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Ellis Paul (born January 14, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born Paul Plissey in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a chief architect of what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s. While remaining among the most pop-friendly of today's singer-songwriters with songs that have appeared in movies and on television, Paul has bridged the gulf between the modern folk sound and the populist traditions of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger more successfully than many of his songwriting peers.
Having growing up in a small town in Maine, Paul attended Boston College on a track scholarship where he majored in English. An athletic injury sustained during his junior year in high school changed the course of his professional career. Paul picked up a guitar to pass the time while sidelined, and discovered that playing guitar and writing songs was the creative outlet he had been looking for. After graduating from college he began playing at open mike nights in the Boston area while working with inner-city school children by day. Paul's growing popularity at Boston coffeehouses, coupled with winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition and national exposure on a Windham Hill Records compilation combined to give him the confidence to resign his day-job and pursue a career as a professional musician.
To date, Paul has released more than ten albums and has been the recipient of 13 Boston Music Awards, considered by some to be a pinnacle of contemporary acoustic music success. He has published a book of original lyrics, poems, and drawings and released a DVD that includes a live performance, guitar instruction, and a road-trip documentary. As a touring musician, Paul plays close to 200 dates each year and his extensive club and coffeehouse touring, together with radio airplay, has brought him a solid national following.
Growing up
Ellis Paul was born in Fort Kent, Maine, a small, rural potato-farming town near the Canadian border. Paul’s family had strong connections to the potato industry – his father, Ed Plissey, was Executive Director of the Maine Potato Commission and his grandfather owned a 140-acre potato farm. Schools in the area closed for three weeks each year so that school children could help with the potato harvest. Paul spent many hours working on his grandfather’s farm.
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 Gerwetz 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" from Dylan's The Times They Are A-Changin' release. It was then that he began to take folk music seriously.
Early career: 1987-1990
Paul majored in English at Boston College where he continued to participate in track. When a knee injury in his junior year sidelined him from athletics, Paul picked up an acoustic guitar to pass the time. He taught himself to play guitar with the help of a Hits of the 70s songbook, and began to write songs. Boston radio included a classic hits station that played the music of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and James Taylor; artists who were mostly unfamiliar to Paul. Within a few years they became major influences. Having a career in music was the furthest thing from Paul's mind at that point, but as his playing and writing improved it became a bigger focus in his life. In an interview with FolkWax journalist Arthur Wood, Paul stated:
"I started playing and learned a few songs by other writers to begin with. I started writing originals within a few months. My songs were pretty horrendous to begin with. They kept getting better and better. When I graduated, I started playing at open mikes in bars in Boston. Eventually discovered that there were folk clubs where people were actually listening, and not drinking and carousing while you played. I got involved in that circuit. I think that’s why I’ve become so lyric conscious – because of those listening rooms, where you really have to rely on words in those situations."
The open mike circuit in the Boston area included The Nameless Coffeehouse in Cambridge, Westborough’s Old Vienna Kaffeehouse and The Naked City Coffeehouse in Allston. Paul became a regular face at those clubs along with other young folk musicians such as Shawn Colvin, Patty Griffin, Dar Williams and Vance Gilbert. In 1989 he won the Nameless Coffeehouse’s New Songwriter Award. Paul played Cambridge's Club Passim, a venue that would become his "home" venue, for the first time when he opened for John Gorka in October 1989. Less than four years later he performed his first shows at Passim as a headliner. The three consecutive nights of shows took place on February 19-21, 1993.
It was at the Old Vienna that Paul met Jon Svetkey, Brian Doser and Jim Infantino, all struggling young local musicians. In 1989 the four young men formed a collective called "End Construction" and in 1990 released a compilation of songs titled Resume Speed: New Artist Compilation on the End Construction Productions label. The four songwriters each performed four of his own original songs on the CD release. The Resume Speed liner notes stated that End Construction Productions was a small independent production, promotion and recording company run by songwriters and musicians "hellbent on getting the good music out there." In the interview with Wood, Paul stated that the four songwriters started doing group shows together and collaborated on each other's material. Although he goes on to say that the collaboration "was a good thing" and that the four musicians learned a lot from each other, eventually the foursome "burned out on the competitiveness.". The collaboration lasted three years.
