Ellis Paul

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Ellis Paul (born Paul Plissey; January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician.

Paul, who was born in Aroostook County, Maine, is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative, and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that aided in the 1990s' folk revival.

His pop music songs have appeared in films and television, closing the gap between the modern folk sound and Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger's populist roots.

He attended Boston College on a track scholarship majoring in English.

Paul, who was injured in his junior year, began playing guitar to fill his spare time and soon began writing songs.

Since graduating from college, Paul performed at open mic nights in Boston, Massachusetts, while working with inner-city school children.

He won a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition and gained national recognition for his efforts in music as a professional. Paul had 19 albums out by the end of 2014 and 14 Boston Music Awards, the pinnacle of contemporary acoustic music success by any means.

He has written a book of original lyrics, poems, and drawings, as well as a DVD that includes a live performance, guitar lessons, and a road trip documentary.

Albert Whitman & Company's Children's CD Hero in You was released in 2014 as a book.

A year ago, Paul appeared on almost 200 live shows.

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Early career: 1987–1990

Paul majored in English at Boston College, where he continued to excel and excelled at Boston College. His best time in the 10,000 meters (30:18:50) is his fourth best men's outdoor record in Boston College history. Paul picked up an acoustic guitar to pass the time when a knee injury in his junior year kept him from athletics. With the support of a Hits of the 70s songbook, he learned how to play guitar and started to write songs. A classic hits station on Boston radio that featured Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and James Taylor; musicians who were mostly new to Paul. They became household names in a few years. At that time, having a career in music was the furthest thing from Paul's mind, but as his playing and writing improved, it became a bigger concern in his life. Paul said in an interview with FolkWax journalist Arthur Wood, "Itay is a boy who talks about himself" in an interview.

The nameless Coffeehouse in Cambridge, Westborough's Old Vienna Kaffeehouse, and The Naked City Coffeehouse in Allston were among the open mic sessions on the Boston area. Paul, as well as other young folk artists like Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, Dar Williams, and Vance Gilbert, became a regular fixture at those clubs. He received the Nameless Coffeehouse's New Songwriter Award in 1989. For the first time since opening for John Gorka in October 1989, Paul appeared at Cambridge's Club Passim, which would be his "home" venue. He appeared at Passim as a headliner less than four years ago. On February 19–21, 1993, three nights of shows ran in a row.

Paul met Jon Svetkey, Brian Doser, and Jim Infantino, all struggling young local musicians at the Old Vienna. The four young men formed "End Construction" in 1989, and they released a collection of songs titled Resume Speed: New Artist Compilation on the End Construction Productions label in 1990. On the CD release, the four songwriters each performed four of his own original songs. End Construction Productions was a small independent production, promotion, and recording firm owned by singers and musicians, according to the Resume Speed columnists. "Hellbent on getting the good music out there." In the interview with Wood, Paul said that the four songwriters got together and collaborated on each other's work. Despite going on to say that the four musicians learned a lot from each other and that the friendship "was a good thing" and that they learned a lot from each other, the foursome "burned out on the competitiveness" later this year. The three-year partnership lasted three years.

Following his graduation from Boston College in 1987, Paul worked at the COMPASS school as a mentor and social worker with inner city school students who appeared at open mics three to four nights per week. He did not quit his day job to pursue music as a full time occupation until the fall of 1992. During this period, Paul met his manager, Ralph Jaccodine, and the two formed Black Wolf Records together. Paul's first two albums of original material, Ami Home and Urban Folksongs, and Paul began touring outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Despite being originally released on cassette, the two albums were re-released on CD in 2001.

