The Elms

Last Edited By: CCMSingles

The Elms were an American rock and roll band known for their breed of rootsy, blues-based rock, with the essence of the music of the 60s and 70s.

Owen Thomas and Thomas Daugherty met while attending grade school together in Missouri. The two shared a passion for music, and often recorded original songs into handheld tape recorders as a hobby. Following grade school, Owen and Christopher Thomas relocated to Seymour, Indiana.

Following their departure from the band Just Visiting in 2000, the Thomas brothers signed a recording contract with EMI-owned Gospel music label Sparrow Records to launch their next endeavor, which they named The Elms after their relatives' coaching house in London, England. They solicited the involvement of Daugherty, who had been playing in various bands in his home-state of Missouri. Daugherty joined The Elms in mid-2000, and contributed guitar to the completion of The Elms' debut album, The Big Surprise. The band offered the role of bassist to Nathan Bennett, whom they had known for several years because of his involvement with Indiana-based rock band A.M. Drive. Bennett declined the initial offer, as his own band was in the midst of creating new material. Keith Miller joined the band on bass guitar after meeting the band at a concert on New Year's Eve 2000.

The Elms rapidly began to amass critical praise for their raucous live performances, the unit's tight musical presentation, and for Owen Thomas' mature lyrical content and melodic sensibilities. Keith Miller departed The Elms in Summer 2003 to return to college. Nathan Bennett was announced as the band's new bassist in late 2003, and the lineup went unchanged throughout the duration of The Elms' existence.

On June 1, 2010, The Elms announced on their website that the band would be disbanding in Summer 2010.
-- via Wikipedia