Meet Mr. Ellis Paul,
folk singer

Kids Stuff
By William Feldman

Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes an interview with internationally acclaimed folk singer Ellis Paul.
Ellis Paul was born Jan. 14, 1965, in Fort Kent, Maine, which is in the northern part of the state. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Boston College, where he graduated in 1987. He is a natural born musician, as he does not have any specific formal training in music.
Ellis believes that his brother Steve, who is six years older than him, had the greatest influence on him as a child.
"I inherited his clothes, his mannerisms and his taste in music," he said.
Ellis feels that being from a really small town in Maine made him curious about the world.
"There was nothing holding me back. I think the smaller the town, the bigger the dreamer. It probably influenced my decision to go for whatever I wanted in my life," Ellis said.
Ellis became interested in music after he was injured as a track athlete.
"I was running at the time. I was running eighty to ninety miles a week. I was training too hard and my knee started having some problems," he explained. "I needed to have surgery to repair it. It changed my life in that I had to take a year off from playing and it was great. I had a chance to explore music for the very first time."
I wanted to know exactly what folk music is.
Ellis said it’s a pretty broad term these days. To him, it is writing music that is sort of a reflection of the world. It isn’t written just for some sort of commercial gain.
"You are not just writing songs to make money, you are trying to capture a story," he said. "You are being like a journalist in many ways, even if you are writing a fictional piece of music."
Ellis noted Woody Guthrie’s impact in the folk chain: the biggest link. He said Guthrie definitely kept that philosophy about writing about what you witness and about writing about what you know and trying to make the world a better place with your songs.
"Not trying to become a millionaire off of it," Ellis said. "That had a lot of impact on me. His songs are still some of my favorites to listen to."
Other major musical influences on his career include Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Neil Young and Van Morrison.
Ellis’ new family CD Dragonfly Races made its debut on Jan. 8. I read that this is an album of nature and the senses written for Ellis’ own kids and what he wishes for them in the world.
The songs are intended to be nice and playful yet astute (good SAT word) and thoughtful. Guest artists that perform with Ellis on this CD include: Antje Duvekot, Flynn, Vance Gilbert and Billy Jonas.
Songs on the CD: Little Red Rose is an acapella, which is about making the world a more peaceful beautiful place; Sea Glass follows the path of a piece of sea glass across the globe; Pinwheel is about a boy who is lifted around the Earth by a gust of wind and the spinning blades of a pinwheel; Nine Months to Fix the World is about his daughter in utero and details his thoughts on the troubling issues of society and promises that the father is trying desperately to fix things before his child arrives; and of course, The Dragonfly Races is about Dusty, a dragonfly who is a little lazy and a reluctant participant in a race that takes place in the meadow beneath the light of the moon.
The lyrics encourage involvement and goal-setting, which is a recurring theme in many of the pieces. Other songs include Because It’s There; Abiola; Road Trip; The Bed Song; The Star Inside the Apple; I Like to Swing; The Million Chameleon March; Months to Fix This World; and I Lost a Day to the Rain.
Recently, on my way home from school, I had a chance to listen to the entire CD. I agree with Ellis that the musical composition has a great uplifting beat, which expresses his emotions through rhythm as well as from his words. In my opinion, his songs can be compared to Simon & Garfunkel’s. This will be enjoyable for all ages.
Ellis’ inspiration comes from his two girls, Ella, age 3 and Sofi, almost 1. He wants his kids to hear music with social commentary, fantasy music and with a fresh cultural insight like his song Wabi-Sabi.
"It encourages them to value the things I want them to care about most," he said.
In case readers are curious, Waba-Sabi is a Japanese term that means impermanent and beautiful at the same time. So, it is something that is frail, but has some practical value.
I was told that the colorful digi-pack release includes a 24-page picture book with beautiful illustrations sketched and painted by Ellis. Dragonfly Races is different for him than his prior work.
"The most rewarding part was doing the artwork. The songs were really fun as well, but the artwork was a first for me," he said, adding that the thought process to create and write a song varies from case to case.
"I have taken a few years to write some songs, and there have been a few that have come in five minutes, like God’s Promise (the words he wrote to Woody Guthrie’s song). But for the most part, it takes a couple of weeks," Ellis said.
Which does he prefer — writing or performing?
"I think I like the finishing of the song, which is the most rewarding part," he said. "When you get in front of the audience, you get to find out whether they really work or not. But, I think I really like the writing process the best of all."
Also Ellis was a social worker. He felt that this experience made him really look at the causes of things in society.
"Instead of looking at someone who is poor and in jail, I end up looking at why he is poor and why he is in jail. I am not so quick to judge people based on who they are or what their actions are. It has been helpful in forming my perspective of being a person," he said.
What is it like when a song is selected for a popular movie?
"It feels great," he said. "I like going to the mailbox and getting the check in the mail, but it is a rare thing and it doesn’t happen to me a lot, so I really feel blessed when it does."
I wondered if Ellis ever worries that he will lose his ability to write music or come up with new ideas.
"Writing and creating is who I am. I don’t think that will ever stop," he assured me.
Ellis is the recipient of 13 Boston Music Awards, second only to multi-platinum winner Aerosmith. The Boston Globe heralds him as a "songwriter’s songwriter." His songs have appeared in films such as Me Myself and Irene and Shallow Hal as well as numerous television productions.
Ellis’ goal is really just to continue to write great music. He noted that while it would be great to win awards such as a Grammy, his focus is on the creation of the music and not the award itself.
In five to 10 years Ellis hopes to be touring less, writing more, writing books and songs, and spending more time with his family.
Ellis is no stranger to Philadelphia — if fact, he just finished performing at the World Cafe on Saturday. The Dragonfly Races is available from http://www.ellispaul.com

* * *

Answer to last week’s: cryptogram:
STUDY STUDY STUDY MAKES A STUDENT HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE

* * *
Here are the winners of my recent soft pretzel contest:
Jessica Boggess, age 11, sixth-grader at First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy; Sarah Boggess, age 7, first-grader at First Philadelphia Charter School for Literacy; Claire Smolow, Castor Gardens; Michelle Martin, Mayfair; Christopher Dimattesa, age 12, Ridgeway School; Ciera Lehrer, age 7, Mcgowen School; Jeremy Lehrer, age 8, Mcgowen School; Andrew Brenner, Oxford Circle, Action Karate school; Michael J. Apice, Archbishop Ryan High School; Karen A. Crawford, Somerton; Harrison Friedman, Philadelphia Academy Charter High School; Barry Itzko, Northeast; Joan Hucke, Castor Gardens; Irna Bruwitz, Northeast.
Reader Sharon Cowley of Virginia also won, but she is generously donating her pretzels to another winner, so I picked Angela Morris, of St. Timothy’s School. ••
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com