Hey everybody!

I'm finally relaxing back in Charlottesville after a long, long trip through Florida and a cruise into the Caribbean. I honestly didn't know what to expect as Don Conoscenti, Radoslav Lorkovic, Ralph Jaccodine and I boarded the enormous ship 'The Pearl' in Miami harbor. We stood in line with John Prine and all agreed he was the one who needed a tan the most. It ended up being one of the best weeks in my life as a musician. Not only did I get  to see John Prine, the Indigo Girls, Shawn Mullins, Enter the Haggis, Richard Thompson, Patty Griffin, and a host of others folks… I ate like a king, drank like a lush, and tanned like George Hamilton. Outside of the food, it felt like a Newport Folk Festival on the sea.

I read a book on Elvis and wrote a song with Enter the Haggis...

Sixthman entertainment put on the festivities, and the Norwegian Cruise Lines treated everyone with top of the line service. I judged the open mike contest and came back to my cabin to find a thank you note and a nice bottle of cabernet. The food was spectacular, and I had meals of sushi, steak, and lobster. It was all paid for in the cost of the ticket. (Which was free for me! Delicious! I gained thirty pounds in a week!) I highly encourage you all to join in on the experience next year, now that I've seen how one works I am sure you'll love the trip. As soon as I'm invited back, I'll remind y'all to come along if you can. I performed three times, to about 500 people. They have a multitude of venues on the Pearl; a thousand seat theater, a five hundred seat night club, an atrium bar, a little wine bar, a bowling alley bar. And the beach excursions were really beautiful. We stopped for the day on three different island along the way. I can see why people drop out of society and work in tiki bars on the islands. Maybe we could all do a mass defection next time. Seriously. I'll open a shack and learn Jimmy Buffet songs, y'all can put up whatever shingle ya got that makes some change, and we can create a pookie shell utopia on Tortola.

With John Prine as our mayor. We can convince him... (I know it...)

Anyhoo, while I'm trying to adjust to mainland life, the Farelly Brothers' movie 'Hall Pass' is breaking out in theaters this Friday. The final curtain call brings ten snippets of my songs from The Day After Everything Changed to the screen. They chose instrumental breaks from the album as score pieces (see if you can find them all).  The producers of my album (Sorted Noise-- which is Thad Beatty and Jason Collum) and I are very honored to have our little Hollywood sunshine time. The movie is rated 'R' and promises to have the best of the Farelly Brothers heart and humor... So don't bring your preschoolers, bring friends with a naughty sense of humor... You know who they are. Hopefully this will bring more scoring opportunities to me and the gang at Sorted noise.

Hope I see you out there soon!
Cheers,
Ellis

Ellis is joined by folks like The Beach Boys and Michael Franti to Cypress Hill and Styx in the 'Hall Pass' soundtrack... he seems to be in excellent company these days!

If you're looking for weekend plans (along with a Friday night movie date), Ellis will be in New England this weekend - first with a set of FREE kid's shows at LL Bean in Freeport, Maine, then on to the Homegrown Coffeehouse series in Needham, MA on Saturday, capping the weekend with a show at Highland Place in Maplewood, NJ (full show details listed on tour page).  Come say hello!

Hey y'all,

January was truly an incredible month. I had a couple of great weekends traveling around the country...  Among many highlights was being at Warner Brothers in Los Angeles, and in a chance meeting, being invited by the sound editors who are at work on the upcoming Farelly Brothers film, 'Hall Pass' to step into the editing facility to witness the film being edited in person. Imagine a large movie theater with multiple computer stations  where music, dialogue, and special effects people are weaving sound balances into the film. They played all of the passages where my music was used in the score, and the music from 'The Day After Everything Changed' was a perfect match for the film. The movie looks like it will be very, very funny and I think it will be a big hit. It's an 'R' rated comedy and it's coming out February 25th. It's my first score!

I stopped by comedian Jimmy Pardo's sit down webcast, Never Not Funny, (see below for airing details) in LA, which was like being on Carson's show for an hour and a half, and then he invited Ralph and I over to the Warner Brother's lot, to his stint on Conan O'Brien. He warms up the crowd before the show. He's very quick at improv and it was hilarious to watch him carve up the  crowd with laughter. I think you'll enjoy the podcast. We mingled backstage and saw Larry King in his suspenders.

