You read correctly: Eli Jones has changed our name to The Right Now. It's been a long process coming to this, but we're really excited about it. And be assured: we're the same band; same great songs; no personnel changes or anything like that. Just a new name.

Before we get into it, please find us at myspace.com/therightnowmusic and add us as a friend!

Everyone's first question seems to be, "Why?" Basically, the name Eli Jones was hatched a long time ago, before a series of changes that brought us to our current lineup. We were missing the connection to the name, and we were hard pressed to answer the ubiquitous question, "So where'd your name come from?" We truly didn't have a solid answer, and the band means too much to us to let that stand. Also, I'm writing this in the lounge of Transient Studios as we record our next album, and we figure this is our last chance to resolve the name before this next album makes us all world-famous -- the point of no return, PR-wise.

So why "The Right Now?"

The first thing I love about the name is that anyone can bring whatever meaning they want to it. Our band and our lyrics are about life - the good, the bad, the ridiculous and the sublime. The songs are about the moment they're conceived, and the moment they're performed...the continually changing Right Now.

It's also a tip of the hat to Al Green's song Right Now Right Now. As our bari sax player Jonathon Edwards points out,"It's a song that grooves super-hard, has lyrics about change and new things, and is about watching one's child grow up. Sounds like us."

Soon after we'd decided on the name change, Brendan was playing at a gospel church and heard someone testify. Religious considerations aside, she said it better than any of us could: "I just want to thank God for THE RIGHT NOW!"

We're looking down the barrel of some big gigs, big tours, and one hell of an album. Take this step with us -- DO sign up on the new mailing list (we're kind, respectful emailers), and befriend us at myspace.com/therightnowmusic.

Last thought: a lot of thanks to all the friends and fans we've met at our shows and online. Thanks for listening, and stay with us - the best is yet to come!
-The Right Now
January 6, 2009

These blogs about our weekend trips are getting closer and closer together. That's a good feeling, getting on the road more. After a summer without Stefanie, it's good to have the family back together - and I never get sick of seeing people react to Stef and the band for the first time. But anyway, Brendan asked if I could blog all over his face, and I was like, "Um...dude." Anyway, there are a lot of links in this entry, and a big nugget of news at the end.

For Halloween, we headed out to Terre Haute and played at The Verve, where we have many fond memories of our last visit. A few of us did a spot on the NBC 5:00 news there, which was like the morning show we did last time, but without the horrific 4:30am call-time. So, reasonably awake, we watched as Stef fielded a few interview questions and did an acoustic version of "Nobody" - our new favorite song. These acoustic performances keep cropping up because Brendan's been kicking ass at getting us TV and radio appearances all over the place, and they usually can't accommodate an 8-person band with a horn section. So we grab a couple of acoustics, and sometimes Smillie joins us on percussion, and we whip out a few tunes. It's so different (for us at least) from the full-band treatment, it's like being in a Eli Jones tribute band. I also like that the rest of the band will be listening or watching at home, and will text us afterward with "nice interview" or "zzzzzzzzzz." (Yeah Schram!!) I dig it. And actually that weekend we had a ton of these media appearances - Thursday night on WLUW in Chicago, Friday on NBC in Terre Haute, and Saturday on with the full band on WEIU in Charleston. Good work, Brendan!!

So yeah, we kicked out the jam on NBC, and then headed to the Verve - but only after finding out for sure that George's Cafe was closed for the day. Can't pass up some George's. A Terre Haute band called Cuba opened up the set for us, and they rocked it pretty well. Energetic power pop with a singer that can really sing. Nice! They were dressed as presidents.

...And we were dressed as a Wizard of Oz ensemble with a twist: Stef was the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba to all you Wicked fans), and the rest of us were flying monkeys. Kudos to Greg our new bassist for conceptualizing that, and massive, massive gratitude to my girlfriend Rachel who whipped up our sweet-ass costumes for us. (Rachel's not in the costume-making business, but she does own a fabric store & sewing school in Chicago...which all you crafty types should check out.) The shit looked pretty awesome - custom-made vests and hats, and wings and monkey masks...well, you get the idea. We'll get pictures posted later today. So we hooted and eep-eeped our way up on stage, and had a really great time as we always do at the Verve. Seeing a bunch of friends that we met on our last visit was mighty good - good for the soul. We did the obligatory Halloween covers (Thriller & Ghostbusters), both of which went pretty well. Thriller's a tricky tune. Jonathon's friend Nathan stepped up to do the Vincent Price rap, which was great with me because I don't think any of us really wanted to do it. He and Kassandra were also good enough to host the after-party, before we stumbled back to Jonathon's Dad's house where, God bless him, he'd laid out sleeping bags (with padding), cots, and everything we could possibly need. I tell ya, the love in Terre Haute is a wonderful thing. Lucky we got Edwards to show us the way.

