Somebody Cool.
Jeff Ellington
wingwalker.
The last time I saw Jeff Ellington play he came out wearing a suit, a tie, and a Strat and proceeded to walk right out into the audience, jump up on a table and soon had the crowd screaming louder than his guitar-- no small feat that, if you knew the rig he was running. Hailing from Minneapolis, Jeff was a founding member of The Fake McCoys, the avant-improv funk-pop cartel out of Tempe, Arizona that should have become a household name. As dynamic a guitarist as he is, Jeff’s got the gift when it comes to writing songs, as well. He’s like Joe Frazier, that ability to come up with a powerful hook he’s got...
Jeff’s recently laid down some mighty guitar with Minneapolis-based Ghostrunner, but mostly these days he is scratching the itch to see some of the world via a day gig with an airline. He’s been spending time in Ireland, Japan, Spain, and the Middle East, among other places, and is adding to the breadth of his musical experience. He’s also just put together a digital recording studio. I can’t wait to hear the new music.
Twenty Questions: JEFF ELLINGTON
1. What do you like most about what you do?
As a flight attendant, I enjoy the traveling around
the world and "being all that I can be" without re-joining the
military. However, I would rather be traveling the
world touring in a rock and roll band.......
2. What do you wish you could change about yourself?
I wish I were younger..............
3. Do you think others perceive you the way you perceive yourself?
I have more inner struggles with myself than most
people
perceive........
4. If you could only have access to a total of 5 items, whether they be books, albums, movies, sculptures or paintings-- which 5 would you choose, and why?
Outside of love, health and spiritual peace, all
I need is my guitar and my new MacBookPro laptop computer assuming wireless
internet is provided. Oh yeah, and
this chair....... and this lamp.......
5. What, as opposed to who, has influenced you most?
The guitar and music. It can be used as a vehicle to heal if I just let it!
6. Do you do your best work when you’re happy or not so happy? In other words, do you think there’s any validity to the old saw about an artist having to suffer in order to successfully create?
I think that all an artist has to do is feel. Feel strongly. Emotionally. No matter what those feelings are.....................
7. When you are not working, what do you do for fun?
Surf the net for music, history, self-education, etc. There is an endless amount of information and knowledge to be obtained. Good, bad and trivial.
8. When you are working, describe a typical work day (or night)?
Get up and fly somewhere in the world for 6 - 14 hours. Hotel. Bed. Sightsee the next day........
9. If you weren’t a flight attendant what would you most certainly NOT have become?
If I were not a flight attendant, I would be far more social. Being on the road for up to two months at a time with different crews and so far from home, tends to isolate you from your home life.
10. Where do you see yourself two years from now?
Rocking somebody's stage and stereo system......
to be cont’d............
11. If you were cloned, what would you want to write on the blank slate of your new self? Or put another way, if you had been your own parent, what would you have taught or exposed yourself to during the course of your upbringing that you were not?
Financial management and investments..................
12. If you had the power to put together the greatest band of all time, who would the members of that band be?
John, Paul, George and Ringo.
13. Limited to these two choices, would you rather be the fastest runner in the world, or be able to run the longest distance?
Fastest runner and a member of the Minnesota Vikings
first
Superbowl winning team. They could use me.
14. What’s the best song you’ve heard so far, and why?
There are many "best" songs but for this second I will say "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. There is something about the innocence of this song that is so missing today......
15. What’s the worst pain in the world?
Testicular torsion. Been there done that. Oh yeah, and even more so, emotional pain.
16. What’s the best smell in the world?
The smell of the woman you love...........(or would
like to
love)
17. What’s the saddest song of all time?
"Lick My Love Pump" by Spinal Tap. It
is in the key of D minor the saddest keys of all. No but seriously. The
saddest songs are the songs you keep hearing on the
radio just after you've been dumped or some tragic event in your life.
For me hmmmmm,......"Looking For Love" by Johnny Lee.
18. What’s the greatest thing that ever happened to you?
Rediscovering my soul.........................
19. What’s your LEAST favorite swear word?
Drats.
20. What should I have asked you?
Paper or plastic?
