Ellis Paul
Encyclopedia
Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter
and folk
musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine
, Paul 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 helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s. His pop music
songs have appeared in movies and on television, bridging the gap between the modern folk sound and the populist
traditions of Woody Guthrie
and Pete Seeger
.
Having grown 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 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 mic
nights in the Boston area while working with inner-city school children. 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 16 albums and has been the recipient of 14 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.
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 (0.5665604 km²) 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. Paul's mother, the former Marilyn Bonney of Buckfield, Maine
, is a University of Maine
graduate and was an extension agent for northern Aroostook County. She and her husband often worked together on special projects for the service. In the 1960s, Mrs. Plissey produced her own television show "The Aroostook Homemaker" which aired every third week on Presque Isle
television station WAGM-TV
.
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.
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:
The open mic 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 at the COMPASS school as a teacher
and social worker with inner city school children performing at open mics 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.
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
several times, Morrissey became one of Paul’s earliest mentors. Morrissey introduced Paul to the traditional 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 traditional 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. 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 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
. DiFranco's record label, Righteous Babe
, released a compilation of the event, Til We Outnumber 'Em, in 2000.
Jerry Marotta
, a drummer who had worked with Peter Gabriel
, produced Paul's 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 asked to return to folk venues and festivals around the country including the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
, the Kerrville Folk Festival
and the Newport Folk Festival
. 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
.
At the end of the decade, 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".
, 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.
Paul often recites original poetry for his audiences. Some of those poems can be found in Notes from the Road, a collection of Paul's original poems, lyrics, and journal entries published by Black Wolf Press 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 commercial 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 became friends with Nora Guthrie. 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 Rafael
, 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 Auditorium
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".
. 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 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." In his review for The Washington Post, Mike Joyce said "
Essentials, a career-spanning double CD from veteran singer-songwriter Ellis Paul, has a few newly produced, John Jennings
-helmed tracks of previously recorded tunes that help set this compilation apart from most retrospectives." In her review for Sing Out!
, Kari Estren said "Paul's Essentials is just that and a must for your folk collection."
In January 2008, Paul released a children's and family record entitled The Dragonfly Races. Inspired after the birth of his second daughter, Paul said that he wanted to teach his children about the world through the use of music. The songs are meant to be enjoyed by both children and adults, and Paul said "I wanted my kids to hear music with social commentary and some fantasy involved." Scott Alarik said "Paul sings movingly about what really worries new parents, and turns lazy dragonflies, gentle monsters, and resilient roses into useful metaphors for world peace, the power of faith, and the delights of a sleepy day." In April 2008 the Parents' Choice Foundation awarded The Dragonfly Races a Silver Medallion. The Parents' Choice Award
s program honors the best material for children in these categories: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and websites.
In 2009, country musician Jack Ingram
chose to record a song written by Paul. According to CMT
, Paul's "The World Ain't Slowing Down", may be the song that takes Ingram to the "next level". Ingram says "It'll be fun for me to expose people to a fantastic song from an artist who's had a 20-year career of being a very successful folk artist."
that includes a duet on the track, "Paper Dolls", 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." 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."
Five concerts commemorating Paul's 20th anniversary in the music business took place at Boston's Club Passim the weekend of July 9–10, 2010. Paul performed his eight solo albums in chronological order over four shows. In addition, he also performed a children's concert. The Mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, proclaimed July 9, 2010 as Ellis Paul Day in the City of Boston.
WUMB announced that its listeners voted The Day After Everything Changed one of the Top 10 CDs of 2010.
’s "The Only Way" set a theme. A review in No Depression magazine said this about Paul and Gilbert’s choice of songs:
Sugarland's first holiday album, Gold and Green
released on October 13, 2009 includes "City of Silver Dreams" and "Little Wood Guitar," co-written by Paul and Kristian Bush
. In his review of the album, Matt Bjorke wrote, "City of Silver Dreams" could actually find itself a seminal holiday song like Joni Mitchell’s "River" as it tells a wonderfully soft and melodic story of New York City and the beauty of a new romance within the context of Christmas."
, 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. In an interview with Paul Freeman for the East Bay Daily News, Paul commented on how he hopes audience members relate to his songs, "Each song is supposed to be like a little three-dimensional world. I'm hoping to invite them in, have them make out the details and the reasons for being there, and apply them to their own lives. But I'm also hoping to entertain them."
