My influences are vast and quirky... from folk singers to the avant guarde, from jazz singers to Latin music, from lonesome cowboys to epic rockers. I'm sure all my influences show up from time to time in the music I write. I think it's important to write without editing to see what bubbles up from inside. I usually end up with an album where no two songs sound too similar...the common thread, of course, being my voice and interesting changes.
Following a decade as the singer and bassist of her successful, eponymously named hard rock trio ELLIS, Stacey Ellis is blowing it all up. With her new solo effort, Stacey has reinvented her world with a new collection of smoldering songs that reveal tender stories from the road less traveled, each song a personal audio “postcard” from the highway of life.
Stacey's shattering "can-do-anything-with-them" vocals have been her musical signature through the years. On her upcoming album, Reinventing Girl, Stacey breaks her own mold and explores a vulnerable, hushed and sultry approach uncommon of her previous releases while sacrificing nothing in emotional intensity. Although admittedly most comfortable performing on her old weapon of choice, her bass, Stacey’s new incarnation finds her moving effortlessly between a piano, acoustic guitar or crunching out power chords on a Gibson slung way low. On Reinventing Girl, Stacey writes and produces all songs. She plays all bass, piano and synths, performs all vocals and backing vocals as well as percussion and acoustic guitar.
Stacey is a native of San Diego where she spent decades working on nearly every stage in the city as a singer, actress, dancer, and musician. In 1993, she formed ELLIS and released three acclaimed albums. Grammy winner and guitar pioneer Steve Vai spotted the band and in 2002 signed ELLIS to his Favored National label. At the time, Stacey was the only female and ELLIS was the only mainstream vocal group on a roster of legendary instrumentalists. Stacey appeared on Vai’s 2005 CD release, Real Illusions, performing backing vocals.
Other artists like Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. fame have been quick to spot the inimitable qualities of Stacey Ellis over the years. In 2003, Stacey made a vocal and flute guest appearance on Curiel's debut album with The Accident Experiment. Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, Deep Purple) had this to say: ELLIS is the "trio of the moment...over the top, with a wide vocabulary of sounds, and an awesome voice. You can't hide in a trio, and they deliver live." Hughes appears on E-III, the third CD release by ELLIS.
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