Rick’s Cafe often brings bands to its stage for Starkville students. One such band is Nashville-based group ELEL, who will open for Moon Taxi at Rick’s on Feb. 4. Students have the opportunity to see bands on the rise before the bands head off to larger cities. Moon Taxi comes through Mississippi frequently, and on this particular tour, brought ELEL along for the ride.
“Nashville-based group ELEL is one to watch in 2015,” according to KCRW (Today’s Top Tune).
The band plays a popular song called “40 Watt” from its album “Geode.” The song is about an intimate connection between two people. The band is considered part of the Nashville indie-pop genre.
Indie Rock and Hip Hop blog, Pigeons and Planes, calls ELEL’s music enlightening.
“‘40 Watt’ shines and burrows its way into your brain… ELEL deftly serves up bright energy, providing the perfect accompaniment for those seeking an off-kilter sunshine anthem,” the blog posted.
ELEL will release its album “40 Watt” in 2015 on the label Mom + Pop Music. The band consists of two drums, three keys, a guitar, bass and vocals. The men behind the band are from a variety of locations: Ben Elkins (Arkansas), Zach Tichenor (Kentucky), Tim Cook (Mississippi), Jo Jo Jackson (Brooklyn, NY), Alex Mojavarian (Pennsylvania), Frederick Weathersby, Jerry Pentecost and Stefan Forbus (Nashville).
ELEL started when Elkins met his wife, Elisa, who introduced him to the softer side of music and allowed him to express more emotion through the group’s songs. The band is inspired by a variety of artists. According to Elkins, the band appreciates music that moves, has great hooks, easy harmonies and strong rhythms.
“‘40 Watt’ is a big, loud dance song about dancing with one other person in a little bitty house,” Elkins said.
Mississippi native Tim Cook is the man behind the guitar, keys and vocals. Cook graduated from Mississippi State University and is excited to play at Rick’s. Although the band has never played together in Mississippi, Cook has played around Starkville, Jackson and Columbus.
“Being able to go with this band, such a big part of the next phase of my life, and play my hometown on a stage where I’ve seen a lot of acts over the years is incredible,” Cook said.
He added he hopes to see a football jersey hanging on the walls of Rick’s with his name on it, just as the bar did for Snoop Dogg.
Cook hopes the band is able to engage with the audience and find a connection with them. He went to several shows at MSU that did just that. Cook said he hopes Jack White’s performance last week was able to warm Starkville up for the show.
The band also plans to play “40 Watt,” and Cook said he hopes the audience feels inspired to clap along with the song.
“We went on a Midwest run in the middle of January shortly after it started to get airplay, and when we came time in the set to play “40 Watt,” people in places we’ve never been got excited, which is really exciting for us,” Cook said.