After graduating from Boston College, Paul worked as a case worker at an inner city school in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, 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. 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."
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 Conner 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:
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." Paul states that over the years he's learned the value of simplicity in writing. He's learned that he can say more when he writes more simply and direct. "It's almost as if you can be complex and intricate by adopting a shorter, less complicated structure." "I'm not doing rocket science -- I'm a storyteller," he said. "I hope to inspire people to think and feel and to walk out with more than they came in with."
Paul continues playing close to 200 dates annually on the folk circuit. His 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. When asked if he would rather play the 19,600-seat Fleet Theater or the 900-seat Somerville Theater – 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."
In a 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."
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine
Aroostook County, Maine
Aroostook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 71,870. In land area, it is the largest county in the state and the largest U.S. county east of the Mississippi River. Its seat is Houlton...
, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s. His pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
songs have appeared in movies and on television, bridging the gap between the modern folk sound and the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
traditions of Woody Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
and Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
.
Having grown up in a small town in Maine, Paul attended Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
on a track scholarship where he majored in English. An athletic injury sustained during his junior year 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 mic
Open mike
An open mike or open mic is a live show where audience members may perform at the microphone. Usually, the performers sign up in advance for a time slot with the host or master of ceremonies. These events can be focused on poetry and the spoken word, music, comedy, and the open format of open...
nights in the Boston area while working with inner-city school children. Paul's growing popularity at Boston coffeehouses, coupled with winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition and national exposure on a Windham Hill Records
Windham Hill Records
Windham Hill Records is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment specializing in Acoustic, New Age and Folk music. Originally founded in 1976 as an Independent record label by guitarist and carpenter William Ackerman and his then-wife Anne Robinson, Windham Hill was a successful and well-respected...
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 16 albums and has been the recipient of 14 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
Fort Kent, Maine
Fort Kent is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,097 in the 2010 census. Fort Kent is home to an Olympic biathlete training center, an annual CAN-AM dogsled race, and the Fort Kent Blockhouse, built in reaction to the Aroostook War and in modern times designated...
, 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 (0.5665604 km²) 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. Paul's mother, the former Marilyn Bonney of Buckfield, Maine
Buckfield, Maine
Buckfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Buckfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England City and Town Area. It is a member of Maine School Administrative District 39 along with nearby Hartford and Sumner...
, is a University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
graduate and was an extension agent for northern Aroostook County. She and her husband often worked together on special projects for the service. In the 1960s, Mrs. Plissey produced her own television show "The Aroostook Homemaker" which aired every third week on Presque Isle
Presque Isle
Presque Isle may refer to:Administrative subdivisions* Presque Isle County, Michigan* Presque Isle Township, Michigan* Presque Isle, Maine, a city** Presque Isle Air Force Base, former base* Presque Isle, Wisconsin, a town...
television station WAGM-TV
WAGM-TV
WAGM-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northern Maine, United States and Western New Brunswick, Canada. Licensed to Presque Isle, Maine, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 8 from a transmitter on the northern section of Mars Hill Mountain among the wind...
.
While attending high school in Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle, Maine
Presque Isle is the commercial center and largest city in the sparsely populated Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,692 at the 2010 census...
, Paul listened to Top-40 radio and participated in track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
. He played trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
in the school's stage band where he was introduced to the big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
music of Stan Kenton
Stan Kenton
Stanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
and Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson
Maynard Ferguson was a Canadian jazz musician and bandleader. He came to prominence playing in Stan Kenton's orchestra, before forming his own band in 1957...
. He excelled in track, becoming the Maine State champion in five-kilometer distance running, a feat that garnered several scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
offers, including an offer from Boston College. Having graduated high school with the class of 1983, Paul relocated to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, leaving small-town rural life behind. In an interview with Daniel Gewertz of the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
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
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
singing "The House of the Rising Sun
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
". 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. His best time in the 10,000 meters (30:18:50) remains the fourth best men's outdoor record in Boston College history. When a knee injury in his junior year sidelined him from athletics, Paul picked up an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
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
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
and James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
; 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 mics 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 mic circuit in the Boston area included The Nameless Coffeehouse
Nameless Coffeehouse
The Nameless Coffeehouse, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, opened in 1967 and is now New England's oldest all-volunteer coffeehouse. Located in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church in Harvard Square, the Nameless currently presents a six-concert schedule showcasing acoustic music and comedy...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Westborough
Westborough, Massachusetts
Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,272 at the 2010 census. The town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed by a five member elected Board of Selectmen whose duties include licensing, appointing various...