Following his graduation from Boston College in 1987, Paul worked a day-job as a teacher and social worker with inner city school children performing at open mikes three or four nights a week. It was not until the fall of 1992 that he quit his day-job to pursue music as a full-time career. During this period Paul met his manager, Ralph Jaccodine, and together they founded Black Wolf Records. In 1989 the label released Paul's first two albums of original material: Am I Home and Urban Folksongs and Paul began touring outside the Boston area. Although originally released on cassette, the two albums were re-released on CD in 2001.
Rising success: 1990-2000
Winning the Boston Acoustic Underground Award in 1991 resulted in Paul playing to the largest crowd of his career to that point – 300. He continued to play in and around the New England area. Around this time, Windham Hill Records, who had previously released the Legacy songwriter compilation, put a call out to the music industry asking for songwriter submissions to be considered for the follow-up Legacy II compilation. After the Old Vienna Kaffeehouse sent one of Paul’s tapes to Windham Hill, Paul's "Ashes to Dust" from Urban Folksongs was chosen to be on the compilation. In the interview with Wood, Paul stated that he felt very excited to be on the Windham Hill release because it served as a calling card that every DJ and folk promoter in the country would recognize. Legacy II was released in 1992 and included songs performed by Patty Larkin, Patty Griffin, Greg Brown,Cheryl Wheeler and several others. Legacy II was Paul’s first national exposure.
After Paul opened for Bill Morrissey a few times, Morrissey became one of Paul’s earliest mentors. Morrissey introduced Paul to the traditonal songwriting of Woody Guthrie and Mississippi John Hurt, as well as songwriters of the 60s, such as Randy Newman. In a 2001 interview Scott Alarik, Morrissey said that Paul jumped into listening to traditonal songwriters "bigtime" and as a result is a much better writer and performer.
Paul asked Morrissey to produce his first album Say Something, which was released in 1993 on Black Wolf records. The talents of fiddler Johnny Cunningham and guitarist Duke Levine, both friends of Morrissey’s, can be heard on the recording along with the background vocals of Patty Griffin. Levine would co-produce Paul’s follow-up release Stories, which was released on Black Wolf in 1994 and re-released on Rounder Records the following year. That year Paul was first invited to play the Kerrville Folk Festival, winning the Kerrville New Folk award.
Paul became a strong follower of the music of Woody Guthrie during the early 1990s. In a 1998 Boston Globe article, Paul refers to a tattoo of Woody Guthrie on his right shoulder saying that Woody's image was the only thing he could put on his body that would be "like a badge of who he was." Paul’s tattoo of Woody Guthrie resulted in a chance meeting with Nora Guthrie, Woody Guthrie's daughter, at a Folk Alliance Conference when Nora asked to see Paul's tattoo. That chance meeting resulted in Paul being invited to perform at a Woody Guthrie tribute show at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. The 10-day celebration, held in September 1996, included other notable musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Billy Bragg, The Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco.
Paul asked Jerry Marotta, a drummer who had worked with Peter Gabriel, to produce his third CD release A Carnival of Voices which was released on Rounder in 1996. Marotta brought in bassist Tony Levin, guitarist Bill Dillon, and once again Duke Levine. Paul stated that A Carnival of Voices comprised character sketches of different people in different towns tied to "the carnival mentality of traveling." A Carnival of Voices hit #3 on The CMJ New Music Report Triple chart and World Café voted it the #1 album of the year. By 1997 Paul's mailing list passed 7,000 names as his fan-base continued to grow.