I totally didn't mention that Stef's family traveled with us on this trip - her Mom, Dad, boyfriend, brother, and daughter were all in tow. It was really good to have the entire gang there. The weird thing is, they had to split the next day, so then it was just Stef -- which is only weird because her Dad Dave generally travels with us everywhere we go, as kind of our driver/moral support/road manager guy. Traveling without Dave was strange - and especially so because less than an hour after we parted ways with him (but held on to his 15-passenger van), a pair of stones flew up out of the road and dinged the windshield. Clearly this means we're supposed to travel with Dave all the time. Or that he's the only one that should drive the van. Or something.

Okay, so morning after Halloween (or maybe early afternoon), we all headed to George's. If you're ever in Terre Haute, try to make it to this place. Good Greek food and diner burgers, and Albert, the co-proprietor, couldn't be sweeter or more hospitable. George's!! George's forever!!

It's a short drive over to Charleston, IL, where we played at Friends & Co the next night. It was the 21st birthday of Ron, who was sitting in with us on trombone that weekend, and aside from playing his ass off, he gave us just one more reason to celebrate. Happy b-day, Ron! We also had the pleasure of Garrett Schmidt sitting in on trumpet. Garrett's a monster, as our Charleston fans can tell you, and he's the brother of our former bassist Jeremy Schmidt. (I almost wrote "former brother." Heh.) He's just too much music for one man. So the band was nine strong that night - which was just slightly smaller than the audience. It was intimate, but a lot of fun. Chris DeRosa (from ) opened for us with an acoustic set, and I was really impressed. He handles the solo arrangements really well, both with covers and acoustics. Strong work.

Oh, and beforehand, we'd done an in-studio appearance at WEIU, the local college radio station. We got the whole band in there, although it was a strange setting - we were in two adjoining rooms, neither of which was optimized for band performance. We made it work, though half the band couldn't see the other half. While waiting for our time slot, we peeked at the EIU student newspaper, which had an article on us and a review of our album. They quoted something I'd said in an interview, but credited it to someone named Matt Bellamy, so that's my new name these days. I think the name's been corrected in the online version by now.

So back to our show at Friends & Co... With just the slightest provocation (one Charlestonite calmly said "One more song" when we were done) we launched into an unplanned 4-song encore...hell, one song just led into another song. We now know that Rick James's "Mary Jane" maps pretty well onto our song "Ain't Going Back." Good to know.

And Stef power-drove the Buick home all night!!

Last night, we played FitzGerald's in Berwyn, which is of course a great spot. This was the pre-party for the Chicago Blues & Bluegrass Festival (which we're not playing, but How Far To Austin is, and we got the honor of opening for them last night). It was a short, tight set, but there was one big dramatic moment. If any of you are still reading, here's the big news: Stef's boyfriend joined us onstage for the end of "Before I Know Your Name" to say a few words, and after some really touching remarks, he dropped to one knee and gave Stef a ring. Stef of course said yes, and there wasn't a dry pair of pants in the house. Most of the band didn't even know this was going to happen, and I know one or two folks got it on video....we'll post it when we can. In the meantime, that sound you hear is hearts breaking all over the midwest. Stef AND her man are both off the market for good!! :)

This seems like a good time to write about our weekend trip. We got in early this morning, and after crashing at Brendan's house for a bit, I headed back to my new apartment where I've managed to get myself locked out. Luckily I have my stuff with me from our little tour and have set up camp on the back stairwell. There's something about dodging raindrops and picking some acoustic guitar on the porch that really slows life down and has a calming effect. And thank goodness for wireless internet. I've caught up on all the Palin-is-a-dangerous-joke videos posted on facebook for the time being, I think.

So anyway - this blog is supposed to be about the band, not about me. Oops.

Well, y'know, this was a big one because this was the first trip out since Stefanie's return to the band. (Previously on Eli Jones: Our singer had a baby in August; the band went on without her for a few months, and celebrated her return at our last two Chicago shows.) So we were all looking forward to this trip for a while, for a few reasons. Hanging with Stef is fun. Playing with Stef is a spiritual experience. Watching audiences react to Stef is absolutely life-affirming. And drinking with Stef, well...that's a whole lot of fun. Anyway, we've played a couple shows with her in Chicago since the baby was born, but this was the first road trip with her back, and man oh man, they don't call her Stef Berecz for nothin'!

