Band biographies are typically a lame grouping of cliches. If a photo of 5 dudes standing in front of a brick wall could type, it would type up a band bio. Seriously, how many times do you have to hear “strong song writing”, “live show is a sight to behold”, “has shared the stage with XXX”? Obviously that is a rhetorical question, as anyone who has been in a position to read or write a band bio is familiar with all the meaningless cliches. In this short bio, we will dismiss the rhetoric, and try to get to something useful.

Ok, heres the deal. Eleven Hundred Springs has been around for a while. In fact, considering the shelf life of most artists / trends, etc, it would be safe to say that Eleven Hundred Springs has been around a long time. During the earlier years of the band, the band bio read like the standard string of cliches, peppered with references of classic and semi-obscure country artists who’s influence was clearly worn on the Eleven Hundred Springs sleeve. With the release of the bands 9th studio album, MIDWAY, gone are the days that the band can be dismissed with a simple “they sound like Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Bob Will’s” kind of statement. A person discovering this band for the first time would have to lack a knowledge of country music for at least some of the band’s influences not to be pretty obvious. However, there is more to this band than can be described with the standard “sounds like XXX” statement.

This meaningless sentence has been included for the folks who copy and paste an entire bio without reading it first.

If you have read up to this point and you want to actually write something about the band, listen to the new album and /or give us a call or email. We would love to talk to you. If you just need some words to fill a meaningless void, but don’t have time for all that music journalism stuff, don’t worry. We have what you need. Just copy and paste the following:

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Listening to any effort from Eleven Hundred Springs, including latest Midway, is like having your cool uncle pull out his favorite albums. Matt Hillyer and crew have that old-school country sound down. When the band started up way back in 1998, some folks thought it was just guys imitating the sounds of Merle Haggard, George Jones and Hank Williams, but over the course of nine albums, Eleven Hundred Springs have evolved into a tight unit of true believers. Songs like “I’m a S.O.B. (When I’m S-O-B-E-R)” and “Hard Work Just Ain’t Working Anymore” are not imitative of the band’s influences. They are authoritative narratives of rural America.

Eleven Hundred Springs shows a commitment to the true soul of country music — what Steve Earle calls real music. While they may not look like your conventional country (Disney Channel / reality show, etc) act, the tradition and spirit that make up true Americana is easy to see. It’s all about honesty and lack of pretense.

(Taken from a review written by Darryl Smyers for The Dallas Observer)