Elisium: Perennial Road Warriors

From Fredericksburg to Juneau in a flash!

It’s been a running joke that the three piece band Elisium hails from Alaska.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people tell me that.  In reality, the trio is actually from Fredericksburg, Virginia – a historical city with so much culture that it must be hard leaving for the road.  I caught up with lead vocalist and guitarist, Nate Compton, at the Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan during Elisium’s Uncle Pecos Tour with Blind Joe.

Side Stage Magazine: Your latest record, Shoreline dropped in April. How are sales at this point in the life of the record in comparison to your first three releases?

Nate Compton: Shoreline is the first album we released as a full time band, with all of the new fans and friends we’ve met over the past two years of touring. Sales are great! We sell at least a few copies every night at shows, and our online store and digital outlets continue to sell as well. Even our pre-order campaign was huge!

Elisium are road warriors. How many days have you been out in 2015? How many more dates are there to go? Has this year been any different than your previous touring years? 

Nate: 2015 has been a ride. We started the year strong, then changed booking agents and had a couple of months where we didn’t tour and just focused on releasing the record and finding a new agent. We got back on the road in September and are out until the end of the year now! 2014 was our busiest year so far – almost 200 shows. Our longest stretch has been 142 days with no return home. We love to tour!

The three of you have been together for quite some time. What does a normal day on the road consist of for each of you?

Nate: Good question! Typically our shows are six hours or less apart. Typically we wake up at Walmart somewhere, get coffee and start driving. We swap drivers every two hours, so at some point we will eat and get gas and stuff, usually at a large truck stop. Load in is usually between 4pm and 6pm for most venues so we have to be on the road by 10-11am every day in order to be on time. Once we get to the venue, get parked and load in, we will have a bit of downtime to sort out food for the evening and make sure all of the details for the show are lining up as expected. Shows usually begin around 9 so we will be inside at the merch booth watching bands and meeting people – and hopefully selling merch! On a headlining run, we usually hit the stage around 11pm or so, and play until 12 or 12:30am some nights, so by the time we wrap up with everything it’s 2 or 3am. We find a nearby Walmart and drink chocolate milk. This is a very important step. Then we climb in our bunks and sleep for five or six hours, and do it again the next day.

If you could record any cover song as part of your next record, what song would it be and why?

Nate: I don’t want to give away too much, because we already are working on another cover to follow up our remake of “The Safety Dance” but it’s from a 90’s movie, and when we get it done it will really stand out!

Being a power trio I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but if you could add a member of any band to Elisium who would you add and why?

Nate: I think we would add Bill S. Preston, Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan from the Wyld Stallions. Then our music would unite the world and there would be peace. Even the dirt would be clean!

The current tour is actually an acoustic tour with Blind Joe known best for his appearance on NBC’s “The Voice”. How is the tour going and how does it differ from what you’re used to?

Nate: Yep! We are out on a two month tour with Blind Joe – he recently was on “The Voice” and turned all four chairs! All TV shows aside, he’s a great dude, and such a talent! We have been doing a Staind song together, and his voice is just so full of soul and emotion. Really terrific! We are having a blast, no heavy gear to carry, and the reception to the stripped down material has been awesome!

Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans?

Nate: Thank you for sticking with us. It’s a tough industry and independent bands like us need all of the support we can get from people just like you. We are all just dreamers trying to make our dreams come true, and it takes an army to make any noise these days. We are alive and well thanks to the support of hundreds of great people all across the country, and we aren’t going away any time soon. 2015 is going to be a fun year to close out, and 2016 has great stuff already lining up. Come see us at a show!

You can catch Elisium on the road at one of these upcoming shows:

 

13-Nov   The Bowery                                               Knoxville, TN

14-Nov   Muncheez                                                  Beckley, WV

15-Nov   Wizard                                                        Hickory, NC

17-Nov   Ziggy’s Underground w/ Blind Joe       Chattanooga, TN

18-Nov   Daisy Dukes                                              Nashville, TN

19-Nov   Empourium w/ Blind Joe                      Jackson, TN

20-Nov   Corner Pub                                              Slidell, LA

25-Nov   Riffhouse Pub w/ Blind Joe                 Chesapeake, VA

28-Nov   Amos’ Southend                                    Charlotte, NC

29-Nov   Atmosphere w/ Blind Joe                   Tallahassee, FL

3-Dec    Haven                                                      Winter Park, FL

4-Dec    O’Malleys                                                Lauderhill, FL

9-Dec    New Brook Tavern w/ Blind Joe        West Columbia, SC

12-Dec   Harry’s Hideaway w/ Blind Joe         Lima, OH

17-Dec   Olde Downtown Tavern w/ Blind Joe      Bedford, IN

18-Dec   The Tree                                                 Joliet, IL

19-Dec   Big Dog Daddy’s w/ Blind Joe          Bay City, WI

20-Dec   VFW w/ Blind Joe                              New York Mills, MN

14-Feb   Metro Bar SLC                                     Salt Lake City, UT

For more information check out Elisium on Facebook, Twitter and at their website.

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