’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
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
, Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
, Dar Williams
Dar Williams
Dar Williams is an American singer-songwriter specializing in pop folk.She is a frequent performer at folk festivals and has toured with such artists as Mary Chapin Carpenter, Patty Griffin, Ani DiFranco, The Nields, Shawn Colvin, Girlyman, Joan Baez, and Catie Curtis.-Biography:Williams was born...
and Vance Gilbert
Vance Gilbert
Vance Gilbert is an American folk singer/songwriter. He started out as a jazz singer, then switched to folk music, performing on the open mike circuit in Boston. His career took off when he toured with Shawn Colvin. He has recorded eight albums, including Side of the Road, a duo album with friend...
. In 1989 he won the Nameless Coffeehouse’s New Songwriter Award. Paul played Cambridge's Club Passim
Club Passim
Club Passim is a folk music club in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was opened by Joyce Kalina and Paula Kelley in 1958, when it was known as Club 47 , and changed its name to simply Passim in 1969...
, a venue that would become his "home" venue, for the first time when he opened for John Gorka
John Gorka
John Gorka is a contemporary American folk musician. In 1991, Rolling Stone magazine called him "the preeminent male singer-songwriter of what has been dubbed the New Folk Movement."-Biography:...
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
Jim Infantino
Jim Infantino is an American singer-songwriter and leader of the band Jim's Big Ego, as well as being a graphic designer, web designer, poet, and stalwart of the Boston folk scene. He majored in philosophy at Haverford College and lives in Somerville, Massachusetts...
, 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 at the COMPASS school as a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and social worker with inner city school children performing at open mics 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, which had previously released the LegacyLegacy: A Collection of New Folk Music
- Legacy II: A Collection of Singer-songwriters :The second volume was released several years after the first. As Will Ackerman's liner notes explain:...
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 Larkin
Patty Larkin is a Boston-based singer-songwriter. redefines the boundaries of folk-urban pop music with her inventive guitar wizardry and uncompromising vocals and lyrics...
, Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and musician. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, and the Dixie Chicks, who have played with...
, Greg Brown, Cheryl Wheeler
Cheryl Wheeler
Cheryl Wheeler is an American singer-songwriter of contemporary folk music, based in New England. To date, she has recorded several folk albums, and has toured extensively throughout the United States....
and several others. Legacy II was Paul’s first national exposure.
After Paul opened for Bill Morrissey
Bill Morrissey
Bill Morrissey was an American folk singer/songwriter from New Hampshire. Many of his songs reflect the harsh realities of life in crumbling New England mill towns.-Career:Morrissey was born in Hartford, Connecticut...
several times, Morrissey became one of Paul’s earliest mentors. Morrissey introduced Paul to the traditional songwriting of Woody Guthrie and Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
, as well as songwriters of the 60s, such as Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
. In a 2001 interview Scott Alarik, Morrissey said that Paul jumped into listening to traditional 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. Fiddler Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham
Johnny Cunningham was a Scottish folk musician. He was a founding member of Silly Wizard, as well as a member of Relativity, The Raindogs, and Nightnoise. Throughout his career, Cunningham was also a fiddler, composer and producer. His younger brother, Phil Cunningham, is a multi-instrumentalist...
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
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
, winning the Kerrville New Folk award.
Paul became a 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
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in Cleveland, Ohio. The 10-day celebration, held in September 1996, included other notable musicians such as Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
, Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, The Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
and Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
. DiFranco's record label, Righteous Babe
Righteous Babe Records
Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label. It was created by progressive folksinger Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company.-History:...
, released a compilation of the event, Til We Outnumber 'Em, in 2000.
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta
Jerry Marotta is a drummer currently residing in Woodstock, New York. He is the brother of Rick Marotta, who is also a well-known drummer and composer....
, a drummer who had worked with Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, produced Paul's third CD release A Carnival of Voices which was released on Rounder in 1996. Marotta brought in bassist Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
, 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
World Cafe
World Cafe is a two-hour long, nationally syndicated music radio program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station licensed to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The program began in 1991 and was originally distributed by Public Radio...
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 asked to return to folk venues and festivals around the country including the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival and dance festival formerly held at the Long Hill Farm in Hillsdale, New York, USA. In 2006, the event moved to nearby Dodds Farm, just off Rt. 22, five miles north of the Rt. 22/Rt. 23 intersection in Hillsdale, on...
