Ellington

All right. Isaac. Well, thanks for joining me. Thanks for having me. Yeah. So, you know, you had a big tour last year. Is that correct? Detoured around a little bit last year? Yeah. Last summer. for a couple of weeks, with my band from LA. We did, we started in LA last year and then toured up the West Coast and out to Montana over about maybe two and a half weeks.

how did that go for you? Good. Yeah, it's a it's a run. We've done, like, a handful of times now, and so, yeah, we were able to get into some bigger venues and like Portland and Seattle, where we played a number of times now and play with some, some friends of mine just. Yeah, it kind of it felt things sort of added up, for it to be a really good tour.

We've done it enough times. You kind of build up, you know, an audience, but also make those connections with other musicians where you can put together a really good bill. So it was great. It was a lot of really fun shows. And then did you you ended up, under the big sky, right? that was maybe we played there.

and then we did maybe another week or so shows in Montana. how was it to play, hometown, but, like, big venue. Good. it was it was funny because it was hometown, but definitely a different crowd than I grew up with in Whitefish. so, yeah, kind of a funny juxtaposition of, like, you know, looking out and seeing Big Mountain and, these places where I've biked and run and driven by a million times.

But then it felt also like I was in a different state in some ways, just the kind of like just how pro that festival is. and that wasn't around when I was growing up. So it felt in some ways really foreign, at the same time that it was in a familiar place, you know. Yeah. It was it's really drawn a crowd here.

I think it might end up being one of the biggest things we have in the summer, you know, based off of. But that's my anecdotal traffic. You know, kind of. Yeah. Yeah. And it seems like. Yeah, it's the people. Well, yeah. Not strictly. And I hope I'm not just speaking in stereotypes, but it's a lot of people who are visiting or maybe are people who've discovered, Montana.

It seems like, recently and that's great, but or maybe it's like a reason to come up to the Flathead Valley during the summer. there's definitely locals too, but it feels, like kind of a different mix. Them I'm used to seeing in, like, the the northern or the palace. What have you been up to this fall and winter?

I've been, kind of. I did, I finished a graduate program, in journalism last spring. here in Missoula. And after that, I was kind of even though I was only two years, I kind of launched back into all the things that I didn't have the freedom to do while I was in school. And so I, I went on a bike trip.

I've been on a couple bike trips. I guess that was one thing that I really daydreamed about a lot while I was in school. So I did a bike trip in Idaho for a couple weeks and then did, the tour with my band, in July and then played some solo shows in August. I played a couple shows, actually.

That was later, I think. I went on another bike trip in Spain with my roommate and friend. and then I went on a little, a couple, just a couple dates with John Arthur Miller. You know him? I don't he's, west out of West Virginia. I think that's right. and he was just here for passing through Montana.

So I played with him in, Bozeman, Columbia Falls and, Spokane, I guess. And he's really great. So that was fun. And then, I have a leather tooling business. And so I do like custom leather tooling, mostly belts and guitar straps. And throughout the fall, that was, kind of how I stayed busy leading up to Christmas.

I can I've got a lot of work, so not a lot of music stuff I've been trying to work on, on new stuff. And, and I'm hoping to get an album together for the summer to record, with, some of the people that I worked with for the last couple of albums. I just got back from a two month trip in Mexico.

That was another bike trip, so I've kind of been indulging. Oh, that sounds so nice. I'm curious, what made you want to go back and get a, graduate degree in journalism? Yeah, I'm curious to, But it was kind of. I guess I applied maybe in 2021, so it's still kind of pandemic was sort of pulling holding musicians back from, touring.

And it was the future was a little bit uncertain when that would, would come back full force. because I was sitting on an album, that had been recorded before the pandemic, and we were just kind of waiting to see when we could go out and and release the album and do a tour. And it just felt kind of like it was nobody knew when that was going to be.

And so I was just starting to. I'd been thinking about going back to school for a long time and, this journalism program kind of popped up on my radar, and it was in Missoula. I like to write, it's an environmental journalism program here. The the Masters. And I was kind of looking for some way to maybe put my shoulder to the wheel or whatever as far as helping people understand climate change and figure out environmental challenges and stuff.

so anyway, it just kind of was it was in part, a pandemic decision, just like try a new direction. it seemed like a good time to do it since there wasn't much touring to be had. so I started that in, I guess it would have been fall of 2021 and just finished last spring.

