/Sparrow |
| Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll Truth Soul Rock & Roll (album) Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll is the second full-length album by American rock band The Elms. The album was recorded from May through August 2002 and was released October 22, 2002, on Sparrow Records/EMI.... |
2002 | EMI/Sparrow |
| Burn the Fields: The Elms Live in Indiana (DVD) | 2005 | Absorb, Inc. |
| The Chess Hotel The Chess Hotel (album) The Chess Hotel is the third full-length album from American rock band The Elms. The album was released May 2, 2006, on Universal South Records.... |
2006 | Universal Records South |
| This Is How The World Will End Digital Maxi-Single | 2008 | TRUST Incorporated |
| The Great American Midrange The Great American Midrange (album) The Great American Midrange is the fourth and final original full-length album from American rock band The Elms. The album was released via the band's own Trust, Inc., label on September 15, 2009, and is the highest-charting album of The Elms' career, entering the Billboard Heatseekers chart at #18... |
2009 | TRUST Incorporated |
| Stoppin' On A Dime: Live & Rare 2000-2010 Digital Box Set | 2010 | TRUST Incorporated |
| The Last Band On Earth: A Film About The Elms (DVD) | 2011 | TRUST Incorporated |
History
Owen Thomas and Thomas Daugherty met while attending grade school together in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. The two shared a passion for music, and often recorded original songs into handheld tape recorders as a hobby. Following grade school, Owen and Christopher Thomas relocated to Seymour, Indiana.
Following their departure from the band Just Visiting in 2000, the Thomas brothers signed a recording contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
-owned Gospel music label Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
to launch their next endeavor, which they named The Elms after their relatives' coaching house in London, England. They solicited the involvement of Daugherty, who had been playing in various bands in his home-state of Missouri. Daugherty joined The Elms in mid-2000, and contributed guitar to the completion of The Elms' debut album, The Big Surprise. The band offered the role of bassist to Nathan Bennett, whom they had known for several years because of his involvement with Indiana-based rock band A.M. Drive. Bennett declined the initial offer, as his own band was in the midst of creating new material. Keith Miller joined the band on bass guitar after meeting the band at a concert on New Year's Eve 2000.
The Elms rapidly began to amass critical praise for their raucous live performances, the unit's tight musical presentation, and for Owen Thomas' mature lyrical content and melodic sensibilities. Keith Miller departed The Elms in Summer 2003 to return to college. Nathan Bennett was announced as the band's new bassist in late 2003, and the lineup went unchanged throughout the duration of The Elms' existence.
On June 1, 2010, The Elms announced on their website that the band would be disbanding in Summer 2010. Owen Thomas said of the split:
Music
The Elms' debut album, The Big SurpriseThe Big Surprise (album)
The Big Surprise is the debut full-length album by American rock band The Elms. The album was released on May 22, 2001 on Sparrow Records/EMI. Singles from the album were "Hey Hey" and "Lifeboat"...
, was released on May 22, 2001.
The band's second full-length album Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll
Truth Soul Rock & Roll (album)
Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll is the second full-length album by American rock band The Elms. The album was recorded from May through August 2002 and was released October 22, 2002, on Sparrow Records/EMI....
was released on October 22, 2002. The first single from the album, "Speaking In Tongues," saw its music video air on MTV2's "120 Minutes." The album's second single "Burn & Shine" reached number 24 on the American CHR airplay charts in 2003, and the band embarked on a 30-city U.S. tour with rock band Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay is a Christian rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.Jars of Clay consists of Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars...
from Fall 2002-Spring 2003. The Elms performed their first-ever headline tour, The Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll Tour, from May–November 2003.
In 2004, a sold-out concert appearance in Muncie, IN was filmed as the Truth, Soul, Rock & Roll Tour came to a close. A limited edition live concert DVD of the event entitled, "Burn The Fields: The Elms Live In Indiana" was released in 2005 through The Elms' official website.
The Elms released their third album, The Chess Hotel
The Chess Hotel (album)
The Chess Hotel is the third full-length album from American rock band The Elms. The album was released May 2, 2006, on Universal South Records....
, on May 2, 2006 via Universal South Records. The album was met with critical acclaim, citing the album's rawness and songcraft as primary virtues. The band spent the Summer and Autumn of 2006 touring with Cracker, Shooter Jennings
Shooter Jennings
Waylon Albright "Shooter" Jennings is an American singer-songwriter active in the country music and Southern rock genres as well as making his first foray into psychedelic rock in 2009...
, Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
, and Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska...
.
The Elms' fourth studio album, entitled The Great American Midrange
The Great American Midrange (album)
The Great American Midrange is the fourth and final original full-length album from American rock band The Elms. The album was released via the band's own Trust, Inc., label on September 15, 2009, and is the highest-charting album of The Elms' career, entering the Billboard Heatseekers chart at #18...
, was released on September 15, 2009. The album was the first to be released via the band's own Trust Incorporated label, and opened to the highest chart position of the band's career, #18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.
The Elms' song "This Is How the World Will End," written by Owen Thomas, was used by Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate television station WTHR
WTHR
WTHR, channel 13, is a full-service television station serving the Indianapolis, Indiana metropolitan area. An affiliate of the NBC television network, its studios at 1000 N. Meridian Street anchor the south end of Indy's Television Row...
in 2008-2009 to promote its reportage. The music video for "This Is How The World Will End" was released online on January 16, 2010. The video features footage shot in Cité Soleil
Cité Soleil
Cité Soleil is an extremely impoverished and densely populated commune located in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area in Haiti. Cité Soleil originally developed as a shanty town and grew to an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 residents, the majority of whom live in extreme poverty...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, and the band has pledged to donate all proceeds from digital sales of the track to Care International to assist in relief efforts in Haiti following the earthquake of January 12, 2010. It was announced on March 1, 2010 that The Elms' song "Back To Indiana" would be used as the theme music for the 2010 Big 10 Conference college basketball tournament.
On November 7, 2011, The Elms announced the November 25, 2011 release of the live concert film "The Last Band On Earth: A Film About The Elms." The film was shot at the band's last show in Indianapolis, IN, on July 30, 2010.
Live
The Elms performed over 900 concerts during the band's lifetime, and was known for premiering new songs live before they'd been made available on official releases. The band performed at Farm Aid 2008 alongside Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, and others. The Elms performed their inaugural European tour in August 2008.The Elms performed their final concert at Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
rock club Radio Radio on July 30, 2010. Tickets to the concert were sold out five weeks prior to the event taking place. The show lasted more than four hours and contained nearly 40 songs from the band's 10-year repertoire. The band has stated that the show will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, along with documentary footage. In summer 2011, The Elms' official website revealed an opening page including an abstract one-minute teaser for the concert film, with news that it would be entitled, "The Last Band On Earth: A Film About The Elms."