As Paul’s reputation and popularity grew, he was regularly asked to return to folk venues and festivals around the country. The number of shows he performed annually increased to more than 200. Although Paul performed mostly self-penned songs, he would often include a Woody Guthrie song into his set. Woody’s "Hard Travelin'" was always a crowd pleaser, especially in Oklahoma, Woody’s birthplace. In July 1998, the 1st Woody Guthrie Folk Festival was held in Woody’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. Not only did Paul headline the festival along with Billy Bragg, but the city of Okemah made him an honorary citizen. Paul stated that when he made the pilgrimage to Okemah he felt that he was walking in Woody’s footsteps and that the experience was "like going to the mount". Paul's sixth CD, Translucent Soul, was released later that year in October. Again produced by Jerry Marotta, the title track is a song about his relationship with good friend Vance Gilbert and tackles the issue of racism.
The decade ended with a career highlight when Paul was invited to perform at Club Passim's 40th anniversary show. The event took place on January 16, 1999 at the Sanders Theater in Cambridge. The four-hour sold-out concert also included Patty Larkin, Joan Baez, The Nields, and others. Joan Anderman, covering the event for the Boston Globe, reported that Paul's "thinking-person's poetry" at the Sanders theater was "embellished with the bite of an electric guitarist and the earthy cool of a percussionist", and that his set was "a model of modern organic grace".
Career: 2000-2003
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Paul released his first live recording, simply titled Live, on March 14, 2000. The double-disk included recordings from several shows, as well as previously unreleased studio tracks. Highlights of the year 2000 included Paul singing the National Anthem at Fenway Park, and having his song "The World Ain’t Slowing Down" chosen for the theme song in the Farrelly brothers movie Me, Myself and Irene starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Both events took place on the same June weekend. In November 2001, Paul was again successful in having a song in a movie when "Sweet Mistakes" was featured in Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Paul released his 8th CD, Sweet Mistakes, a collection of audience-favorites not yet recorded, on November 15, 2001. In January 2002, Paul was named the FolkWax Artist of the Year for 2001.
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Members of Paul's audiences are often treated to original poems. Black Wolf Press published Notes from the Road, a collection of Paul's original poems, lyrics, journal entries and drawings in May 2002. In her review for Performing Songwriter, Abby White said, "The book has an intimate, conversational tone, and Paul's childlike drawings, song lyrics and poetry provide commerical breaks to his personal journal entries and vivid recollections of significant events he encounters while touring". As the 21st century began Paul recited his "Millennium Poem", regularly at shows.
In 2002 Paul’s friendship with Nora Guthrie resulted in one of the biggest highlights of his career. Nora Guthrie is 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. She invited Paul to visit the Archives and choose one set of lyrics to put to song. Referring to the huge undertaking of finding songwriters to write music for hundreds of her father's lyrics, Nora Guthrie stated that there was a "job description" that her father left behind that "Ellis took on". Paul chose "God’s Promise," lyrics that Woody had adapted in 1955 from "What God Hath Promised," a hymn of the day and 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 biggest hero and that the posthumous collaboration with Woody Guthrie was one of the "coolest things" he'd ever done. The Nov. 5th episode of the TV series Ed featured Paul's “If You Break Down”.
Paul’s connection to Woody Guthrie continued into 2003 when he was invited to perform in the Ribbon of Highway, Endless Skyway tribute show to honor Woody Guthrie. The ensemble show, which was the brainchild of Texas singer-songwriter Jimmy LaFave, toured around the country and included a rotating cast of singer-songwriters individually performing Guthrie's songs. Interspersed between songs were Guthrie's philosophical writings read by a narrator. In addition to LaFave and Paul, members of the rotating cast included Slaid Cleaves, Eliza Gilkyson, Joel Raphael, husband-wife duo Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody Guthrie's granddaughter) and Johnny Irion, Michael Fracasso, and The Burns Sisters. Oklahoma songwriter Bob Childers, sometimes called "the Dylan of the Dust," served as narrator. When word spread about the tour, performers began contacting LaFave whose only prerequisite was to have an inspirational connection to Guthrie. Each artist chose the Guthrie songs that he or she would perform as part of the tribute. One of the songs Gilkyson chose was "Pastures of Plenty", while Cleaves chose "This Morning I Am Born Again" - a song he wrote using Guthrie's lyrics. One of the songs Paul chose was a song he wrote using Guthrie's lyrics - "God's Promise". LaFave said, "It works because all the performers are Guthrie enthusiasts in some form". The Ribbon of Highway tour kicked-off on February 5, 2003 at the Ryman Theater in Nashville. The abbreviated show was a featured segment of "Nashville Sings Woody," yet another tribute concert to commemorate the music of Woody Guthrie held during the Folk Alliance Conference. The cast of "Nashville Sings Woody," a benefit for the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives, also included Arlo Guthrie, Marty Stuart, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Janis Ian, and others.
