Thankfully for the Eli Young Band, really bad gigs are pretty much a thing of the past, but there are a few really bad ones they will never forget. Mike Eli laughs and says, “One place in Iowa comes to mind. A long, long time ago, it was a late night show, like 10:30 or so, but it felt like the cafeteria to a nursing home as far as the décor.”
Besides the odd atmosphere, Jon Jones recalls that the accommodations were another bad part of the gig. He says, “This town is so small and somewhere in central Iowa, I can’t remember the town, but they didn’t even have a hotel or motel anywhere within driving distance of the town. And so they put us up, in like, it was like the city hall had two rooms above it that had beds in it or something like that, and that’s where they had us stay.”
The guys also joke that anytime they owed the bar more than they ended up making in a night it was a bad gig. These days they don’t have to worry about those kinds of gigs anymore, thanks to the success of songs like “Even If It Breaks Your Heart” and “Crazy Girl.” They’ve also got a great new song on their hands with “Saltwater Gospel,” that will ensure they’re able to cover their bar tab, so to speak, for years to come.
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Eli Young Band – worst gig ever :42
Mike Eli – (laughs) “Well, one place in Iowa comes to mind. A long, long time ago, it was a late night show, like 10:30 or so, but it felt like the cafeteria to a nursing home as far as the décor.”
Jon Jones – “Right, and this town is so small and somewhere in central Iowa, I can’t remember the town, but they didn’t even have a hotel or motel anywhere within driving distance of the town. And so they put us up, in like, it was like the city hall had two rooms above it that had beds in it or something like that, and that’s where they had us stay.
James Young – “That and any gig where we ended up owing the bar more than we made. A) because nobody showed up and B) is because we…”
Mike – “Drank too much.”
James – “Drank too much. Our bar tab was too high.”