That's such an interesting area of journalism and like a super important one to like when it comes to like those kind of environmental issues. If you had like I, you know, I had like my dream list of stories I want to cover, is there something that, like, you just have kind of like an idea of something that you'd want to write about the topic that interests you?

Well, I kind of know going into the program. No, I had never really like oddly, since I was a English major as an undergrad. And then I've, I've loved like, I love reading The New Yorker and, kind of longform journalism and, and just like I said, like to write. but I never really considered myself or thought about getting into journal.

It just hadn't crossed my mind. And so I, I got into the program without really kind of a, an idea of what I might like to do, but I ended up settling into and I'm looking into, I guess, some food issues like food production and, beef beef production in, in Montana got into the learning about like consolidation and in a lot of the food industries.

And, and that's kind of it really grabbed my attention and in part because so much of the other half of Montana, I'm in Missoula, but, the eastern half of Montana is involved in food production, and it's something I just didn't know that much about. So it was kind of a cool way to just get to know the state better.

And and that industry. Yeah. That's so fascinating. So you've been writing writing songs as well. What are some of the things that you're writing about? What are some inspirations for you for this new project? The main thing in the past has been personal heartbreak, and I would love to get away from that. not not just personal heartbreak, which I feel like I have gotten away from, recently, but, yeah, it's great to also just, like, get out of that rat a little bit.

I think it's, you know, it's like a very self-absorbed thing. But I also know that it, it has like a lot of it's very universal. And it's I don't think that it's I think it's worth doing and I don't think it's, it's insignificant. I think it songs about love and heartbreak are important, but I have I have definitely done a lot of that.

And I would like to, kind of stretch my legs writing about other things, just just to see if I can and part. And I have in the past I've written about places certain kind of like sort of nostalgia, with this next batch of songs, I kind of been wanting to write more about, kind of, you know, modern life.

And I have plenty of gripes about how things are going. It's just it's a it's a hard thing to talk about and just plain English, but just like, you know, I'm kind of a Luddite in terms of, some resistance to technology and just the way that it's that's shaping us. And I would like to get at some of those issues, in my songs.

But it's a fine line between having kind of a unique perspective and, and just preaching. Yeah. I guess in and I think that is as soon as a song kind of feels like it's like the songwriter knows those are the talking about and is trying to convince people. It's a fine line. I'm trying to avoid just sounding like a grouch or trying to teach people in some way.

Yeah, yeah, I imagine I probably be a pretty hard line or fine line to walk, you know, because like, there's so many great and, you know, your music. I don't want to like, put it in too much of a genre because I know you're kind of like folk and rock and a little bit of things in there, but I mean, folk music is, you know, kind of truthful like that, like a lot of songs kind of, you know, not that maybe you're doing something like political, but like, you know, there's a lot of political folk songs.

I imagine that when you sit down to write something like that, it can be kind of tough to. Yeah. One like it depends on like the angle, like I say, you think of like, John Prine songs. He kind of like, criticizes certain aspects of, like, his time and, American culture and stuff, but never feels. That's the kind of song I sat down to write, like some sort of takedown or, political song.

It's just kind of his unique perspective. Definitely leaven by humor is kind of just really unique sense of humor, and kind of warm heartedness. So it never felt like really cynical. but I feel like he got at a lot of those things kind of slightly. That would be the way I would. I would love to do it.

so anyways, that's the kind of the next challenge. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I love John Prine. Is he a big inspiration for you? Yeah, I would say so. He's not like, he's just kind of, you know, he's just there. Just what he offered was so unique and universal, and I so I don't I would never like I don't usually name him as like a, first kind of top of the list or top five, but only because he's just it's so obvious, I guess, in some ways.

But yeah, I do. I really like, admire how he manages to be, you know, he's humorous. He doesn't, like, pull back from risky sentimentality. I guess he's in some ways both really, really funny and also deadly serious. about about big subjects. So, yeah. No, he's definitely. I guess, without really even acknowledging. And he's a a big influence and inspiration.

Yeah. You leave his songs and you're like, why am I laughing? And also crying a little bit like it's very. Yeah, like a whole rollercoaster kind of thing. I almost, I think it was like 2019 or 2018. I'm from West Kentucky, so I'm close to Nashville. And he was performing at the Ryman on me, 2018 or 2019.

