“Rory Ellis has one of those voices you just can’t buy – rugged, gravelly, it oozes been there done that credibility and the words that emerge from deep in his throat are rough enough to use as sandpaper.”
— Jeremy Searle Americana UK
PRESS KIT
biography
“His voice and his music are a mixture of Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Waylon Jennings and others of the Folk/Americana (Alt Country) field. His voice is gravelly, soulful and mixed with a heavy swag of blues. He could have very easily fit into the band, The Highwaymen…….maybe they are recasting with only Kris and Willie left.” Kaz Johnson, Awards and Radio Personality, Australia
Raised in working class East Bentleigh, to a boxing gym in Dandenong, labourer, factory worker, brushes with the underworld as a doorman in the most salubrious outer suburban beer temples, even his time working at the Sacred Heart Mission, has shaped the character of one of Australia’s finest songwriters, Rory Ellis.
Raised to revere the Hanks, Cash, Willie, Waylon, blues and folk greats, Americana was the obvious genre choice. His career began in 1989, but thing livened upon following his first solo release “Ride” rocked the media in 2000. Recently, Rory released his 9th studio album, “Inner Outlaw”, with subsequent single releases charting in Australia and Internationally. This album has recently received the highly esteemed accolade of being recognised in the TOP 10 albums of the year, in Rhythms Magazine, Australia’s Music Bible.
His path traverses the globe; Australia, New Zealand, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, performing alongside greats like Richie Havens, Robert Cray, Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat. His journeys’ embrace a multitude of venues and festivals, including Port Fairy Folk AU, National Folk AU, Shetland UK, Isle Of Wight UK, Maryport Blues UK, Americana International UK, Larmer Tree UK, Celle Festival Germany, Castel St Pietro Blues Italy.
Every twist and turn toward his Americana leanings, always had a great story lurking in the background. Always the primary inspiration. Gifted with a soul-wrenching voice praised by media worldwide, he’s experienced every word delivered.
The future is bright, songs keep coming, roads still un-travelled and his wit grows with every mile. Rory is committed to bringing his take on life and the stories of so many to every possible corner.
“Rory Ellis is one of those singer/songwriters, like Leonard Cohen, who makes the hairs on your arms stand up by simply opening his mouth and uttering a few throaty words.” Brett Callwood: Acoustic Magazine UK
“Rory Ellis has a tone that flows like molasses. His lyrics wrap around the heart and give to it either warmth or tear it asunder. When the big fella lets roar, you’ll hear pleas from the back of the room without the need of the sound system.
Inner Outlaw is an outstanding album from one of Country/Blues/Americana music’s hardest workers. Textured tunes accompanied by a passionate voice that deserves your attention. Rory Ellis is a good ol’ boy of music, a master story teller that needs to be heard and respected for his incredible songwriting and musicality craft” David Prior, ABC Sydney, Australia.
PRESS RELEASES
RORY ELLIS ENTERS A NEW DECADE IN STYLE
03/01/20
Wrapping up the year with three successful singles, "The Letter", "Fadin" and "Bitumen Cowboys", Rory Ellis couldn't be happier as he enters a new decade with accolades from his peers.
With his "Inner Outlaw" album being selected as #9 by the My Country Australia website in the Top 10 Albums of 2019 and having both Chris Lambie and Billy Pinnell at Rhythms Magazine placing the album in their Top 10 list for 2019 has certainly given Rory the perfect way to end the year and enter the new decade.
Rory is looking forward to his Lizotte's gigs this month with Brian Cadd and Russelll Morris as well as his own show and later his opening for Glenn Shorrock.
Currently #19 on the Country Tracks Airplay Chart with "Bitumen Cowboys" (CRS Digital), 2020 is off to a great start with so much more to come.
Interviews: Cameron Syrett: 0437 880 887
cameron@csmanagement.net.au
Rory Ellis pays tribute to Bitumen Cowboys in Tarcutta 23/10/19
Newcastle singer-songwriter Rory Ellis will pay tribute to truck drivers past and present and their loved ones at this month’s Australian Truck Drivers’ Memorial service in Tarcutta.
Ellis has just released his ninth studio album, Inner Outlaw, including the track, Bitumen Cowboys, which he will feature at the memorial service on October 26. The album charted at No. 7.
Performing the song for the people it was written about is an honour not lost on the Americana artist.
