Ellis Paul on Songwriting and Musical Journalism

A conversation with Ellis Paul:  Second of a two part series

His pleasing melodies and thoughtful lyrics have been recognized with no fewer than fourteen Boston Music Awards.  His songs have been widely featured on television and in film.  We asked Ellis Paul to share insights into his highly successful songwriting.

What is your process for songwriting?

I write constantly – on a daily basis.  I write and I rewrite; songs often undergo three or four edits before they’re ready to be published or performed.  Sometimes I’ll send songs to other musicians for review.  I have a string of songwriters whose opinions I value. 

When Stephen King writes a novel, he sends the chapters to an editor.  The finished book is the result of both the writing and the editing process.  Songwriters today somehow don’t believe that their work needs editing, but it’s an important part of producing a good song.

Your lyrics are socially aware, but not confrontational.  Is that a choice?

The idea is to make the listener a voyeur, as if they are looking through a window.  If the songwriter preaches, then the listener looks at the writer and not the song.  I prefer to allow the scene to unfurl without manipulating the listener.  Then I can just be the journalist who tells a story, and the listener becomes my cowriter.  They take their own meaning from the story.

Is the goal of your songwriting to educate, to inform, or to provide an escape?

I tend to gravitate toward songs that are information based, that can help the listener understand the subject in a better way.  I think that the emotional content is lost if the topic is approached in a moral way.

Something has to trigger the impulse to write.  I wrote “Hurricane Angel” a few years after the Katrina disaster when I read the account of refugees sleeping on the floor of an abandoned New Orleans warehouse. 

Just before Christmas I had been writing a song that ties Mary to modern mothers.  It’s a kind of time lapse photograph of life, and of mothers’ sacrifices over the years as their children grow.

How has your songwriting style changed through the years?

In the early years, I took a more academic approach to songwriting.  The songs were wordier.  Now my songs are more conversational; they have an easier flow. 

I collaborated with Kristian Bush (of the country duo Sugarland) for several songs on my most recent album, “The Day After Everything Changed”.  Working with a pop writer brought a less heady feel and a lighter touch to the music.

The collaboration seems to have worked; up to eight of my songs from that album will be heard in the new Farrelly brothers movie “Hall Pass”, due to be released later this month.

Which of your songs are your personal favorites?

Umm.  I’d have to say that some of my favorites are “Maria’s Beautiful Mess”, “Take All the Sky You Need”, and from the new album, “Rose Tattoo” and “Dragonfly”.

But some of the songs are just cathartic to play, and some are like cotton candy.

If so, we’ve developed a newfound appreciation for that carnival confection.  More, please.

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Many thanks to Ellis Paul and his management for allowing us the opportunity to chat.

For more on Ellis Paul, Including his tour schedule: http://www.ellispaul.com/

To purchase “The Day After Everything Changed”: http://amzn.to/eFP03w

Featured photograph of Ellis Paul by Louise/4tay

Ellis Paul: Paying out musical dividends

Black & white photograph of musician Ellis Paul kindly provided by macpolski; color photograph graciously shared by Louise/4tay

When singer/songwriter Ellis Paul took the stage last Saturday night, he was not alone.  He brought with him that sense of calm and confidence that comes from years of experience.  His ninety minute set reflected that quiet confidence, offering a rare and pleasing blend of melody and personality that left the audience lingering well after the music had ended, hoping for more.

His original brand of music has a lyrical quality with a sound grounded in folk, but spiced with a country/pop flavor.  It’s a combination that has won regional and national accolades.  Most recently, Paul has been asked to collaborate on the film “Hall Pass” (starring Owen Wilson and slated for a February 2011 release).  Up to eight songs from the singer’s 2010 album “The Day after Everything Changed” will be featured in the soundtrack.

Paul had a humorous take on this collaboration for the Saturday night audience.  “Some of you know that I’ve had a couple of songs in movies over the years, most of them in Farrelly brothers films.  They just called me and asked me to send the new record to them.  Then they called me back, and they said, can you send another copy of the record, but this time….could you take the vocals out? And I said sure, can you send me your next movie without the actors?”

Fortunately, the vocals were left in for the November 20 show.  Paul has a clear and expressive voice with a faint breathy quality that lends character; his range was showcased nicely against a spare instrumental background consisting of his own guitar, harmonica, or piano play.  Limited back-up vocals were provided by a willing audience.

Both setlist and requested songs were played, ranging from the socially relevant “Hurricane Angel” to the romantic “Rose Tattoo” and the whimsical “Dragonfly”.  Most remarkable were the lyrics to these songs, capable of evoking vivid imagery, and in some cases an emotional response.

Listen to “Hurricane Angel”, the personal and poignant story of post Katrina Louisiana.  “Mr. President, you can’t afford to lie, cause I can’t afford to pay.  Hurricane Angel I’m lifting my eyes over Baton Rouge.  Lift up your wings, let me hear your voice singing, can your turn these black skies to blue again?”

“The Lights of Vegas” is one of several songs on the new album co-written by Kristian Bush, one-half of the smash country duo Sugarland and a longtime Ellis Paul friend.  This is the story of a man who leaves all behind to invest his last dollar in the slots, looking for that one last chance before the sun rises.  The following performance clip includes a brief rehearsal segment as the audience learns the song’s simple chorus. Na na na na….

Throughout the evening, brief interludes between songs were filled by stories of the musician’s life on the road, and these were punctuated by the same dry and intelligent wit that characterizes Paul’s songwriting.

It was a ninety minute set that felt like twenty, skillfully paced and delivered.  As a first introduction to singer/songwriter Ellis Paul, this New Jersey evening proved a complete success.  The show was well worth the investment of time and travel, and one that paid musical dividends.

For more on singer/songwriter Ellis Paul: http://www.ellispaul.com/

For a look at creative marketing & a free download of the title track from “The Day after Everything Changed”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uepurGa9ZBA&playnext=1&list=PLB37C21823395DB06&index=33