And we didn't go. And I was like, man, I'm going to regret that forever. but that's beside the point. So you mentioned he's not in your top five. Who's in your top five of people that you're, that's drawn that, you know, maybe not always, but at least right now in this moment that you're drawn inspiration from. Yeah.

The people like I typically would list are like Jeff Tweedy, Wilco, John Hartford. I really love Roger Miller. there's like some I guess there are some, some newer people. I've got this, this is a guy in LA named Steven Van Benton who's, a friend or a friend of a friend. and he's got a really?

He just wrote or released an album a year or two ago called Friends and Family, and it was primarily songs about friends and family. It was like, yeah, songs that dealt with these relationships, kind of with the same intensity and specificity is like most people who write about, romantic relationships and I that's something I've always and, and always kind of been in the back of my mind to write an album about my friends, again, with the kind of the same depth of feeling and specificity as I've written these, these breakup songs about about, romantic partners and stuff.

but anyways, he did it, and he pulled it off, and, I'm really impressed by him. Really unique. another friend, Johnny Fritz, has been kind of an inspiration. We have pretty different songwriting styles, but he's got the humor down. but also really, really specific details and just a really unique perspective that is inspiring. This is a little off topic, but you mentioned like, great projects about friendship.

And I was wondering, do you like Boygenius? Have you listened to their record last year? no, no, I didn't hurt my feelings. I, I know them and I, I've heard maybe some of the singles, but I know not enough to be super familiar, are they, that the album focuses on? Yeah, they're all really close friends, and it's about their friendship with each other, and it's so beautiful.

It's like a lot of the songs. It's kind of like you were saying, like some of those songs that could be about romantic love, but it's actually about friendship, and it's actually, I mean, friendship that, that that's that deep, you know, it's really good. Highly recommend. So, so what's coming up for you in 2024? Everything is not totally set in stone, but I've got a couple I've got a show coming up the end of March, so maybe it's moot depending on when this comes out.

But here in Missoula with, this really great songwriter from Bellingham named Devin Champlin, he's the main songwriter in a band called Sons of Rainier. That's their, they've been a couple of years and released, two albums, but they don't like tour a ton, and they're kind of. I think the members are all sort of, spread out a little bit, so.

But they're really good. That's they've been some of my just favorites for a while. And so Devin is going to come up. He's going to come through Montana at the end of March. And we're playing a show at Longstaff House. And then I've got a few other shows with a friend, Chris Acker, who's coming through the state, from New Orleans.

I forget where those shows are, and I think there's maybe do and Paul Bridge, though at home ranch bottoms in July. I've been playing bass with this band out of Helena called Ty Walker and the humanoids, which is, an alien band, like, it kind of cosmic country, like, brought to its logical conclusion, which is like, the concept is an alien race has kidnaped, kidnaped, human country singer from outside of Roscoe, Montana in 1972.

And then they've just they've been practicing for rehearsing for 50 years. And, they returned to Earth last year, or I guess in 2022, to play country music and collect. oh, man, I'm going to mess it up anyways, there's this whole story. It's really fun. really great. costumes is almost is almost the wrong word.

and then just a lot of, like, stagecraft and, really good music also. So that's the project of, these guys and Helena. and I just kind of. Last time. Last time. Yeah. Really fun. So that'll be we're going to do a West Coast tour and some Montana dates in July, and then I'm hoping to record this summer whenever I can.

I might be, August or I don't know yet. It kind of depends on when the songs get finished up and a few other things. But yeah, no, no big summer tour for for me. I'm kind of I felt like I wasn't ready just to kind of play the same set again until I have some some new songs in the works.

So maybe that'll come together and we can book some stuff in the fall. But right now the focus is kind of on recording. I read in another piece that, I want to, I guess I want to ask a little bit about how you got into music. so it seems like you kind of hung around with the dungeons a little bit.

Yeah. Did you just tell me a little bit about how you got interested in music and how you decided to pursue it? Yeah. I guess I was always interested in music and got my parents signed me up for piano lessons, and then I quit or wasn't, like, sticking with it. And then I played trombone in middle school, and then I didn't stick with that either.