“I have had a few experiences over the years, where I’ve written emotional songs about memorable places and special people, and have been lucky enough to be invited to perform the songs at the actual locations, both here in Australia and in Germany,” Ellis said.
“The reaction from the audiences was very moving for me.
“It’s quite spellbinding to perform a song you’ve written on an actual memorial site, so to be able to perform Bitumen Cowboys in front of the truckies and their families, at their very personal memorial service, with a song that’s distinctly written about truck driving and the loneliness of truck driving, is a real honour.”
Ellis said he hoped the song would mean a lot to the truckies and their loved ones.
“There has been a lot of loss in the trucking industry and there is a line in the song, ‘if you’re talking to God in the passenger seat, it’s the last mile’ that recognises that,” he said.
“To be able to share that song with the people who have lost and who are still out on the road, is a real honour to even be considered to do that.”
The purpose of the song is to highlight the loneliness and life that truck drivers and their families face everyday, and Ellis said there were some similarities between the lives of truckies and musicians.
“Musicians, when touring, are also doing thousands of kilometres on the road,” he said.
“When you’re out on the road, there’s always the potential of loss with the long hours and the risks you have to take to do what you have to do, so it’s a similar lifestyle in a way and it’s why I found it important to write, as I could personally relate to it.”
Ellis wants to be able to share this song with as many truckies as he can.
“Whether that be in this country or elsewhere, I’m hoping it resonates with truck drivers and truck drivers’ families all over the world,” he said.
Bitumen Cowboys is sure to evoke plenty of emotion from the crowd in Tarcutta as Ellis performs at the memorial service and the later dinner, as well as a variety of his other songs from Inner Outlaw and previous offerings.
Ellis will perform in Tarcutta on October 26, following the release of Inner Outlaw.
Rory Ellis’ Inner Outlaw unleashes on charts 18/10/19
“This is a voice that is up there with the very best of them, including the US greats. It aches of life and love, history and memory” - Mike Brady AM.
Rory Ellis has unleashed his Inner Outlaw today, Friday, October 18 with his ninth studio album charting at No. 7.
Inner Outlaw debuted on the Singer/Songwriter Albums chart on iTunes at No. 7, following on from the success of the lead single, The Letter, which is enjoying radio chart success. The accompanying video also had almost 3000 views in the first couple of days since release.
The album is a collection of 12 tracks of pure Americana, with a touch of Waylonesque attitude that will make your heart sing and your mind wander.
It’s dry, minimalist, sometimes appears to fall apart at the seams, but will leave you haunted with a resonance rarely found in modern production.
The new single, Fadin’ was released earlier in the year internationally through Hillcrest Music and charted at No. 13 on the International Top 40 Country Singles Chart and Rory was the No. 14 artist on the top 200 International Country Artists.
Fadin’ is now released in Australia and is a song about being at the crossroads of your life and career and you see the hurdles to jump and snags that tripped you on the journey. You can feel like Fadin’ slowly away.
“Try a little harder”, are the words of someone that loves you unconditionally making you realise your dreams, helping you make them come true.
Featuring some of Australia’s finest musicians, Inner Outlaw has a truckload of character to transport you into parts of the world you’ve craved, some you’d like to discover, but definitely many you will relate to.
Ellis wrote all 12 tracks with this album in mind, keeping up the outlaw attitude in each song.
“When I first started writing the album, I had that whole outlaw country thing in mind, which is not so much about the sound or tone, but more the attitude of each track,” he said.
“It’s a little bit rebellious and it’s my spin on the attitude that guys like Waylon Jennings brought to country music.
The title track sets the tone for the album with Inner Outlaw all about what you’d like to do to people when words just don’t work.
“In modern society, you’ve gotta sit down and talk about issues, but back in the days of the wild west, you would have just shot each other,” Ellis said.
What Happened To That Man is a look back when it was okay to be a bloke, a gentleman, a protector, a proud provider, honest and true, with the writer believing that this man has almost taken a back seat these days.
Striving for recognition in an area you’ve been working in for years, is summed up in The Next Shipwreck.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I wouldn’t mind getting ripped apart just to be able to sit on the highest peak, even if just for a little while,” Ellis said.
“There are a lot of people in that same boat where they’ve worked hard on something, but still haven’t had the recognition they probably deserve.”
In terms of personal songs, 53rd Year hits hard with Ellis, as he wrote it as he was approaching his 53rd birthday at the time and 53 was when his father died.
Another favourite is Bitumen Cowboys, which was a line Ellis heard from a truck driver.
