[Mickey]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - May 15, 2002 - Sparrow Records’ pop/rock band The Elms have generated industry-wide attention in the short span of time since the mid-2001 release of the group’s critically-acclaimed, full-length debut album, The Big Surprise. The band just signed a new booking agreement with The William Morris Agency (Jars of Clay, Switchfoot, The Supertones), and recently signed a long-term management agreement with the Nashville-based Alabaster Arts (The Supertones, Relient K, Paul Colman Trio, Katy Hudson).

Following the widespread critical acclaim of The Big Surprise, The Elms garnered two nominations for this year’s Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. The album was nominated for Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year, and the single “Hey, Hey” received a nod for Modern Rock/Alternative Song of the Year. The single’s video, the very first music video for the band, has received airplay on MTV2’s “120 Minutes.”

Following a year of concert dates that included a stint on the Festival Con Dios tour and a recent show at L.A.’s famed music club, The Troubadour, The Elms are currently in the studio working on the band’s second Sparrow Records release with co-producers Richard Dodd (Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, Delbert McClinton) and Brent Milligan (Seven Day Jesus, Chasing Furies).

Christianity Today, which listed The Big Surprise in the top 10 of its year-end best of 2001, said The Elms is “one of the best bands to come along in Christian music,” and said lead vocalist and songwriter Owen Thomas “may prove himself to become Christian music’s answer to Paul McCartney and John Lennon (all in one) over time.”

CCM Magazine said, “the songs on The Big Surprise superbly swerve against the current tide of pop music. Instead of settling for tried and true formulas with predictable key changes and programmed beats, the group takes risks and manages to concoct a collection of cleverly-written songs.”

Crosswalk.com labeled The Big Surprise an “impressive debut album” with “crystalline melodies and irresistibly catchy hooks,” and claimed the music contained “an overall professionalism that would be most impressive in a band that had been playing twice as long as The Elms have.”

Photo Caption: Pictured (l-r) - Owen Thomas and Thomas Daugherty of The Elms at a recent performance. Photo by Tony Phipps.

For more information about The Elms, visit the group’s website at
www.theelms.net For information on booking The Elms, please call WMA at (615) 963-3000 or go to www.WMA.com.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG was founded in 1994. It is the world’s largest Christian music company, operating the Sparrow, ForeFront, Worship Together and EMI Gospel labels in addition to EMI CMG Publishing and Chordant Distribution Group.

EMI CMG is a unit of EMI Music, the third largest recorded music company in the world.

For much more on The Elms, click here