And then, picked up guitar in high school and yeah, I got really lucky that Andy Dunnigan, who is now a superstar with the little Smokies, he was kind of picking up guitar at the same time. And so me and him and a couple other friends would, would go over to the dungeons after school a couple afternoons a week pretty frequently and just, jam and, like, figure out, just kind of figure out the basics together and, in Andy's room.

And then every once in awhile, John Dunnigan would swing in Andy's dad and show us, like, a few new things. And then we work on those for a week. And then the next week he would kind of poke in. It was really, I didn't realize at the time how how special it was. But, I had I had some other people help me, teach me a guitar that were really important also.

But, that was the first time I was really kind of experience playing with people, and he was encouraging us to kind of figure out harmonies. And, I started playing bass a little bit, when there was 3 or 4 guitarists going and, also just kind of a really good role model. Somebody who was saying wrote his own songs, had made a career of playing music.

And yeah, they weren't there weren't a ton of those people in Like Fish. So it was pretty cool to have that relationship with with Andy and, and John as I was learning. Yeah. John's great. I, I haven't talked to Andy, but I got to interview John in December I think, or January. And he was a really fun guy.

So I imagine to be a great teacher. So after your high school, what how did you kind of like continue with that after high school? I still wasn't singing at that point. I was very private about it. I would only pretty much sing when nobody else is in the house, or if I was in the car by myself and, then I went to school in Missoula undergrad and, continued to play with Andy in Missoula that first year a little bit.

And then I lived with my cousin as a sophomore, and, they played guitar and sang and wrote their own songs. And so they were really important in encouraging me to try singing on my own and, singing in front of people writing songs. and we formed a little band together and started to play out that year, which is my first time ever being on stage.

And so that was that was kind of the next, like step was just getting pushed into it, which, yeah, I probably would have given up on guitar. I kind of plateaued and I'm not like a a shredder or somebody who's just like, can stay engaged, just practicing guitar. so yeah, having my cousin Frankie really pretty important and, and keep me interested in music and then turning it from this thing I did kind of just with friends and for fun into this outlet, someplace where I could express myself and then write songs and, and so from there I started other bands and then and then I moved to Nashville in 2013, and that's where

I met Johnny Fritz, who was a pretty established musician, and he kind of helped me make more connections. And and then I moved to LA a couple years after that. and met the people that I, that I'm playing when I go on tour with my project. They live in LA still, and so those are the people that I met.

probably 2015, 2016, and those are still kind of my main collaborators. How did you like Nashville? The one, the one you're using? I never lived outside of, Montana. Really? so it was a totally cool, just different, part of the country and a different culture and the biggest city I've ever lived in. And just so cool to see people who are doing it who are had gone on tour and they had record labels and they were fully committed to being musicians.

And I that wasn't something I'd really had much exposure to. So that was incredibly exciting. And I went to go see a bunch of music. I just tagged along with him for the first six months and yeah, it was incredibly exciting. I just wasn't quite at the point where I was ready to, like, record an album and, and sort of step out, and I just didn't find the right people.

I think if I'd stuck around longer, I would have that. for whatever reason, I ended up finding those people in LA. But I like Nashville. I didn't consider myself there long term. It's just so different. from the West in some ways. Partly just, access to nature. There really is there's like the Natchez Trace, and, the Smokies aren't too far away, but it still was.

It took a little bit more effort than I was used to, to have to get out, in the woods and camp and hike and stuff. Yeah, definitely. It used to be Nashville. I don't say it was, like, quaint, you know, because it's always been kind of a big city. But like around the time you were there, for sure it was getting big.

And it was it feels like a big city now. Yeah, I could kind of feel that too. I didn't know it. Johnny had been there for years, and so he would kind of explain some of the differences, but you could tell that it was sort of it was Brooklyn izing. That's a great multiple use where you're very nice.

Yeah. Parts felt really southern, but other parts felt really cosmopolitan. couldn't kind of couldn't tell where you were. Yeah. There's still some, some good pockets, but yeah, I can see where it feel. Kind of. Yeah. Cosmopolitan. Sorry. Yeah. Well, I think this has been so much fun. Thanks for joining me and chatting for a bit. we're super excited for your press play coming up on April 5th.

Yeah. I can't wait to be there. Thanks for taking the time.

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