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Ellen's
love of music is one of her earliest memories -- it's always been there
for her. She grew up in a family of folk, classical and esoteric music
buffs (with a little rock 'n roll around the edges) who continued to
appreciate music even through the early stages of Ellen's playing violin
and singing along with her brother Steve's clarinet improvisations.
When Steve became a working folksinger, Ellen also picked up the guitar
and formed a group with her junior high singing buddies. Soon she was
performing solo and with different groups in the Southern California
coffee houses of the late Sixties.
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Early on she felt the power of music to move people, as the civil rights movement swept the country. She also found that songwriting was a way to bring focus and clarity to her own observations of the world, inner and outer, as well as a way to express her deeply felt values and passions. (And a darn good form of therapy.) From 1969-1972, she ran a non-profit (intentionally) coffee house in Glendale called The Whole, which provided a stage for many artists including Jackson Browne, MaryMcCaslin, Steve Gillette, Glenn Frey and J.D.Souther. When The Whole closed, Ellen joined her brother Steve in Colorado, where they formed the eclectic, original, country-rock band Tanglefoot with several other Aspen musicians (including songwriter J.D. Martin). Ellen sang and played fiddle, guitar and bass with the band as they toured the country for eight years and recorded an album with legendary producer Paul Rothchild (The Doors, Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt). Tanglefoot finally succumbed to the effects of Disco (hard on live music) and different musical directions within the band and parted amiably (they still gather occasionally, usually around an "eating holiday" or a game of killer croquet). Ellen moved to Sonoma County, California in 1982 and has played clubs, concerts and festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as around North America and internationally. The Dance was Ellen's first solo album (currently cassette only) and was released in 1987 on her own label, KiNote Productions. It was recorded at Radio City Music Hall Studios, and Ellen was joined by a host of musicians from New York's thriving folk music community, including Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky and Rod MacDonald (as well as a few ghosts from the orchestral broadcasting days of Radio City). The music ranges from ballads to bluegrass to country to folk, with always a thread of personal and social conscience running through. Her second album, Invisible Threads, was released in the summer of 1994. This mainly acoustic collection of well-crafted and insightful songs was birthed in southern California in the midst of earthquakes, fires and floods. Still the threads remained strong, thanks in large part to enthusiastic assistance from, once again, brother Steve, and also J.D. Martin, James Lee Stanley and Severin Browne among many others. "Feels Like Home" has been performed and recorded by other artists and may yet become the wedding classic of the new millenium. (Yes!) In December 1998 Ellen released a CD single in response to the worldwide community of people who loved John Denver's music. All of My Skies, written by Steve Stapenhorst, is a musical tribute to and remembrance of John, a longtime friend. Ellen's song Night Sky, also on the CD, was inspired by the comet Hale-Bopp and is a reminder to herself to be here now. She is currently working on a new CD, due out in 2001. Ellen's performances, whether in a small club, a living room or a large concert hall, have a warm intimacy that is both touching and exciting. Her humor, stories and original songs, as well as her honest voice create a satisfying entertainment experience for audiences of all sorts. "I can think of nothing, except maybe a sublime experience in the wild, that is more fulfilling to me than those moments when I get myself out of the way and the music comes through me and touches the people listening, and pretty soon we're connected in this loop that is heaven on earth for me. It's tangible love to me, what Buckminster Fuller called 'metaphysical gravity', binding us together, fully alive." Throughout her life, Ellen has worked in various ways for peace, equal rights and a sustainable, quality future for the planet and its inhabitants. A student of the martial art of aikido ("the way of harmony") for many years, Ellen finds correlations between the arts -- music and aikido -- and uses them both in her work in personal awareness and conflict resolution training. (see Workshops page) Her current interests include writing short stories, spending time with her niece and halting the proliferation of SUVs. "I am a pilgrim and a traveler and I love the journey like I love my home... The journey is my home" ----from the song "Traveler"
Contact/booking
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