Singer-songwriter Ellis Paul has no rock-star illusions about the music business. "I've done a lot to trip myself up, sort of messing with the flow," Paul said.
This is not to say he does not understand this business he has chosen. "I have a song coming out on a movie soundtrack, "Me, Myself and Irene," Paul said. "So, I will be on an album with Offspring and Matchbox 20. "I get paid seven cents every time a copy of the album is sold. I'm hoping it sells about 15 million copies," Paul said laughing.
A veteran of the folk festival circuit, including the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, Paul has played both years of the Woody Guthrie Festival in Okemah. He is also a regular at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City and is featured on KRXO-FM's program "For the Sake of the Song," which features singer-songwriters. The Boston resident has been playing in Oklahoma for more than a decade.
"I have made pilgrimages here since 1989 or '90. I met Greg (Johnson, owner of the Blue Door) and he gave me a gig," Paul said after his March 3 show at the Blue Door in Oklahoma City. "The first time I played there were six people there, then 15, 25, 104 and now 130."
Paul started in the music business at an open mic night. "I dove in that way," Paul said. "They were a great bunch of songwriters. We started camping out together and sharing mailing lists." Years later, Paul has his own mailing list and small legion of dedicated fans.
"I'm a story teller. I write honest material about real-life situations," Paul said. Music is a form of communication between people, Paul said. "It's relating, communicating with part of a community of people. "When you do it right, you get connected - the crowd and you. We're all in it together."
In the music business there is a balance between numbers of people in an audience and paying the bills. Paul has his point of reference for
his career.
"It is on it's own path with momentum to carry it.
"I want to make sure I'm giving it all my heart, investing in the moment."
Copyright 2000 by R. Lydick. All rights reserved.