Paul's 3000 Miles DVD was released in February 2003. Divided into four segments, the DVD begins with a live show recorded on October 3, 2001 at Boston's Somerville Theater - a show that was the final date of a six-week tour with Susan Werner. The second segment is a 39-minute road movie filmed in 1995 by Matt Linde, an independent filmmaker who accompanied Paul on a cross-country tour. Individual vignettes chronicle shows, conversations and events in Paul's daily life as a traveling musician. A third segment shows Paul demonstrating the open tunings he uses in many of his songs, while the final segment is a discussion of songwriting with fellow songwriters Christopher Williams and Vance Gilbert. In her review for Dirty Linen, Annette C. Eshleman said, "In just under three hours, viewers are able to watch as Paul evolves from a young, inexperienced folk singer wearing a backwards baseball cap to the highly respected, confident, seasoned performer that he is today". In September 2003 Paul released Side of the Road, a duo album recorded with good friend Vance Gilbert. The two songwriters, who have often shared the stage, each chose four cover songs to record - individual favorites - plus one song of their own. Although the album did not start out as a "9/11" project, the inclusion of Mark Erelli’s "The Only Way" set a theme. A review in No Depression magazine said this about Paul and Gilbert’s choice of songs:
"Thematically they’re mostly about individuals – indeed, an entire planet – in desperate need of healing. To that end, Paul’s original tune "Citizen of the World" is a wonderful balm, as he and Gilbert trade lyrics about the crossed bloodlines, attitudes and experiences that make us all brothers and sisters. Their version of Van Morrison’s "Comfort You" works magic of a similar sort."
Career: 2004-present
In 2004 Paul was awarded his 13th Boston Music Award in the category of Outstanding Singer/Songwriter. At the time Paul was writing what he called "country tunes" when he teamed up with an Irish musician, producer, and studio expert named Flynn. This resulted in American Jukebox Fables, released April 5, 2005, a recording produced by Flynn that surprised some fans by melding folk, pop and electronica. Paul said that his collaboration with Flynn formed a partnership where he brought banjos and accordions and Flynn brought a laptop and keyboard. Although Paul knew that the end result would fall outside the comfort zone of some fans who expected another acoustic folk album, experimenting with Flynn's musical chemistry set injected excitement and fun into the recording project.
For over ten years, Paul has annually played Club Passim on New Year's Eve. In early 2006 Black Wolf Records released Live at Club Passim, a recording compiled from his 2005 New Year's Eve shows. In May 2006, Paul toured Europe and England for the first time playing to sold-out shows in Paris, France; Twickenham, England; Cheltenham, England and Wasserburg, Germany. The tour also included two BBC radio interviews and a radio interview in Paris. Paul was included on the Woody Guthrie Coalition’s DVD Woody Sez: a Tribute to Woody Guthrie released in 2006. The tribute show, recorded July 13, 2005 at the Crystal Theater in Okemah, OK, included Paul performing a duet with The Burns Sisters on “God’s Promise”. Also released in 2006 was Paul's "best of" album, released as Ellis Paul Essentials, on October 10. The two-disk retrospective of Paul’s 15-year career contained some songs that were absolutes and others that were included based on polls held on his website and discussion board. In his Folkwax review of Ellis Paul Essentials, Arthur Wood stated: "If you've never visited "musically" with Mr. Ellis Paul, Essentials is a stunning place to start."