, the Kerrville Folk Festival
Kerrville Folk Festival
The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
and the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
. 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
Woody Guthrie Folk Festival
The Woody Guthrie Folk Festival is held annually in mid-July to commemorate the life and music of Woody Guthrie. The festival is held on the weekend closest to July 14 - the date of Guthrie's birth - in Guthrie's hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma. Daytime main stage performances are held indoors at the...
was held in Woody’s hometown of Okemah, Oklahoma
Okemah, Oklahoma
Okemah is a city in Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Okfuskee County. It is the birthplace of folk music legend Woody Guthrie. Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, a federally recognized Muscogee Indian tribe, is headquartered in Okemah...
. 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
Mount of Olives
The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge in East Jerusalem with three peaks running from north to south. The highest, at-Tur, rises to 818 meters . It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes...
". 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
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
.
At the end of the decade, Paul was invited to perform at Club Passim's 40th anniversary show. The event took place on January 16, 1999 at the Sanders Theater
Sanders Theater
Sanders Theatre or Sanders Theater is the premiere lecture and concert hall at Harvard University. It is internationally known for its superior acoustics, which in New England are only surpassed by Jordan Hall, Mechanics Hall, Worcester, and Boston Symphony Hall.-History:Plans for the theater...
in Cambridge. The four-hour sold-out concert also included Patty Larkin, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, The Nields
The Nields
The Nields was a folk-rock band that performed from 1991 to 2001. It toured much of the United States, performing with artists such as Dar Williams, Moxy Früvous, and Catie Curtis and appeared at many folk festivals...
, 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
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 ParkFenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
, and having his song "The World Ain’t Slowing Down" chosen for the theme song in the Farrelly brothers
Farrelly brothers
Peter John Farrelly and Robert Leo "Bobby" Farrelly, Jr. , professionally known as the Farrelly Brothers are screenwriters and directors of ten comedy films, including There's Something About Mary; Dumb and Dumber; Kingpin; Hall Pass; Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal; Stuck on You; Osmosis Jones;...
movie Me, Myself and Irene
Me, Myself and Irene
Me, Myself & Irene is a 2000 American comedy film directed by the Farrelly Brothers, and starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Chris Cooper, Robert Forster, Richard Jenkins, Daniel Greene, Anthony Anderson, Jerod Mixon, and Mongo Brownlee co-star...
starring Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
and Renée Zellweger
Renée Zellweger
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire , and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary ...
. 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
Shallow Hal
Shallow Hal is a 2001 romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Black, and Jason Alexander. It was directed by the Farrelly Brothers and filmed in and around Charlotte, North Carolina as well as Sterling and Princeton, Massachusetts at Wachusett Mountain.- Plot :Hal Larson is a...
starring Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
and Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
. 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.
Paul often recites original poetry for his audiences. Some of those poems can be found in Notes from the Road, a collection of Paul's original poems, lyrics, and journal entries published by Black Wolf Press 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 commercial 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 became friends with Nora Guthrie. Nora Guthrie is executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
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
Ed (TV series)
Ed is an NBC television program co-produced by David Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, NBC Productions, and Viacom Productions that aired from 2000 to 2004....
featured Paul's “If You Break Down”.
Jimmy LaFave
Jimmy LaFave is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician born in Wills Point, Texas, a small farming community located near Dallas. At a young age, LaFave's family moved to the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, Texas where he attended junior high and high school. By the early teens LaFave was...
, 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
Slaid Cleaves
Slaid Cleaves is a singer-songwriter born in Washington, D.C. and raised in South Berwick, Maine and Round Pond, Maine. An alumnus of Tufts University, where he majored in English and philosophy, Cleaves lives in Austin, Texas....
, Eliza Gilkyson
Eliza Gilkyson
Eliza Gilkyson is an Austin, Texas-based folk musician. She is the daughter of songwriter and folk musician Terry Gilkyson and Jane Gilkyson. She is the sister of guitarist Tony Gilkyson, who played with the Los Angeles-based bands Lone Justice and X...
, Joel Rafael
Joel Rafael
Joel Rafael is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician from San Diego County, California.Described as a natural interpreter of Woody Guthrie's lyrics and music, Woodyboye, Rafael's second volume to celebrate the songs of Woody Guthrie, was released on Appleseed in 2005. The first volume,...
