Elsinore – winner of the 2006 Champaign-Urbana Music Award for best live act – will be performing in their hometown before heading out on its Midwest tour.

Elsinore, an indie rock group that formed in Charleston, will be playing at the Uptowner tonight at ? with Casados, an acoustic rock band from Urbana.

The band just started their first tour, which will hit places like The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival and The Pygmalion Music Festival.

The band got their name from a farm outside of Charleston. It was also a song that singer and band songwriter Ryan Groff wrote called, “Vampire in Our Town.” When the band was deciding on a name, the word came up and stuck.

While the band is focusing on their Midwest tour, Groff has a wish to tour Europe one day because of the hospitality given to traveling musicians.

“From what we’ve heard, it’s totally different from the states,” he said.

The band’s future plans extend further. Elsinore is focusing on getting a label and being a full-time band.

“In five years, we don’t want to worry about having side jobs. We want to be on a label,” Groff said. “In ten, we hope to make a mark on the music scene. We really just want stability.”

All of the members have finished school now, and that gives them more time to practice and become better musicians individually as well as a whole.

“We all recognize it’s a big deal,” Groff said. “It has also been easier for the band to schedule practices without having to work around school and work schedules. The band practices two to three times a week while at home. We don’t really practice on tour.”

Elsinore is inspired by other groups that include Wilco, The Shins, The Decemberists and Radiohead, just to name a few. Groff’s personal inspiration has changed over this past year.

“It’s grown since college,” Groff said. “Growing up changes you. Everything was in my head, and now I try to be more external and relatable. I don’t want it to be ‘me’ specifically. I’ve been listening to a lot of different music, not just one genre.”

Friends of the band also help their musical repertoire grow by giving them CDs to listen to.

“If they think it’s something we’ll like, they’ll give us a CD,” Groff said.

All of the band members work together well and all of them have their quirks.

“Everyone’s pretty slap-happy,” Groff said. “Mark (Who) usually gets the ball rolling. He was the quiet guy in the past.”

The band has also learned to give Groff the reins when it comes to getting down to business.

“I’m a little OCD sometimes,” he said.

Elsinore has many Web sites, including a MySpace page as well as two fan groups on Facebook.

As far as having a MySpace page goes, Groff believes that it has helped their fan base to grow immensely.

“You can search for people in the town you’re going to be playing in and invite them to the show,” he said.