When asked in a 2005 interview if he would rather play the Fleet Theater (19,600 seats) or the Somerville Theater (900 seats) – both in Boston, Paul replied:
"I prefer to keep it intimate. That way people can see the whites of your eyes. I’d love to write a hit song and have it on the radio like "American Pie" or something, but I’m just gonna do what I do and take what I can and run with it, because it’s a hard business to have even what I have. So I don’t have pie-in-the-sky Springsteen-esque hopes. I just want to write great songs."
Paul continues to be a hardworking musician on the folk circuit, playing close to 200 dates annually. Paul's songs have appeared on more than 50 compilation CDs, and he has made nearly 40 guest appearances on the albums of artists including Lori McKenna, David Wilcox and Mark Erelli. In her review of Ellis Paul Live for the Folk and Music Exchange, Roberta Schwartz said, "His finely honed songs tell stories filled with images that sparkle like jewels. His is a poet's heart, and a romantic's soul. He is an optimist who believes in people and possibilities."
Songwriting
"Boston-style" songwriting refers to the introspective and literate breed of singer-songwriter so prevalent in the modern folk music landscape. According to Paul, Boston-style songwriting grew out of Boston’s thriving folk scene with its dense collection of colleges, college radio stations and listening rooms. Boston radio includes the University of Massachusetts’ WUMB, the country’s foremost radio station for folk and acoustic music 24-hours a day. Paul said the Boston songwriters tend to be more thoughtful and soft because in an intimate listening room, "all you’ve got is you and your words." Boston-style songwriting tends to be more about lyric than melody, is intimate and thoughtful but also relevant, often addressing social issues. Boston-style songwriting does not only refer to Boston musicians, but includes national artists such as Shawn Colvin, John Gorka, Susan Werner, Bill Morrissey, and Dar Williams.
After graduating from Boston College, Paul worked as a case worker at an inner city school in Jamaica Plain, New York working with children with behavioral problems and also worked as a social worker in Boston with clients who were drug dealers, rapists, and other kinds of criminal offenders. His work experiences opened his eyes to see the world in a broader, more open-minded way and provided material for the songs he was beginning to write. Early in his career Paul promised himself that he would always write about the things he knew well. Template:Sound sample box align right
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In her 1993 review of Paul's Say Something, Debbie Catalano wrote, "Ellis Paul draws a picture with his words then draws you into the world he's painting." Like a Norman Rockwell painting, Paul’s songs are replete with crucial details and careful observations that tell a story with a minimum or words. In a 2002 article, Thomas Connor dissected a verse from Paul’s "Conversation with a Ghost" from Say Something. "Instead of bluntly saying, "I ran into an old flame in Central Park," Paul writes around it, avoiding the clichés, painting the picture, showing us everything -- the motives, the setting, the serendipity -- except what we expect."
When teaching songwriting classes, Paul often introduces aspiring songwriters to his "six-step program to effective songwriting" which is based on the premise that songwriters should show and not tell. Paul teaches this six-step method to develop a character in a song:
- Choose a name for the person.
- List five items in the person’s bedroom.
- List five things the person would see if he or she looked in a mirror.
- Choose two colors that bring the person to mind.
- Choose one non-human metaphor describing the person.
- Write one line of dialogue that conveys the way the person speaks.
The most important advice he gives aspiring songwriters is to write what you know or what you’ve experienced. "Use reality as the springboard to whatever you’re writing about," Paul said. Paul also says that being a successful songwriter is like being a journalist who writes about what he sees and knows, the times people are living in and the things people are facing today. "The journalist looks out the window and writes about what is really happening." "I make sure it’s real. I don’t want to fictionalize about things I haven’t witnessed."
In her review for the Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange, Roberta Schwartz said, "Ellis Paul is one of the best singer/songwriters of his generation. And for many of us he is the face of contemporary folk music—few are as smart, as literate and as poetic as Paul. He has spun his story songs for nearly twenty years now, and has eleven studio recordings (with an additional two early recordings on cassette—now available on CD) to his credit. I cannot think of another artist on the acoustic music scene who is better-loved by fans, or more respected by his contemporaries."