, husband-wife duo Sarah Lee Guthrie
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion are a musical duo....
(Woody Guthrie's granddaughter) and Johnny Irion
Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion
Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion are a musical duo....
, Michael Fracasso
Michael Fracasso
Michael Fracasso is a singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. His music spans country and rock as he sings in a high tenor that evokes the "high lonesome" sound of early country....
, and The Burns Sisters
The Burns Sisters
Folk, pop and rock are given a Celtic slant by Ithaca, New York-based vocalists the Burns Sisters. Accompanied by Rich DePaolo's guitar, Eric Aceto's fiddle and their own guitar and mandolin, the three sisters—Annie, Marie and Jeannie—harmonize with heartfelt spirit...
. 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 Auditorium
Ryman Auditorium
The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
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
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
, Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
, Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
, Guy Clark
Guy Clark
Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....
, Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer and performer.-Life and career:Elliot Charles Adnopoz was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish parents in 1931. Elliott grew up inspired by the rodeos at Madison Square Garden, and wanted to be a cowboy...
, Janis Ian
Janis Ian
Janis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...
, and others.
Paul's 3000 Miles DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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
Susan Werner
Susan Werner is an American singer-songwriter. Much of Werner's work has been in the contemporary folk genre.-Career:Born and raised near Manchester, Iowa, Werner became interested in music at a young age and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in voice at the University of Iowa. In 1987, she...
. 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".
Career: 2004–2009
On May 1, 2004 Paul was the recipient of the 2nd annual Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award for Artistic Achievement. The award was presented as part of the sixth annual Boston College Arts Festival. His appearances at the festival also included an "Inside the BC Studio" interview with music writer Scott Alarik, a master class on songwriting, and a concert. In 2004 Paul was also 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 electronicaElectronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
. 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 playing to sold-out shows in Paris, France; Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...
, England; Cheltenham, England and Wasserburg
Wasserburg
-Locations:* Krausnick-Groß Wasserburg, a municipality in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in Brandenburg* Wasserburg am Inn, Bavaria* Wasserburg am Inn , former district in Oberbayern* Wasserburg am Bodensee, Bavaria-Other:...
, 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
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
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." In his review for The Washington Post, Mike Joyce said "
Essentials, a career-spanning double CD from veteran singer-songwriter Ellis Paul, has a few newly produced, John Jennings
John Jennings (musician)
John Jennings is an American musician: a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer.Among his producer work are 8 albums by Mary Chapin Carpenter, as well as releases by Beausoleil, John Gorka, and Janis Ian...
-helmed tracks of previously recorded tunes that help set this compilation apart from most retrospectives." In her review for Sing Out!
Sing Out!
Sing Out! is a quarterly journal of folk music and folk songs that has been published since May 1950.-Background:Sing Out! is the primary publication of the tax exempt, not-for-profit, educational corporation of the same name...
, Kari Estren said "Paul's Essentials is just that and a must for your folk collection."
Parents' Choice Award
The Parents' Choice Award is an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It is considered a "prestigious" award among children's products, and has been...
s program honors the best material for children in these categories: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and websites.
In 2009, country musician Jack Ingram
Jack Ingram
Jack Owen Ingram is an American Texas Country artist signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eight studio albums, one extended play, six live albums and eighteen singles. Although active since 1992, Ingram did not reach the U.S. country Top 40 until the late...
chose to record a song written by Paul. According to CMT
Country Music Television
Country Music Television, or CMT, is an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming includes music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies of country music stars, game shows, and reality programs...
, Paul's "The World Ain't Slowing Down", may be the song that takes Ingram to the "next level". Ingram says "It'll be fun for me to expose people to a fantastic song from an artist who's had a 20-year career of being a very successful folk artist."
Career: 2010–present
Paul's sixteenth CD, The Day After Everything Changed, was released on January 12, 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. 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. Recorded in Nashville with a guest appearance by Kristian BushKristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush is an American folk rock and country musician. From 1990 to 2001, Kristian was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra...
that includes a duet on the track, "Paper Dolls", 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." 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."
Five concerts commemorating Paul's 20th anniversary in the music business took place at Boston's Club Passim the weekend of July 9–10, 2010. Paul performed his eight solo albums in chronological order over four shows. In addition, he also performed a children's concert. The Mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, proclaimed July 9, 2010 as Ellis Paul Day in the City of Boston.