“You think of the truckies out there at all hours, in the middle of nowhere, away from friends and families and civilisation in many circumstances,” he said.
Ellis said he hoped that listeners get to know him better as an artist and person with the songs on Inner Outlaw.
“I hope that people can also take away a little bit of themselves after listening to this album,” he said.
“I want them to look into these songs and think, ‘that was me’, ‘that is me’ or ‘I would like that to be me’.”
Ellis said the attitude of this album was influenced by the music he grew up listening to.
“This album is closer to the bone than I ever thought it would be, because I was raised on a lot of this stuff,” he said.
“It was like this music was burnt in there somewhere and I hope that people will really love the music and feel the essence of what country music is to me”
Ellis will take the songs on tour in 2020 as he strives to head west with his music.
“I’d love to take this music out a bit further into more of the regional areas as well, because there is something very cool about playing for those audiences,” he said.
Inner Outlaw is out now through Checked Label Services.
"inner outlaw" press release 15/10/19
"INNER OUTLAW"
Press Release 15/10/19
RORY ELLIS FINDS HIS INNER OUTLAW PDF FILE
Rory Ellis unleashes his Inner Outlaw on Friday, October 18 with the release of his ninth studio album.
Inner Outlaw is a collection of 12 tracks of pure Americana, with a touch of Waylonesque attitude that will make your heart sing and your mind wander. It’s dry, minimalist, sometimes appears to fall apart at the seams, but will leave you haunted with a resonance rarely found in modern production.
The lead single, The Letter, told an incredible true story of a letter in a bottle which has already aroused response here in Australia and overseas. Following on from this, the album gets bigger and better.
Featuring some of Australia’s finest musicians, Inner Outlaw has a truckload of character to transport you into parts of the world you’ve craved, some you’d like to discover, but definitely many you will relate to.
Ellis wrote all 12 tracks with this album in mind, keeping up the outlaw attitude in each song.
“When I first started writing the album, I had that whole outlaw country thing in mind, which is not so much about the sound or tone, but more the attitude of each track,” he said.
“It’s a little bit rebellious and it’s my spin on the attitude that guys like Waylon Jennings brought to country music.
The title track sets the tone for the album with Inner Outlaw all about what you’d like to do to people when words just don’t work.
“In modern society, you’ve gotta sit down and talk about issues, but back in the days of the wild west, you would have just shot each other,” Ellis said.
What Happened To That Man is a look back when it was okay to be a bloke, a gentleman, a protector, a proud provider, honest and true, with the writer believing that this man has almost taken a back seat these days.
Striving for recognition in an area you’ve been working in for years, is summed up in The Next Shipwreck.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I wouldn’t mind getting ripped apart just to be able to sit on the highest peak, even if just for a little while,” Ellis said.
“There are a lot of people in that same boat where they’ve worked hard on something, but still haven’t had the recognition they probably deserve.”
In terms of personal songs, 53rd Year hits hard with Ellis, as he wrote it as he was approaching his 53rd birthday at the time and 53 was when his father died.
“It’s one of the deeper thoughts I had on the album,” he said.
And another favourite is Bitumen Cowboys, which was a line Ellis heard from a truck driver.
“You think of the truckies out there at all hours, in the middle of nowhere, away from friends and families and civilisation in many circumstances,” he said.
Ellis said he hoped that listeners get to know him better as an artist and person with the songs on Inner Outlaw.
“I hope that people can also take away a little bit of themselves after listening to this album,” he said.
“I want them to look into these songs and think, ‘that was me’, ‘that is me’ or ‘I would like that to be me’.”
Ellis said the attitude of this album was influenced by the music he grew up listening to.
“This album is closer to the bone than I ever thought it would be, because I was raised on a lot of this stuff,” he said.
“It was like this music was burnt in there somewhere and I hope that people will really love the music and feel the essence of what country music is to me”
Ellis will take the songs on tour in 2020 as he strives to head west with his music.
“I’d love to take this music out a bit further into more of the regional areas as well, because there is something very cool about playing for those audiences,” he said
.
Inner Outlaw is out on October 18, but is currently available for preorder from all digital retailers, and released through Checked Label Services.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gracie, The Country Journo
E: rebecca@countryjourno.com.au M: +61 (0) 427 23259
"THE LETTER" PRESS RELEASE 06/09/19
"THE LETTER"
PRESS RELEASE 6/09/19
REMARKABLE DISCOVERY OF PEACE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE PDF FILE
We've all watched the romantic movies that tell the stories of a message in a bottle washed up on shore, after years of bobbing about in the ocean currents, only to find its way into the hands of destiny.