This trip was a familiar one; we hit the Iowa City Yacht Club and then moved on to Mahoney's. Saturday night at the ICYC was a blast; we didn't have a huge crowd, but the headliner, Chicago Afrobeat Project killed and there was a whole lot of Eli going on on the dancefloor. That was one of the dancingest crowds I've ever seen at that place....the power of CAbP.

Our lineup was a little different this time around - Nate Heffron joined us for this trip on tenor sax and blew some really rousing solos both nights. At ICYC, Nate took the break in I Could Really Hold On to another level...and then another, and then another. Shit was great. And then we had Jeremy Schmidt on bass, which is exactly like our previous trips, only this time Jeremy was in a filling-in role for our new bassist Greg Nergaard, who was already booked for this weekend. So yo...thanks Jer and Nate for jamming with us this weekend! Wasn't the first time, won't be the last.

We chilled once again at Ross's house after the Yacht Club gig, even in his absence (thanks again, man). Well, not 'chilled' so much as 'made enough noise to bother the neighbors,' and we felt really bad about that. Whoever you were, we apologize, and let's let that be the only time we're such a nuisance to anyone we stay with or near.

So anyway, Sunday was my birthday and Mahoney's was a fantastic place to spend it. We ramped up for a nice 4-hour gig, and got our drink on. The people at that place....well, you can read our past blogs to see how much we love these people, but all I'm gonna say for now is that playing at Mahoney's is like eating a sloppy joe or winning at the slots - comforting, homey, and luxurious all at the same time. That might be one of the worst similes ever, and sure I could delete it. But this ain't that kind of blog. You read it; you can't unread it.

Miz Kat made cupcakes for my birthday because she's a super sweetheart and a thoughtful person. She's also our street team in Cedar Rapids, and for that we're so frickin' grateful. Thanks for your work, mama! You know we don't get to do what we do without a lot of help from folks like you.

I love Mahoney's because every show there is memorable. I remember telling the folks that it's always a mettle test when we show up there - we can play dozens of gigs at fancier places, but I always feel like we have to bring the A+ game to Cedar Rapids. I love busting out our new material there. I think we've debuted a song every time we've gone to Mahoney's, because our sensitive artist souls just feel so safe there in that place. So the rest of you might have to wait to hear "The One That You Love," but our Mahoney's folks were all over it. :) All we can say is THANK YOU to everyone there for making it such a great time. That tip-jar love is much appreciated too....when our next album comes out sounding really good, y'all can take some credit for funding it.

And Jill, you've instilled a new love for Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" in me. We're SO playing that next time we come back.

Another magical trip - and SO good to be back on the road with Stef. There are a lot more road gigs coming up, some still being finalized, so keep an eye on the calendar. And this fall, we're gonna start work on the next Eli CD, and it's gonna be ridonk. Excitement!

Chris

So maybe I shouldn't say "damn baby." But it's late - both late at night, which makes it okay to say such things, and late in the game for some public thoughts on this topic.

Any of you who have seen us know that Stef is the centerpiece of the band. There's so much love that surrounds that girl, it's hard to put it in words. Before too long, she's going to be returning to the stage to knock everybody out again, after a summer-long maternity leave. We're so hugely proud of her and in love with her little Angelene, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we're goddamn excited and thrilled for her to get back onstage with Eli Jones. Who wouldn't be? She's..and I'm gonna go out on a limb here..she's what sets us apart from being just a bar band. She steps up our whole game and makes us...you know...like, a real band.

I guess this is the time to say we've had a really great summer, which is slightly against the odds. When a singer like Stef is out of commission for a while, it should put a major dent in a band. But it didn't - somehow we've gotten strong, gotten tighter (and looser), and had a bunch of fun along the way. I don't know what it would've been like if we didn't know Ms Berecz was coming back someday, but knowing that kept us strong. And I've had a blast this summer. Lord knows if I ever would've gotten a chance to belt out Mary Jane if Miss Thang hadn't taken a few months off. ;)

Well, I just wanna say we're excited to take the tightness and looseness that we've developed over the summer - both good things, by the way - and all the other lessons we've learned, and apply 'em with a bad-motherfucker lead singer in the fall. It's gonna be ridick. You Chicago folks, come catch us at the Winds on 9/6 for a last taste of the ill-titled Babymakers material, before Stef comes back and drops the fuckin' soul-bomb all over everyone again. It'll be fun.