The California shows were full and I had Marianna Bell opening, she was a great addition to the show. Radislov was playing piano for me as well, it's always great to have the Croation Sensation on stage.  We played among other shows, a great, sold out, show at McCabes Guitar shop in  LA on a Sunday and I managed to somehow leave the building without a new guitar. (Saving my kids from starving once again.) The San Diego shows were great, kids and adult shows there, and I played a private show for friends in Palo Alto, Ca which is becoming a second home to me. I feel like staying longer whenever I'm in California. I wish there more venues out there for me!

Keep an eye out for the movie! Looking forward to seeing you all on the road!

My best to you all!
Ellis


A Journey Through Song

In less than two short weeks, Ellis embarks on a sold out, 7-day music festival and tour through the Eastern Caribbean taking place February 13th - 20th, 2011 and featuring dozens of legendary and up and coming musicians and singer-songwriters. This journey all takes place on Cayamo Cruise, with stops in San Juan, Tortola, and St. Maarten!  If you'll be lathering on the sunscreen right next to Ellis, you can find him performing three nights in total:

Monday 10:30-11:30pm at the Spinnaker/Aft Lounge
Wed 6:30-7:30pm at the Bliss Ultra/World Cafe Lounge
Thurs 6:30-7:30pm at the Spinnaker/Aft Lounge

 
Tribute to Boston's Dick Pleasants

Dick Pleasants has graced the radio airwaves in the Boston market for over 40 years. He is one of the most influential DJ's in the folk/singer-songwriter world, and Ellis was honored to be asked to perform at a tribute concert for Dick held at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre a few weeks ago. Ellis was joined by Tom Rush, Jonathan Edwards, Jonatha Brooke, Kate Taylor and others, it was Folk music's cream of the crop.  (Pleasants was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2003).  Read on with the Globe to get the scoop on a wonderful night of music!


Hall Pass!

Comedy screenwriting and directing duo the Farrelly Brothers asked Ellis to contribute music to their next movie, the third Hollywood blockbuster film Ellis' music has been used in. This time, his music is used as the score for their Feb. 25th  release, "Hall Pass".  "Hall Pass" stars Owen Wilson and Alyssa Milano, and will showcase up to nine musical tracks from The Day After Everything Changed.  You can see the official trailer for the film here at here at IMDB.com.  We'll see you at the theater!

 
Ellis is Never Not Funny

This Thursday, February 3rd, Ellis appears on comedian Jimmy Pardo's weekly podcast, "Never Not Funny".  Pardo hosts the # 2 paid podcast by a comedian, second only to the "Ricky Gervais Show". Jimmy's previous guest list reads like a Who's Who of comedy: Conan O'Brien, Adam Carolla, Kevin Pollack, and Sarah Silverman, as well as actors Jon Hamm, Ty Burrell, and Rich Sommer.  During his recent trip out to LA. earlier this month, Ellis stopped in to be the latest in a long line of amazing guests, and then afterwards, was off to the Conan O'Brien show as a guest of Jimmy, who works for the show.  Don't miss the opportunity to see Ellis take part in this podcast… with hilarious results!  Ellis' episode can be seen in two ways, a free version (with the first 20 minutes of the show) and a paid version (full 100 minutes). Full episode is $0.99 for audio only, $1.99 for the video version.

 
Sheet Music Now Available!

In partnership with ZMX Music, Ellis is excited to announce he is now offering a selection of his songs as sheet music available for purchase.  Four songs from the new album, and two fan favorites are now available for download in a variety of arrangements -  pianists, vocalists, and guitarists will be able to learn and play along with some of their favorite EP tunes!  The more interest shown in this new project, the more sheet music we'll be able to provide in the future, so be sure to download yours today!

 
Joey's Song

Joseph Gomoll was a 5 year old boy with a love of music.  Although his battle with Dravet's Syndrome, a form of epilepsy, tragically ended his life last year, a number of incredible musicians have come together for a very special project entitled "Joey's Song". Ellis joins Neko Case, Crash Test Dummies, Tracy Bonham, Slaid Cleaves and more in 'Joey's Song for Kids: Volume 1'.  For his part, Ellis contributed an exclusive, brand new, unreleased track to the album, "Mr. Teetot".  The only way to hear the track is to purchase the album, so jump in and support an amazing cause. Ellis is proud to have been a part of this project, and hopes his involvement will raise awareness, and encourage contributions.  You can see the final track listing of artists here, and you can visit the Jospeh Gomoll Foundation here.

 
Stay warm out there!