Discography
Year Title Record Label 2006 Essentials Rounder 2005 Live at Club Passim Black Wolf 2005 American Jukebox Fables Rounder 2003 Side of the Road (with Vance Gilbert) Rounder 2002 The Speed of Trees Rounder 2001 Sweet Mistakes Co-Op Pop 2000 Live Rounder 1998 Translucent Soul Rounder 1995 A Carnival of Voices Rounder 1994 Stories Black Wolf; re-released Rounder 1993 Say Something Black Wolf 1989 Urban Folk Songs Black Wolf 1989 Am I Home Black Wolf
Awards and recognition
(See the official Ellis Paul Biography.)
- 2004 - 13th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Male Singer-Songwriter
- 2002 - 12th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Singer-Songwriter Album for Sweet Mistakes
- 2001 - 11th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Male Singer-Songwriter
- 1999 - 10th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Male Vocalist – Indie Label
- 1999 - 9th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Singer/Songwriter for “Take Me Down”
- 1999 - 8th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Acoustic Folk Album for Translucent Soul
- 1997 - 7th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Contemporary Folk Act
- 1996 - 6th Boston Music Award for Rising Star
- 1996 - 5th Boston Music Award for Outstanding Contemporary Folk Act
- 1995 - 4th Boston Music Award for Folk/Acoustic Album of the Year for Stories
- 1995 - 3rd Boston Music Award for Outstanding Local Male Vocalist
- 1994 - Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Competition winner
- 1993 - 2nd Boston Music Award for Outstanding Song of the Year – Indie Label for “Conversation With a Ghost”
- 1992 - 1st Boston Music Award for Outstanding New Folk/Acoustic Act
- 1991 - Boston Acoustic Underground Award
Further reading/listening
Books
- 2003 - Kerouac, Jack. Doctor Sax and the Great World Snake, Mint Publishers, ISBN 0972973303. (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 0972027017. (Prominently features Ellis Paul.)
- 2002 - Paul, Ellis. Notes From the Road, Boston: Black Wolf Press, ISBN 0972027009. (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 0299178005. (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 0312200579. (Includes an entry for Ellis Paul.)
Magazines
(See the Ellis Paul Archives for a more comprehensive listing.)
- 2006 - Perricone, Mike. gallery: ellis paul. Did Galileo Pray? Symmetry: Dimensions of Particle Physics, Jun/Jul 2006, p. 28-9. Retrieved Feb. 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. Poet’s Pulse: Ellis Paul Dirty Linen, Oct/Nov 1998, p. 14-5. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2007.
- 1996 - Fagan, Neil. Artist spotlight: Ellis Paul. Performing Songwriter, Jan/Feb 1996, p. 30-1.
Miscellany
- 2004 - "Inside the BC Studio: A Conversation with Ellis Paul". Video interview at Boston College with Scott Alarik as part of the Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award weekend festivities. April 30, 2004.
- 1999 - Ellis Paul on The Milennium Stage of the Kennedy Center Video performance in Washington, DC. June 22, 1999.
References
- Alarik, Scott. Sound choice. Boston Globe, April 24, 1998.
- Ellis Paul biography EllisPaul.com. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- Gerwetz, Daniel. Passim hosts balladeer. The Boston Herald, Friday, February 19, 1993.
- Wood, Arthur. "Maine native Paul now a national name in Folk music". FolkWax E-zine. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2007. (Free with registration.)
- ^ Hughes, Troy. A Conversation with Ellis Paul for Writer's Write, June 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
- Healy, Benjamin. "For a song: Ellis Paul's six-step program." Boston College Magazine, Summer, 2004, p. 3-4. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- Wood, Arthur. Ellis Paul. Kerrville Kronikle, #8. 1996.
- Gerwetz, 1993.
- Stambler, Irwin and Stambler, Lyndon. Folk and Blues: The Encyclopedia. St. Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 0-312-20057-9.
- Gerwetz, 1993.
