How does a band of Colorado miscreants go from absolute obscurity to being ridiculously famous in less than 24 hours? With John Elway's help of course.
The Denver Broncos all time leader in thrown interceptions has given the Fort Collins, Colorado punk rock group Elway an early Christmas present. It seems that he is up in arms about the band using HIS name as their own, and has had his lawyers contact the band asking them to change it to something a little less... Um, threatening.
Apparently the staunch republican ex-NFLer isn't too keen on a bunch of starving musicians using his moniker to promote themselves. The letter his attorneys sent strongly urged the band to change it's name, but stopped just short of including a cease and desist order.
"We're not out to get John Elway. This situation is hilarious and he needs to loosen up," The band's lead singer Tim Browne told the Associated Press, Life's too short to worry about a punk rock band using your name."
Yeah... You would think that John Elway, who, in January was named was named executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos, would have bigger fish to fry. The NFL season is in jeopardy because the owners and players can't seem to get on the same page as far as labor negotiations go, and you would think that maybe his mind would be a bit more focused on that, as opposed to what name some some local punk rock group is calling themselves.
Ironically, since this incident, Elway (the band) has found sudden international fame with the story exploding on the world wide web. These fellas, who just a few weeks ago were playing in near empty basements on the Colorado State campus have suddenly been deluged in an avalanche of unexpected fame. They just finished a tour of the Midwest, and are now finding it hard to relax in the wake of what happened this past week.
I was able to reach Garrett Carr who is the drummer for the band via email just as the tour ended. He was gracious enough to spend some of his "rest time" to answer a few questions.
First of all, tell me about Elway, and how the band started...
The Denver Broncos all time leader in thrown interceptions has given the Fort Collins, Colorado punk rock group Elway an early Christmas present. It seems that he is up in arms about the band using HIS name as their own, and has had his lawyers contact the band asking them to change it to something a little less... Um, threatening.
Apparently the staunch republican ex-NFLer isn't too keen on a bunch of starving musicians using his moniker to promote themselves. The letter his attorneys sent strongly urged the band to change it's name, but stopped just short of including a cease and desist order.
"We're not out to get John Elway. This situation is hilarious and he needs to loosen up," The band's lead singer Tim Browne told the Associated Press, Life's too short to worry about a punk rock band using your name."
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| Elway the football player (No. 7) |
Yeah... You would think that John Elway, who, in January was named was named executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos, would have bigger fish to fry. The NFL season is in jeopardy because the owners and players can't seem to get on the same page as far as labor negotiations go, and you would think that maybe his mind would be a bit more focused on that, as opposed to what name some some local punk rock group is calling themselves.
Ironically, since this incident, Elway (the band) has found sudden international fame with the story exploding on the world wide web. These fellas, who just a few weeks ago were playing in near empty basements on the Colorado State campus have suddenly been deluged in an avalanche of unexpected fame. They just finished a tour of the Midwest, and are now finding it hard to relax in the wake of what happened this past week.
I was able to reach Garrett Carr who is the drummer for the band via email just as the tour ended. He was gracious enough to spend some of his "rest time" to answer a few questions.
First of all, tell me about Elway, and how the band started...
I moved out to college in Fort Collins, CO and Tim found out I played drums and started talking to me for it. We found our bassist Joe through some common friends and then later our guitarist Brian, an old friend of Tim's, moved to town and joined.
How has the band handled the recent surge of popularity from John Elway calling you guys out?
We recently signed on to Red Scare who did a great job telling us what the hell is going on (legality/publicity wise, etc). From then on out the media has taken it and blown it up way bigger then we ever imagined with little help from us. I guess the story is the perfect combination of drama and washed up sports stars for the masses to root to. It's a highlight of the ridiculous bullshit people can try and make money/gain power from.
Is it something you have noticed, or is each day business as usual?
It's hard to turn away from. It's like a train wreck of a backfire from a "sports legend." Pretty awesome.
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| Elway (the band) |
If you could talk to John Elway about the name of the band and the option to keep it or change it, what would you say?
"No."
What exactly is John Elway's beef with you guys anyway? Is it just that you guys play punk rock?
Elway (the guy) isn't only a sports star but a business man who owns a steak house, car dealerships, and probably loads of other crap. I guess he doesn't want a few kids playing OK music to sully his name.
Who/what are the biggest influences to Elway's music?
Lawrence Arms, Hot Water Music, Alkaline Trio....
What's next for the band?
Rest! Maybe a little less drinking. We are coming home from tour and doing nothing for a bit.
Just curious... What IS your favorite football team?
Red Sox.
Well... there you have it folks. It's not the Denver Broncos.
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