It's been fun all summer. I love this damn band.
Chris

Yo! A big piece of news...that many of you already know...is that Stef is having a baby this summer. We've set aside plans for a monster tour but we're doing it right: one HUGE summer show at one of Chicago's finest rooms: Martyrs'. Add 56 Hope Rd. and Family Groove Company to the mix and this is surely going to be one for the books.

Eli is pulling at all the stops...new tunes, two excellent backup singers (Brandice and T), and the same soul that you've come to love. We hit the stage at 9 so be there early! One set is all you get....

So what's in store for the future? Well...a baby, for one. We'll spend the summer rehearsing, re-arranging tunes and writing more material, and doing pre-production for the next record. The boys will be out gigging so check the website for some random summer dates.

Peace!
Brendan

Hey, this is Chris the guitar player. While I'm catching up on rest after the band's first road trip, I figured it's worth jotting down a few thoughts…

That's right, fools, we're a touring band now. Well, part-time. We got out to Iowa City, IA, Minneapolis, and Cedar Rapids, IA last weekend, and it's hard to say how exciting this is for us. I've been on the road before (with 56 Hope Road), but a lot of our band hasn't, and it really feels like we've stepped the band up a level. We came back to Chicago ecstatic, triumphant, and hungry for more.

Here's why:

We left town at about 4am, ten of us packed into a van and a sedan with a full band's worth of gear. (That'd be eight band members, Stef's Dad Dave, and Nunu the monster photographer). Dave was a true champ all weekend; he drove, helped load gear, sold CDs, and generally looked after us, and for that we're eternally grateful. You're the man, Dave.

Anyway, we picked up Jim and Eric in DeKalb and headed to Iowa City for our first gig. After grabbing some breakfast and sour milk, we headed to Java Blend where we were taping a radio show to be broadcast on Iowa Public Radio. Truly this was a unique setting – a super-hip coffee house where they taped radio interviews with remarkable people and regional bands. We chilled and sipped on super-tasty coffee (fresh-brewed into each cup; who does that??) and watched the first two segments. One was an interview with a 20-something guy who'd swum the English Channel to raise dough for free medical clinics in the US. (Turns out the boat that accompanies you feeds you snacks on baskets held out on the ends of long sticks during the 12-hour swim. Mars bars are a favorite.) And as you may have already guessed, the second interview was with a harpist/Celtic bard, who is also a medical helicopter pilot and appeared in Robin Hood: Men In Tights (Merry Man 3). Predictable and mundane, I know, but interesting. He played a few pieces on the harp, kissed it at the end of each piece (you heard me), told some tales of Celtic lore, and then we loaded up onto the stage.

Our set was really a change of pace. First of all, it was noon in a coffee house – which by touring-band standards is the equivalent of 5:30am in your earth-time. We played way more quietly in this setting than normal, which I think brought out some different performances for a few of us. Hell, some of us were rearing to get loud and ragin'. But it was intimate, and made more so by the fact that Ben Keiffer, the host of Java Blend, interviewed us throughout the set. We got a chance to tell stories about the band and about the songs, and generally connect with the audience. And now that I think about it, this was the first time this version of the band got to play for a completely new audience – no fans, friends, or family there to cheer us on. Brendan and Stef told some great stories – you can hear for yourself when they broadcast it online and I'm sure we'll post the recording here at myspace.

Fast forward to that afternoon when we descended on our buddy Ross's house to crash out and catch up on sleep. Mostly we watched Superbad and cracked jokes, but there were 40 winks caught between the 8 of us there.

That night we played at the Iowa City Yacht Club, and best believe we had a great time. Since hitting our current lineup earlier this year, we've gradually come out of our shells and gelled as a band, and I think this gig was crucial in terms of opening up and having fun. Wild Turkey shots for most of the band before the set may have played a role here...We reached a few dancers during our set (go, Jahan!), and then showed them what's what when the headliner, Funk 101 took the stage for a night of funk classics. As Jim put it later, we demolished the dance floor. Ownership, people. Mighty good times – you want to see a massive band hitting the funk classics properly, dig on Funk 101. Sherioush.

Sleeping on floors rules. I doubt if anyone in the band agrees, but I love this shit. We had 7 people in sleeping bags on the floor, eating late-night pizza and joking each other to sleep. Then we did each others' toenails and talked about our first kisses and who they'd be with.

