Interview: Curtis Eller
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Curtis Eller
Curtis Eller is the antidote to every singer/songwriter dragging through woeful love songs at open mic nights. The New Yorker has revived a tradition of mid-twentieth century American protest singers, shaped it with humour then infused it with his own poignancy and anger. Although many of his songs seem to yearn for simpler times, Curtis warns that his representation of the old days is not naïve. "I sing a lot about the past, but I don't often sing about it being particularly wonderful. Usually at least one person and a couple animals die in each of my tunes."
But why chose an instrument associated with Hicksville, Deep South, US of A? "My dad was a bluegrass banjoist and he passed the curse on to me," Eller explains. Without fleet-fingered virtuoso string picking, the banjo is stripped back to provide a delicate accompaniment and a reminder of America’s musical heritage. Combined with occasional yelps and yodels, the sound is certainly memorable. His father was also responsible for providing some fantastical work experience in the family circus, albeit briefly, during Curtis’s childhood.
Unsurprisingly for a man who looks like a moustachioed anachronism, he doesn’t wear ordinary stage outfits. Instead, he says they "belonged to my wife's grandfather." The former owner of those dapper waistcoats was "a distinguished gentleman named Hubert Orville Mullett, who was exactly my height, but about 50 pounds heavier."
Most of Curtis’s songs are narratives, often featuring the likes of Amelia Earhart, Lon Chaney and Lunar Park. For non-Americans, this has an exotic unfamiliarity which can become confusing. "European audiences have been responding very enthusiastically to the material...strangely so. I guess they're just happy to learn some strange and hazy things about America," Curtis muses. "I've been told that my shows are like a US history lesson with yodelling and dancing. I like the sound of that."
Album 'Taking Up Serpents Again' (available through Curtis’s website or itunes) is expanded with accordion, tuba and pedal steel of his band, The American Circus. Nostalgia and imagination are sustained across ten tracks, which have the creepy edge of a Lemony Snicket novel.
After we meet, Eller continues his UK tour with a gig in Sheffield’s small pub venue The Grapes. Waltzing and scissor kicking to his banjo twangs and accompanying his singing with goggle-eyed stares, Curtis is, at times, an unhinged and intimidating performer. Frequently, he breaks off mid-lyric to explain the Americana: "Coney Island is an amusement park in New York full of rollercoasters and junkies." He is, in his own subtle way, critical of contemporary politics. "This next song is about a lying bastard of an American president," Curtis speaks to the microphone, introducing 'Sugar In My Coffin'. "George Bush!" jeer some of the audience’s more vocal members. "No" is the singer’s deadpan response. "Abraham Lincoln."
Jacky Hall
Curtis Eller Official Site
Curtis Eller Myspace
Buy Curtis Eller CDs | Buy Curtis Eller mp3s | Buy Curtis Eller Tickets | Buy Curtis Eller Merch
Curtis Eller is the antidote to every singer/songwriter dragging through woeful love songs at open mic nights. The New Yorker has revived a tradition of mid-twentieth century American protest singers, shaped it with humour then infused it with his own poignancy and anger. Although many of his songs seem to yearn for simpler times, Curtis warns that his representation of the old days is not naïve. "I sing a lot about the past, but I don't often sing about it being particularly wonderful. Usually at least one person and a couple animals die in each of my tunes."
But why chose an instrument associated with Hicksville, Deep South, US of A? "My dad was a bluegrass banjoist and he passed the curse on to me," Eller explains. Without fleet-fingered virtuoso string picking, the banjo is stripped back to provide a delicate accompaniment and a reminder of America’s musical heritage. Combined with occasional yelps and yodels, the sound is certainly memorable. His father was also responsible for providing some fantastical work experience in the family circus, albeit briefly, during Curtis’s childhood.
Unsurprisingly for a man who looks like a moustachioed anachronism, he doesn’t wear ordinary stage outfits. Instead, he says they "belonged to my wife's grandfather." The former owner of those dapper waistcoats was "a distinguished gentleman named Hubert Orville Mullett, who was exactly my height, but about 50 pounds heavier."
Most of Curtis’s songs are narratives, often featuring the likes of Amelia Earhart, Lon Chaney and Lunar Park. For non-Americans, this has an exotic unfamiliarity which can become confusing. "European audiences have been responding very enthusiastically to the material...strangely so. I guess they're just happy to learn some strange and hazy things about America," Curtis muses. "I've been told that my shows are like a US history lesson with yodelling and dancing. I like the sound of that."
Album 'Taking Up Serpents Again' (available through Curtis’s website or itunes) is expanded with accordion, tuba and pedal steel of his band, The American Circus. Nostalgia and imagination are sustained across ten tracks, which have the creepy edge of a Lemony Snicket novel.
After we meet, Eller continues his UK tour with a gig in Sheffield’s small pub venue The Grapes. Waltzing and scissor kicking to his banjo twangs and accompanying his singing with goggle-eyed stares, Curtis is, at times, an unhinged and intimidating performer. Frequently, he breaks off mid-lyric to explain the Americana: "Coney Island is an amusement park in New York full of rollercoasters and junkies." He is, in his own subtle way, critical of contemporary politics. "This next song is about a lying bastard of an American president," Curtis speaks to the microphone, introducing 'Sugar In My Coffin'. "George Bush!" jeer some of the audience’s more vocal members. "No" is the singer’s deadpan response. "Abraham Lincoln."
Jacky Hall
Curtis Eller Official Site
Curtis Eller Myspace
Buy Curtis Eller CDs | Buy Curtis Eller mp3s | Buy Curtis Eller Tickets | Buy Curtis Eller Merch
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