CURRENT SINGLE: “Love Talking”
Eli Young Band’s new album, Love Talking, comes out this Friday, featuring nine songs, seven of which were co-written by lead singer Mike Eli, including their current single, the album’s title track. During the pandemic, Mike became a songwriting machine. “There was this moment of fear that just came over all of us because we knew nothing else. We knew going out on the road, playing shows, coming back home, being dads, going back out on the road – that’s what we knew. And so, then there was this unknown thing that just engulfed the four of us. And I think that turning to songwriting and jumping in for me was a way to cope with, I need to get my creative side out, I need to be able to find some way to funnel my emotions into something.”
While Mike has had a hand in writing for some of Eli Young Band’s previous albums, it was never to this extent, and he says, “It was really nice. I’ve never had that opportunity, and even though it was scary at the beginning, there’s so much good that came out of that break.”
Although Mike was inspired to write because of the pandemic, he wants fans to know that the songs he wrote for EYB’s album weren’t inspired by the pandemic. “I think we really wanted to find the positivity in what we got out of the last two years,” says Mike. “I think we all need some positive in our lives, so that was one of the main goals. There was a lot of unknown that was written into some of the music that was written over the last two years, and so really trying not to do too much of that because we all lived it so deeply, everyone.”
There’s one song on the album called “Tell Me It Is” that kind of dives into the uncertainty and the need for reassurance that so many people felt as a result of the pandemic, but other than that, “The rest of the songs really grab a hold of that positivity that we were all trying to hold on tight to,” says Mike.
Not only is Love Talking the name of Eli Young Band’s new album and their current single, it’s also the name of their tour, and Mike jokes, “We just thought it had a ring to it.” But really, he says, “As a band, we’ve latched onto love pretty hard-core, you know. And I think that we felt as if reaching for the positive energy and all that, we felt like that title spoke to that, you know what I mean?”
There were discussions about doing something different and not using a song title at all for the title of the album, but, “It’s always worked for us, so why change what works,” says Mike, matter-of-factly.
You’ll be able to stream or download Eli Young Band’s Love Talking album beginning this Friday, June 3rd, wherever you get your music.
Eli Young Band – album grabs positivity :41
Mike Eli – “I think we really wanted to find the positivity in what we got out of the last two years. I think we all need some positive in our lives, so that was one of the main goals. There was a lot of unknown that was written into some of the music that was written over the last two years, and so really trying not to do too much of that because we all lived it so deeply, everyone. And so, I think ‘Tell Me It Is’ is one of the only songs that really dives in emotionally deep into that part of the ocean, if you know what I mean. The rest of the songs really grab a hold of that positivity that we were all trying to hold on tight to.”
Eli Young Band – Mike turning to writing :55
“There was this moment of fear that just came over all of us because we knew nothing else. We knew going out on the road, playing shows, coming back home, being dads, going back out on the road – that’s what we knew. And so, then there was this unknown thing that just engulfed the four of us. And I think that turning to songwriting and jumping in for me was a way to cope with, I need to get my creative side out, I need to be able to find some way to funnel my emotions into something. And when I jumped into writing, I went all in. And we wrote more songs and there was more creativity happening, and it was really nice. I’ve never had that opportunity, and even though it was scary at the beginning, there’s so much good that came out of that break.”
Eli young Band – choosing album title :29
Mike Eli – “We just thought it had a ring to it. And the reality of the matter is that us as a band, we’ve latched onto love pretty hard-core, you know. And I think that we felt as if reaching for the positive energy and all that, we felt like that title spoke to that, you know what I mean. We kind of went back-and-forth whether or not we were gonna find something that was outside of song titles, but it’s always worked for us, so why change what works?”