Career: 2000–2003

On March 14, 2000, Paul released Live, his first live recording, merely titled Live. The double-disk featured recordings from many shows, as well as previously unreleased studio tracks. Paul performed the National Anthem at Fenway Park and had his song "The World Ain't Slowing Down" selected for the Farley Brothers' "Mates, Myself and Irene, starring Jim Carvey and Renée Zellweger. Both events took place on the same weekend in June. In November 2001, Paul was back to be successful in singing "Sweet Mistakes" in a film directed by Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. On November 15, 2001, Paul released Sweet Mistakes, a collection of audience favorites that have yet to be released, on his 8th album. Paul was named FolkWax Artist of the Year for 2001 in January 2002.

Paul often recites original poetry for his audiences. Some of Paul's original poems, songs, and journal entries were published by Black Wolf Press in May 2002. "The book has an intimate, conversational tone," Abby White said, and Paul's childlike drawings, song lyrics, and poetry gave commercial breaks to his personal journal entries and vivid recollections of major events he encountered while touring." Paul recited his "Millennium Poem" on many shows as the 21st century came to an end.

Paul Guthrie and Nora Guthrie became best friends in 2002. Nora Guthrie, executive director of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives in New York City, where hundreds of Woody Guthrie's handwritten lyrics – many without music – are housed. Paul was invited by her to visit the Archives and select one set of lyrics to perform. Nora Guthrie said there was a "job description" that her father left behind that "Ellis took on" referring to the massive challenge of finding songwriters to write music for hundreds of her father's songs. Paul opted for "God's Promise," a hymn of the day that Woody adapted in 1955 from "What God Hath Promised," a hymn of the day, and he recorded it for his 2002 release Speed of Trees. Paul said that visiting the Woody Guthrie Archives was like going through a time capsule of his greatest hero's life, as well as that his posthumous friendship with Woody Guthrie was one of the "coolest things" he'd ever done. "If You Break Down" was featured on Ed's November 6, 2002 episode of the television series Ed, as Paul's "If You Break Down" was included.

Paul's ties to Woody Guthrie began in 2003 when he was invited to appear in the Ribbon of Highway, Endless Skyway tribute show to honor Woody Guthrie. The ensemble, which was the brainchild of Texas singer-songwriter Jimmy Lafave, toured around the country and featured a rotating cast of singer-songwriters playing Guthrie's songs. Guthrie's philosophical writings were interspersed between songs by a narrator. Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Joel Rafael, husband-wife duo Sarah Lee Guthrie, husband-wife due to LaFave and Paul, as well as The Burning Sisters, George Fracasso and Slaid Guthrie. Bob Childers, a writer from Oklahoma who has also been described as "the Dylan of the Dust," appeared as narrator. Performers started contacting LaFave when word of the tour broke, with the only requirement being an inspiring link to Guthrie. Each artist selected the Guthrie songs that he or she would perform as part of the tribute. Gilkyson's "Pastures of Plenty" was one of Gilkyson's picks, while Cleaves' "This Morning I Am Born Again" was chosen, a song he wrote using Guthrie's lyrics. "God's Promise" was Paul's chosen song, one of his writings using Guthrie's lyrics. "It's fine because all the performers are Guthrie enthusiasts in some manner," LaFave said. On February 5, 2003, the Ribbon of Highway Tour debuted at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The abbreviated display was part of "Nashville Sings Woody," another tribute performance to Woody Guthrie's music during the Folk Alliance Convention. Arlo Guthrie, Marty Stuart, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Ramblin's Jack Elliott, Janis Ian, and others were among the cast of "Nashville Sings Woody," a benefit for the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives.

In February 2003, Paul's 3000 Miles DVD was released. The DVD is divided into four segments, starting with a live broadcast at Boston's Somerville Theater on October 3, 2001 – the last date of a six-week tour with Susan Werner. Matt Linde, an independent filmmaker who accompanied Paul on a cross-country tour, produced the second segment of a 39-minute road movie shot in 1995. Individual vignettes chronicle shows, talks, and events from Paul's everyday life as a traveling musician. In a third segment, Paul demonstrates the open tunings he uses in several of his songs, while the final segment features a discussion of songwriting with fellow songwriters Christopher Williams and Vance Gilbert. "British viewers will watch as Paul goes from a young, inexperienced folk singer wearing a backwards baseball cap to the well-known, mature, veteran performer that he is today," Annette C. Eshleman said in her Dirty Linen essay.

