A year after releasing their last single, “Turn It On,” and changing record labels from Republic Nashville to The Valory Music Co. (both are under the Big Machine label umbrella), Eli Young Band is happier than ever and ready to make some waves this summer with their new single, “Saltwater Gospel,” from their upcoming album.
“We are very happy now with Valory—they have an impeccable reputation and we have a terrible reputation so it works out really well together,” jokes Mike Eli, the band’s lead singer.
“Saltwater Gospel,” co-written by Ross Copperman, Nicolle Gaylon and Ashley Gorley, is a faith-based summer anthem about finding peace via the ocean. “When I go down and sink my feet in the water / and I soak up that sun and I watch it set / Yeah, I can feel the power of the saltwater gospel / I’m as close to God as I can get,” croons Mike during the songs chorus.
Nash Country Daily caught up with Mike Eli, Jon Jones, Chris Thompson and James Young to talk about their new single, balancing work and home life and the person in the band most likely to fall off the stage.
Let’s talk about your new single, “Saltwater Gospel.” What drew you guys to this song?
MIKE ELI: I know with us, we always try to find something different. We’ve always wanted that beach song, but we always wanted it to say something special. I think “Saltwater Gospel” was a no-brainer when it came to the content and the lyrical delivery. It just felt so different and so much like how we would say it. This song has such a deeper meaning but also feels so good.
JON JONES: Not to get too deep about it but there is this kind of human connection we have with the ocean, with the water, with the beach, that we all feel compelled toward it. It’s just kind of captured in the song because it is something bigger than us and something that’s spiritual. It’s captured in a really neat way in the song without, in the song itself, getting too deep about it. But there is a reason that people work 50 weeks a year to have those two weeks. Where do they go? They head south and go down to the beach because they need to get that release and get back to the water. I think the song kind of puts you there for three minutes.
Do you all have to agree on a song or is it majority rules in the band?
MIKE: If we are going to put it on the record then we all have to fall in love with it. I think it’s nice because “Saltwater Gospel” is one of the songs where all four of us were like “We have to do this, this is definitely the one.” When they come together like that we always know there is something special going on.
“Saltwater Gospel” is a bit different for you guys. We’re used to relationship songs [“Crazy Girl,” “Drunk Last Night,” “Dust,” “Say Goodnight”] from you. It’s more faith-based. Is that an intentional direction you want to take your music?
JAMES YOUNG : We’ve always flirted with faith and spirituality a little bit, starting out. A lot of our songs, starting out in college, we would kind of skirt with that idea of spiritually. This song just felt like a no-brainer in regards to being one with the ocean. You feel small against a big ocean and it makes you feel like maybe there is something bigger going on out there.
What’s the message you want people to take away from “Saltwater Gospel”?
MIKE: I don’t necessarily think it’s based on any specific faith. It’s just built around—this is a big world and there are some beautiful moments you can have no matter if you are skiing on top of a mountain or if you’re down in the Keys in Florida enjoying crystal water. There is some beauty in this world that we are all able to enjoy and whether it’s faith based for you or just the idea that we live in a beautiful place—wherever you want to take it.
Are you spiritual guys?
MIKE: We are. If you listen to some of our records there is always a spiritual element. I grew up Catholic and I’m still very much a Christian. You find a lot of that in a lot of what I say in the show and a lot of what I write on our records. You’ve always been able to find that on our records. This is just the first time it’s actually finding it’s way into one of our songs on the radio.
Are you still working on the album?
MIKE: We finished the record a few months ago. Actually back in February or March.
JON: Yeah, so it’s all just been positioning and timing of making sure we were picking the right first single and then time to set it up. Just making sure that everything was right and we were happy with the songs and the way they all turned out and fit together. And so now we’re ready to be moving forward with everything.
You guys have been together for about 16 years. What’s the dynamic in the band like after all these years?
JON: It’s strange, for the most part our roles have stayed consistent. Really, it is like a family and if you talked to a family and sat a family down, with four siblings, we’ll probably fit each of those roles in some way. But we also have to be the parents sometimes. Mike is the lead singer in more ways than one because he’s always been the business person who knows how to steer the ship, not only from his background in college, but his personality that naturally he is the leader in that way. We’ve learned to follow and learned that he is usually making the right choices. We’ve also learned that we all need to move in the same direction, we can’t be jutting out too far or it just doesn’t work. That’s one of the big things that’s kept us all together.
MIKE: We’ve all done a really good job of being listeners and leaders. That’s what’s kept us together. We all know when to concede and we all know when to take control and say “Hey, look no, I really feel strongly about this,” and we listen. I always make the joke of being a band for 16 years, we’ve stayed together because we drink a lot and we’re crazy. But I really do think it’s because we actually genuinely like each other and care about each other and we put being the four of us as a family first and the business side second. Because we do that, I think that we’re successful on both fronts.