This is a true story of a message in a bottle, and it is far from romantic.
Written in 1940, during a time of chaos and war, could this Light Horseman who fought in the Battle of the Somme, Colin Ellis, have known that his very personal and incredibly powerful message would wind up in the hands of his only Grandson, Rory Ellis, nearly a century on.
And there are no safer hands than that of Australian Musician, Rory Ellis, to convey his Grandfather’s message to the world. And what better way than through song, the universal language.
This astonishing story begins in February 1940, when Colin Ellis, in conjunction with Joe Eagles, penned and placed the letter is a whiskey bottle and cemented it into the Church Street Bridge in Melbourne, whilst carrying out repair works on the bridge.
“The Second World War was being fought at the time. The blue-collar worker was also fighting for his rights back at home. This letter echoes so poignantly their thoughts, which are even more relevant today” said Ellis “When you read these powerful words, you realise nothing has changed. Today, we still all long for the same thing….almost a century on”
During repair works on the bridge 71 years later, two workers, Paul Bladowski and Grant Inkster, remarkably discovered the bottle, buried within the concrete. Bladowski, was jackhammering into the bridge and unearthed the long-buried letter.
“I was jackhammering a little higher than shoulder height, when all of the sudden the jackhammer went into a void in the wall about 3 or 4 inches very easily, then I felt glass pieces hitting my chest. At closer inspection there were papers rolled up inside of a whisky bottle!” Bladowski remembered.
Inkster also clearly remembers the amazing discovery, saying the old bottle held more secrets, that would never be revealed.
“In the bottle were two other small documents…a conscription notice which crumbled and basically dissolved as we tried to remove the contents, and the third one was even more fragile” Inkster added. “I wish this very cool story we have at hand gives an eternity of inspiration, and I hope some generations (not so far down the track), get to see the old boys’ wish of enlightenment, peace on earth and goodwill to mankind.”
The surviving letter took seven years to find Ellis, through word of mouth and mutual associates. He said the letter, written in the midst of war and turmoil, held great meaning to him personally.
“It’s quite incredible how they found me. It took some years, and I just wanted to say thank you to all for bringing it home” said Ellis. “I hold fond memories of the stories my father told of how Grandfather was a man who believed in fair rights for workers, and would often be found in his back yard sharing an ale with The Late Bob Hawke and The Late Arthur Calwell”
Ellis said the natural thing for him to do, was to write the song, “The Letter”. “
After 30 years of recording and performing throughout the world, it was my way of sharing my Grandfather’s message in the only way I know how….to put his words into a song” said the singer/songwriter.
Mr Ellis and Mr Eagles wrote in the 1940 note that they hoped the struggles of the war would be over by the time the letter was found.
“We close this with the hope that the workers are enlightened when this is found and that there is peace on earth and good will to man” the letter said. *******
IMAGE OF ACTUAL LETTER ATTACHED, INTERPRETED SCRIPT BELOW
8th February, 1940
This bottle was placed here on the above date, by Joe Eagles and Colin Ellis 'Plasterers' who have been repairing the cement work of this bridge since November 1939. The gauge of material used has been two parts of sand to one of cement. The work was supervised by Mr Williams of the Prahran Council. We both have appreciated his cooperation, and his conditions of employment. The world war is on at present brought about by the capitalist section of the world to maintain a rotten system. We hope when this bottle is found that the workers of the world will be getting a much more equal share in natures gifts, and the wealth they produce for the class that prioritise them and thieves. Even to the extent of murdering each other. To protect wealth they do not share in. The capitalists call it war, not murder. We close this with the hope that the workers are enlightened when this is found and that there is peace on earth and good will to man.
Written by Colin Ellis and Joe Eagles
*******
ABOUT Rory Ellis: See attached BIO and REVIEWS The single “The Letter” will be officially released from the album “Inner Outlaw” on 6/9/19 and is available digitally for pre-order through www.roryellis.com Alternatively, those pre-ordering the full album “Inner Outlaw” (to be released 18/10/19) will receive a bonus of “The Letter” instantly from the single release date.
Media Contact: Rebecca Gracie, The Country Journo
E: rebecca@countryjourno.com.au M: +61 (0) 427 232591