Career: 2004–2009

Paul was the winner of the 2nd annual Boston College Arts Council Award for Artistic Achievement on May 1, 2004. The award was given as part of the sixth annual Boston College Arts Festival. In addition to his festival appearances, the festival featured "Inside the BC Studio" an audio essay about songwriting, a master class on songwriting, and a concert. Paul received his 13th Boston Music Award in 2004 in the category of Outstanding Singer-Songwriter. When Paul teamed up with an Irish musician, producer, and studio specialist named Flynn, he was writing what he called "country tunes." This resulted in the release of American Jukebox Fables, a Flynn recording that stunned some followers by merging folk, pop, and electronica. Paul said he and Flynn formed a friendship in which he brought banjos and accordions as well as a Flynn notebook and keyboard. Despite Paul's knowing that the end result would be outside of some people's eagerness for another acoustic folk album, we'll have fun with it.

Paul has regularly attended Club Passim over New Year's, appearing two shows on December 30 and two shows on New Year's Eve since 1995 (no one knows for certain). Live at Club Passim, a video assembled from Paul's 2005 New Year's Eve show, was released in early 2006. Paul traveled through Europe and England in May 2006; Twickenham, England; Cheltenham, England; and Wasserburg, Germany. In addition, two BBC radio interviews and a radio interview in Paris were included in the tour. Paul was featured on the Woody Guthrie Coalition's DVD Woody Sez: A Tribute to Woody Guthrie, which was released in 2006. On "God's Promise," Paul appeared on the Crystal Theater in Okemah, Oklahoma, on July 13, 2005. Ellis Paul Essentials' album, which was also released in 2006, was Paul's "best of" album, which was also released in 2006 as Ellis Paul Essentials on October 10. Some songs that were absolutes and others that were not included based on polls conducted on his website and discussion board were included in Paul's two-disk retrospective. Arthur Wood's Ellis Paul Essentials book "if you've never travelled "musically" with Mr. Ellis Paul, Essentials is a spectacular place to start." "Elements, a career-spanning double CD from veteran singer-songwriter Ellis Paul, has a few recently released, John Jennings-helmed tracks of previously released tunes that help distinguish this collection from many retrospectives," Mike Joyce wrote in his Washington Post article "Understandables, a career-spanning double CD by veteran singer-songwriter Ellis Paul's career-spanning double CD. "Paul's Essentials is just that and a must have for your folk set," Kari Estren said in her Sing Out! review.

The Dragonfly Races, Paul's children's and family record, was released in January 2008. Paul said he wanted to educate his children about the world by the use of music after his second daughter's birth. Both children and adults are supposed to enjoy the music, and Paul said, "I wanted my kids to hear music with social commentary and some fantasy." "Paul sings movingly about what really worries new parents, and transforms lazy dragonflies, gentle giants, and stifling roses into useful metaphors for world peace, the strength of faith, and the pleasures of a sleepy day," Scott Alarik said. The Parents' Choice Foundation gave The Dragonfly Races a Silver medallion in April 2008. The Parents' Choice Awards program honors the best content for children in these categories: books, toys, music, and poetry, books, toys, games, television, and websites.

Jack Ingram, a country musician, picked a song written by Paul in 2009. According to CMT, Paul's "The World Ain't Slowing Down" may be the track that brings Ingram to the "next level." "It'll be fun for me to introduce people to a wonderful song from an artist who has had a 20-year career as a professional folk artist," Ingram says.

