Ellis Paul

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Ellis Paul : biography

January 14, 1965 –

While attending high school in Presque Isle, Maine, Paul listened to Top-40 radio and participated in track. He played trumpet in the school’s stage band where he was introduced to the big band jazz music of Stan Kenton and Maynard Ferguson. He excelled in track, becoming the Maine State champion in five-kilometer distance running, a feat that garnered several scholarship offers, including an offer from Boston College. Having graduated high school with the class of 1983, Paul relocated to Boston, leaving small-town rural life behind. In an interview with Daniel Gewertz of the Boston Herald Paul stated, "It wasn’t until I went to Boston College on a track scholarship that I first heard folk." Paul was particularly moved when he heard Bob Dylan singing "The House of the Rising Sun". It was then that he began to take folk music seriously.Stambler, Irwin and Stambler, Lyndon. Folk and Blues: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin’s Press, 2001. ISBN 0-312-20057-9.

Paul will be inducted into Presque Isle High School Athletic Hall of Fame when induction ceremonies are held on Jan. 11, 2013.Clark, Ernie. Bangor Daily News, September 25, 2012.

Further reading/listening

Books

  • 2003 — Kerouac, Jack. Doctor Sax and the Great World Snake, Mint Publishers, ISBN 0-9729733-0-3. (Screenplay recorded on two audio CDs with Ellis Paul as the voice of Lousy.)
  • 2003 — Alarik, Scott. Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk Underground, Boston: Black Wolf Press, ISBN 0-9720270-1-7. (Prominently features Ellis Paul.)
  • 2002 — Paul, Ellis. Notes From the Road, Boston: Black Wolf Press, ISBN 0-9720270-0-9. (Paul’s self-illustrated book of lyrics, poems and journal entries.)
  • 2002 — Kubica, Chris and Hochman, Will. Letters to J.D. Salinger, University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 0-299-17800-5. (Includes an entry written by Ellis Paul.)
  • 2001 — Stambler, Irwin. Folk & Blues: The Encyclopedia: The Premier Encyclopedia Of American Roots Music, Thomas Dunne Books, ISBN 0-312-20057-9. (Includes an entry for Ellis Paul.)

Magazines

(See the for a more comprehensive listing.)

  • 2006 — Perricone, Mike. Symmetry: Dimensions of Particle Physics, Jun/Jul 2006, p. 28-9. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  • 2005 — Soroff, Jonathan. Soroff on Ellis Paul. Improper Bostonian, Apr 6–19, 2005, p. 16.
  • 2002 — Rutz, Kathy. New Release Spotlight: Ellis Paul. Performing Songwriter, Dec 2002, p. 26.
  • 2000 — Weider, Tamara. Ellis Paul: On the road again. Improper Bostonian, June 14, 2000, p. 18–22.
  • 1998 — Eshleman, Annette C. Dirty Linen, Oct/Nov 1998, p. 14-5. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
  • 1996 — Fagan, Neil. Artist spotlight: Ellis Paul. Performing Songwriter, Jan/Feb 1996, p. 30-1.

Miscellany

  • 2011 — Video of Ellis Paul appearing on Never Not Funny hosted by Jimmy Pardo. February 2, 2011.
  • 2007 — Video of Paul performing three songs from The Dragonfly Races recorded at the Fox25 studio in Boston. Nov. 16, 2007.
  • 2007 — Video interview/performance recorded at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberley, Texas. May 10, 2007.
  • 2004 — Video interview at Boston College with Scott Alarik as part of the Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award weekend festivities. April 30, 2004.
  • 1999 — Video performance in Washington, D.C.. June 22, 1999.

Career: 2010–present

Paul’s sixteenth CD, The Day After Everything Changed, was released on January 12, 2010.Garcia, Stephanie. The Hook, (Charlottesville, Virginia), January 9, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2010.Gewertz, Daniel. Boston Herald, December 29, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2010. Rather than work with a record label, Paul invited fans to help finance the recording by offering donors various premiums determined by the level of donation.Sculley, Alan. The Morning Call, January 2, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2010.Ellis Paul website. July 8, 2008. Retrieved January 13, 2010. Although Paul wasn’t sure what to expect when the United States economy collapsed, the fan-funding initiative resulted in more than $100,000 being collected – more, according to Paul, – than any label had ever spent on him.Perry, Jonathan. Boston Globe, January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2010. Recorded in Nashville with a guest appearance by Kristian Bush that includes a duet on the track, "Paper Dolls",O’Hare, Kevin. (Scroll down for Ellis Paul review.) MassLive.com. January 10, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2010. Paul says the fan support inspired him to make "the best record I could". One reviewer wrote: "This is such a tuneful, beautifully drawn set of songs played and sung with authority that it reminds you how much we need storytellers back in pop music—storytellers with empathy, fine eyes and an understanding that even though we live in a soulless, indifferent world our music doesn’t have to reflect our culture."Capobianco, Ken. CapeCodOnline.com. January 12, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2010. In her review for the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange, Roberta Schwartz said that the CD is "a masterwork filled with the best music and lyrics of his career."Schwartz, Roberta. . Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.