WUMB announced that its listeners voted The Day After Everything Changed one of the Top 10 CDs of 2010.
Collaborations
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 ErelliMark Erelli
Mark Erelli is an American folk singer/songwriter from Reading, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Massachusetts. Erelli is a 1996 graduate of Bates College, where he majored in Biology, and holds a Master's Degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts...
’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."
Sugarland's first holiday album, Gold and Green
Gold and Green
Gold and Green is the first Christmas album from country music duo Sugarland. The album was released on October 13, 2009 via Mercury Records Nashville...
released on October 13, 2009 includes "City of Silver Dreams" and "Little Wood Guitar," co-written by Paul and Kristian Bush
Kristian Bush
Kristian Merrill Bush is an American folk rock and country musician. From 1990 to 2001, Kristian was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim along with Andrew Hyra...
. In his review of the album, Matt Bjorke wrote, "City of Silver Dreams" could actually find itself a seminal holiday song like Joni Mitchell’s "River" as it tells a wonderfully soft and melodic story of New York City and the beauty of a new romance within the context of Christmas."
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’ WUMBWUMB-FM
WUMB-FM in Boston, Massachusetts) is the radio station of University of Massachusetts Boston. It broadcasts a folk and acoustic mix weekdays and on weekends the station concentrates on traditional folk, Celtic, blues, afropop and world music....
, 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
Melody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
, is intimate and thoughtful but also relevant, often addressing social issues
Social issues
Social issues are controversial issues which relate to people's personal lives and interactions. Social issues are distinguished from economic 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. In an interview with Paul Freeman for the East Bay Daily News, Paul commented on how he hopes audience members relate to his songs, "Each song is supposed to be like a little three-dimensional world. I'm hoping to invite them in, have them make out the details and the reasons for being there, and apply them to their own lives. But I'm also hoping to entertain them."
After graduating from Boston College, Paul worked as a case worker at an inner city school in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, 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. 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."
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
Norman Rockwell
Norman Percevel Rockwell was a 20th-century American painter and illustrator. His works enjoy a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life scenarios he created for The Saturday Evening...
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 Conner 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
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
," 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." Paul states that over the years he's learned the value of simplicity in writing. He's learned that he can say more when he writes more simply and direct. "It's almost as if you can be complex and intricate by adopting a shorter, less complicated structure." "I'm not doing rocket science -- I'm a storyteller," he said. "I hope to inspire people to think and feel and to walk out with more than they came in with."
Paul continues playing close to 200 dates annually on the folk circuit. His 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
Lori McKenna
Lori McKenna is an American folk singer/songwriter. She lives in Stoughton, Massachusetts with her husband and five children.-Early work:...
, David Wilcox
David Wilcox (American musician)
David Patrick Wilcox is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter guitarist. He has been active in the music business since the late 1980s.-Career:...
and Mark Erelli. When asked if he would rather play the 19,600-seat Fleet Theater or the 900-seat Somerville Theater – 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."
In a 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Day After Everything Changed | Black Wolf |
| 2008 | A Summer Night in Georgia - Live at Eddie's Attic | Black Wolf |
| 2008 | The Dragonfly Races | Black Wolf |
| 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 | End Construction |
| 1989 | Am I Home | End Construction |
Awards and recognition
(See the official Ellis Paul Biography.)- 2009 — 14th Boston Music Award for Folk Act of the Year
- 2008 — Parents' Choice Foundation Award for The Dragonfly Races
- 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 FestivalKerrville Folk FestivalThe Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...
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
Books
- 2003 — Kerouac, Jack. Doctor Sax and the Great World SnakeDoctor SaxDoctor Sax is a novel by Jack Kerouac published in 1959. Kerouac wrote it in 1952 while living with William S. Burroughs in Mexico City.-Plot summary:...
, 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 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 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. Poet’s Pulse: Ellis Paul 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 — Never Not Funny: The Jimmy Pardo Podcast Video of Ellis Paul appearing on Never Not Funny hosted by Jimmy Pardo. February 2, 2011.
- 2007 — Ellis Paul Performs on Fox25. Video of Paul performing three songs from The Dragonfly Races recorded at the Fox25 studio in Boston. Nov. 16, 2007.
- 2007 — Studio Concert Series: Ellis Paul. Video interview/performance recorded at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberley, Texas.
May 10, 2007. - 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 Millennium Stage of the Kennedy Center Video performance in Washington, DC. June 22, 1999.