Career: 2010–2014

On January 12, 2010, Paul's sixteenth album, The Day After Everything Changed, was released. Rather than working with a record label, Paul encouraged fans to help fund the project by giving donors different premiums based on their level of donation. Despite the fact that Paul wasn't sure what to expect when the US economy crashed, the fan-funding campaign resulted in more than $100,000 being earned – more, according to Paul, than any label had ever invested on him. Paul says the fan support inspired him to make "the best record I could" when he was recording in Nashville with a duet. "This is such a beautiful, beautifully drawn set of songs performed and sung with authority that it reminds you how much we need storytellers back in pop culture -- storytellers with compassion, fine eyes, and an understanding that even though we live in a soulless, indifferent world, our music doesn't have to reflect our culture." Roberta Schwartz' review of the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange said that the album is "a masterwork packed with the best music and lyrics of his career."

The weekend of July 9-10, 2010 at Boston's Club Passim, five concerts commemorating Paul's 20th anniversary in the music business took place. In chronological order over four shows, Paul performed his eight solo albums in chronological order. In addition, he appeared at a children's performance. Thomas M. Menino, the Mayor of Boston, declared July 9, 2010, as Ellis Paul Day in the City of Boston.

The Day After Everything Changed was one of the Top ten CDs of 2010.

The Hero in You, Paul's second children's album, was released on January 1, 2012. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Rosa Parks are among the songs on the album that Paul considers to be American heroes. The album is Paul's attempt to inform children about some of America's most popular figures. "I was a huge fan of Schoolhouse Rock in the 1970s." The music had always had a great charm about it. "I can still remember the Constitution's Preamble" because of those little songs," Paul said. Paul created the illustrations in the accompanying lyrics book.

Roberta Schwartz wrote a review for the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange that the Hero in You has some of Paul's best melodies and most moving lyrics. "Chief Joseph" is a song that uses one of Native American history's most popular lyrics: "I will fight no more forever."

The Hero in You was given a Gold medal by the Parents' Choice Foundation for his efforts.

City of Silver Dreams, Paul's first Christmas collection, was released on December 1, 2012. The album is produced by Flynn, and it includes nine original songs, one co-written with Kristian Bush, and one cover song, Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane's classic "Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas." "It's a collection with multifaceted personality, with melodic romanticism and a folk styled humor that twinkles with good natured amusement," Holley Dey wrote in her No Depression essay.

Paul was one of four performers inducted into the Maine Music Awards Hall of Fame on July 12, 2014. The awards ceremony took place in the Portland (Maine) Civic Center. Don McLean, Howie Day, and David Mallett were among the inaugural class's first graduates, including Don McLean, Howie Day, and David Mallett.

Chasing Beauty, Paul's 19th and second fan-funded album, was released on September 9, 2014. Kristian Bush (Sugarland) and Brandon Bush (Train) produced the 14-track CD, which was mainly recorded in Decatur, Georgia. Kristian Bush (acoustic/electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass), Brandon Bush (keyboards), Travis McNabb (bass), Benjamin McLaugh (trombone), Andre smith (trumbone), and Brandyn Taylor (baritone sax). Rebecca Loebe and Red Molly appear as guest stars.

Career: 2015–present

Paul was invited to address the keynote address at the 2015 NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance) conference in Kerhonkson, New York, hosted on Nov. 12-15, 2015. The 26-minute address, which was delivered on November 13, 2015, was later published on his website and on YouTube.

Paul's song "Nelly Bly" from the album Hero in You, was announced in late 2015 as the fall of 2015.

Ellis Paul of April 2019 announced that his new album The Storyteller's Suitcase would be released on May 31, 2019, the first video from the album's release of "I Ain't No Jesus." At the 2019 NERFA (Northeast Regional Folk Alliance) Conference in Stamford, CT, Storyteller Suitcase was named Album of the Year.

The International Acoustic Music Awards (IAMA) announced in early 2020 that Paul's "I Ain't No Jesus" from The Storyteller's Suitcase was named Best Folk/Americana/Roots album as well as Overall Grand Prize Winner at the 16th Annual Awards.

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