On Saturday we busted up to Minneapolis to play Mayslack's. This place was home to some of the best damn beef sandwiches I've ever encountered, and they fry their tots instead of baking them. The opening band, Gospel Gossip, couldn't have been much more different from us, but they rocked it indie-style. Brendan and I each had some friends out to see the band that night. Erin, Jolleen, Holly, and Andrew – here's your shout-out! There are some videos floating around from this show – one's posted on our myspace page. Good times -- I got to sing Prince's "Kiss," and we continued to break in the drummer who was filling in with us this weekend, John Smillie (yes, pronounced Smiley). He rocked it, and…I'll let the cat out of the bag here; he'll be joining us as our full-time drummer soon. We're all pretty excited about it.

I got to crash in a real live bed that night at Jolleen's house (thanks for the hospitality) and the rest of the band stayed…well hell, I don't know where they stayed. Friends' houses, and we're grateful to those friends. They know who they are. I don't.

After some damn good breakfast at the…crap, what was the name of that awesome diner? We headed down to Cedar Rapids, which was only a short way away from Iowa City. I'd played there once before, and quickly remembered how great a bar Mahoney's is. The people here are what make it so great – they're there to party and hear some good music, and it really felt like we connected with a lot of people. These are the kinds of places I love to play - towny, down-to-earth, and ready to party. We played a couple of long, long sets, and it's possible that maybe we got in over our heads on some of the cover songs. Next time we get back there, we're gonna bring our A+ game and give those people a treat. The show was intimate and special in every way – we raged it, had a super-blast, and flew by the seat of our pants. The people, the people, the people….they were listening to our stories between songs, reacting, and shouting encouragement. They passed around a tip jar, and Jill, the queen of all bartenders, kept us in Miller Lite pretty much the whole night. We kicked out all kinds of extra jams (some Stevie, some Miles, some Aretha, some Joe Cocker, etc), and by the end things got plumb crazy. Folks got up on the table (including our sax player Jonathan), and when they yelled for an encore, we decided to go with our super-slow, super-poignant "Afraid Not To Die." Brendan asked if we could turn the lights down for that number, the crowd got busy turning off almost every light in the bar, and made us wait to start the song until we could get the TV off. When we finally started it up, it was all lighters and cell phones in the air, and it was really the intimate moment that we'd all hoped it would be. Of course we had to close it out with "Finally Did For Me" after that to rock it out proper. I looked up halfway through, and there's Stefanie standing on a 3-foot bar stool with her arms in the air, belting it out. Right on, Stef. :)

Well, and then we headed home. For the first trip out for a band, there's a sense of triumph and rock-stardom that really can't be described. We're so excited to take our music out to people outside of Chicago – and I can't give enough thanks to everyone who helped us along the way. Fans, waiters and waitresses, friends old and new, and everyone else ---- and ESPECIALLY Dave and Nunu, you're all tops with us.

Smooth, people! We're huge!

We were over capacity at the release show at the Hideout. Thank you everybody!

Setlist
1. Finally Did For Me
2. I'll Get Down
3. Bring Your Love To Me
4. Candlelight
5. Disco Smooth
6. Straight Up (Paula Abdul)
7. Make It Right
8. I could really hold on
9. Whiskey High
10. We Got Love (Ryan Shaw)
11. Give It Up
12. Where Did Time
13. Son of a Preacher Man (Aretha)
14. Afraid Not To Die
15. Mekong
16. Poor Man's Game

Shout outs: AJ and Nate for filling in on horns; Ciara and Heather for their amazing backups; Caleb for recording the show (contact us if you want a copy!); Nunu and Stephen for taking pictures; Ryan for sound; Velella Velella for opening up the night...and everyone for coming to the show!

It's gonna be totally sweet!

We're overjoyed to officially announce that the album will be released on Thursday 11/8/07 at The Hideout, one of Chicago's most beloved venues. We'll have a full horn section, tons of special guests that appeared on the record, and more than a few tricks up our collective sleeve. Pre-sale tickets will be available soon; we're expecting a sell-out so get on it!

As for the album, it sounds, well....unreal! Stefanie's slamming vocals, Max's hot guitar work, Jer, Ty, and Frank laying down the riddim, and on and on and on. Here's the track list:

1. Finally Did For Me
2. Bring Your Love To Me
3. Candlelight and Satin Sheets
4. Give It Up
5. Make It Right
6. Tough Enough
7. Where Did The Time Go
8. Mekong
9. Disco Smooth
10. Afraid Not To Die

The album will be available at the CD Release and through ITunes and cdbaby.com. It's really happening people! Tell your friends, tell your momma, and go tell it on the mountain!