Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Ellis Family Band Comes Out of Retirement
My father forwarded this to me recently. I tried to find it online at The Journal-Pioneer, but if it’s still available online, it’s well hidden. Which would explain why the initial e-mail source of this is someone my uncle knows at The Journal-Pioneer.
These are cousins of ours, sort of a real life Partridge Family. Oh wait, the Cowsills were the real life Partridges…
The late Russell Ellis, my father’s first cousin, used to play the fiddle with them. He was great, and that was my favorite part. I love fiddle music. Before retiring, he was also a navigator (or pilot?) on the ferries from New Brunswick to PEI that were supplanted by the giant bridge. One of our trips up there, he was “driving” and we got to ride in the control room up at the front of the ferry. That was like Coolest. Thing. Ever. At least to my perception at perhaps 15 years old.
Anyway, here’s the article about the band coming out of retirement…
Ellis Family Band retires from retirement
BY AMBER SHEA
The Journal-PioneerRetirement is getting old for the Ellis Family Band.
The Island family band is back, no longer content to be part of the audience.
The five members have just released a new digitally re-mastered CD, a compilation of 20 of their most popular songs from three albums: Easy to Love, Summer Nights and Heart on Fire. And they’re not stopping there.
The five members are also looking to perform live again.
Member Brian Ellis explained they would like to start off with about half a dozen gigs a year at theatres, arenas, weddings and dances.
Last week, four of the five band members ‹ Rick, Brian, Steve and Dave Ellis (Greg MacDonald was unable to attend) ‹ sat around a table at the Journal-Pioneer.
During the interview, it became evident the band is not only entertaining on stage. About half the conversation is serious; the other half is spent joking and laughing.
For the four men, retirement from the stage began about seven years ago.
Retirement was a big decision.
It meant leaving behind about 30 years of success and memories. Their list of achievements is too long to print, but it includes several nominations and awards, songs that made the top 10 on a national level and a chance to tour with country stars like George Jones and Prairie Oyster.
During their first stint in music, the band also decided to walk away from something else—an opportunity to sign with CBS records in Nashville and tour internationally.
The opportunity was discussed among the whole family and the band decided they weren’t ready to spend that much time away from home.
The band decided to move back to P.E.I. in 1989.
“We love P.E.I. It’s our home. It’s a great place to live and raise a family,” Brian said.
For the next 10 years, the band played locally, but as their children grew older they became involved in sports and other activities.
Finding time to jam was difficult. In 1999, the men decided they needed a break and retired from performing altogether so they could invest in their number one priority—their families.“I don’t know if it was the way we were brought up or how mom and dad always were with us, but family comes first and foremost,” Rick said.
Shortly after retirement, band members lost their fathers, Russell Ellis and Arnold MacDonald.
Through grief, the men came together to reminisce and overcome the loss the best way they knew how—through music.
The five started jamming again and eventually constructed their own recording studio, which they dedicated to their fathers.
According to the biography included with the CD, the studio proved to be “what the boys needed in order to rekindle some of their musical flame”.
Slowly stages and large audiences became more appealing.
Last year, they played at the Silver Fox twice and this month they took the stage at the P.E.I. Music Awards, where they received a standing ovation.
At that point, going back to being audience members was not an option.
Rick said performing at the awards brought back a lot of good memories. Dave added that audience members also told him their performance created a lot of nostalgia.
“To be out of the business that long and still see people sing along with the songs word for word was… wonderful,” Rick said.
The group said it was also exciting to look at their children’s smiling faces as they watched their fathers perform.
The five said their families are delighted the band is getting back into the music scene. That includes the Ellis’ mother, Ethel Ellis, who has written songs for the band and is dubbed their biggest fan.The men noted that since they retired, people have been asking them when they would start playing again. Brian added they have also been questioned about putting out a CD for years.
Many of the Ellis Family Band’s albums were released in the 1980s on cassette or vinyl. Those copies are now getting old and might have been lost or ruined over the years. Plus, tapes and records are becoming less popular, Brian said.
“This is our thank you to our fans,” Brian said.
The group noted it’s possible they might release more singles or even tour more extensively.
Rick said getting a response like the one at the music awards “definitely gets you thinking about writing again.”
Still, he drew a laugh from the others when he added: “I’m not sure how much of a market there is out there for some old, fat, balding guys.”