- Wood, 1996.
- Gewertz, 1993.
- Wood, 1996.
- Wood, Arthur. "Maine native Paul now a national name in Folk music". FolkWax E-zine. Retrieved Feb. 17, 2007.
- Barber, Mary. "Getting good mileage out of music: Ellis Paul's tour includes stop in Fort Atkinson". The Janesville Gazette (Wisconsin), April 8, 1993, p. 1C.
- Wood, 1996.
- Alarik, Scott. Bill Morrissey's "Three R's": Writing, rural and roots. Sing Out! The Folk Song Magazine, Autumn, 2001. (text from highbeam.com with paid membership)
- Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Finalist History brought to you by Happenstance and Doug Coppock. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
- Alarik, Scott. Boston’s "soul" man Ellis Paul crafts a trademark singer-songwriter sound. Boston Globe, December 4, 1998.
- Robicheau, Paul. Ellis Paul’s got Woody Guthrie under his skin. Boston Globe, September 20, 1996.
- Wood, 1996.
- Stambler and Stambler, 2001.
- Casey, Patrick. "Singers participate in Guthrie festival." The Daily Ardmoreite. July 20, 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2007. (Free with registration.)
- Anderman, Joan. Night of gratitude, talent at Passim. Boston Globe, January 18, 1999.
- Wieder, Tamara. On the road again: one long day in the life of Ellis Paul, one of Boston's biggest and most hard-working folksingers. Improper Bostonian, June 14-20, 2000, p.18.
- FolkWax Staff. "Ellis Paul Sneaks by Lucy Kaplansky to Win FolkWax Artist of the Year!" FolkWax E-Zine. Jan. 17, 2002. Retrieved February 16, 2007. (Free with registration.)
- White, Abby. Notes From the Road by Ellis Paul. Performing Songwriter, Vol. 10, Issue #70, June 2003, p. 12-3.
- Hubstuff Staff. "Ellis Paul: The Speed of Trees". Hubstuff: What's Going on in Lubbock (Lubbock, TX.), June 27, 2003, p. 9. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- Behe, Rege. "The Spirit of Woody Guthrie lives on through modern songwriter." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, November 1, 2002. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- Conner, Thomas. "Guthrie folk festival "matures"." Tulsa World, July 15, 2002. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- Propaganda Media Group, Inc. Ribbon of Highway - Endless Skyway: Concert in the Spirit of Woody Guthrie. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- Ribbon of Highway website Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- Sun-Times Staff. Woody's pastures of plenty. Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 29, 2003. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
- Martinez, Rebekah.Tribute to Woody Guthrie Tour makes a stop in Conroe Feb. 16, The Courier, (Conroe, TX.), Feb. 7, 2003. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
- 15th Annual Folk Alliance Conference: Nashville Sings Woody. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- Eshleman, Annette C. Ellis Paul. 3000 Miles. Dirty Linen, August/September 2003, p. 102.
- Durcholz, Daniel. Ellis Paul and Vance Gilbert: Side of the Road. No Depression. #48, Nov-Dec 2003, p. 147-8.
- Kocher, Chris. Folkie Paul’s new path takes him to Oxford. Press & Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, NY), May 11, 2006.
- Wood, Arthur. "FolkWax Review of Ellis Paul Essentials: A Stunning Place." FolkWax E-Zine. October 26, 2006. (Free with registration.)
- Soroff, Jonathan. Soroff on Ellis Paul. Improper Bostonian. April 6-19, 2005, p. 16.
- Schwartz, Roberta. FAME review of Ellis Paul Live. Folk and Music Exchange, 2000. Retrieved January 13, 2007.
- Alarik, December 4, 1998.
- Conner, Thomas. "Wandering spirit: Ellis Paul hangs onto the essence of Woody Guthrie’s music and ideals." Tulsa World, July 14, 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2007.
- Alarik, December 4, 1998.
- Stambler and Stambler, 2001.
- Catalano, Debbie. Ellis Paul: Say Something (review). New England Performer Magazine, March 1993.
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