 Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, Lauren Ellis has a rich background as a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter, especially known for her soulful expressions on slide guitar.
Moving to Los Angeles, she found road work as guitarist with Rita Coolidge and Nell Carter, backed up legendary R&B duo Don and Dewey, and toured extensively stateside and overseas. In Los Angeles she wrote and recorded her first independent release: the critically acclaimed Push the River.
Lauren was the winner of the 1999 Los Angeles Music Award in the category of Outstanding Guitarist, and was the only woman asked to audition for the post-Garcia version of the Grateful Dead: "The Other Ones". She has opened shows for Bonnie Raitt, Patti Griffin, Etta James and many others, and recent festival appearances include opening slots with The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Jimmy Thackery, John Mayall, Marty Stuart, and The Kentucky Headhunters.
After relocating to Nashville, Tennessee, she began work on her second record, Feels Like Family. featuring stellar players like Tony Joe White, Viktor Krauss, Dean Parks and Kenny Malone, the CD has been received with rave reviews.
| Listen for the songs on Feels like Family during MTV's reality shows The Real World, Road Rules, and Extreme Challenge. Lauren's searing slide guitar can also be heard on the theme for CMT's pop-meets-country series Crossroads, where she also shares composing credits.
Lauren splits her time between Nashville and the Northeastern Florida coast, and she and the band are preparing to record her third independent release.
When she isn't writing, recording, or performing, Lauren's other passion is the restoration and repair of guitars and other stringed instruments.
On her first self-produced CD Push The River, Lauren showcases her skills on acoustic and electric guitars, Dobro, lap steel, and even electric sitar, but perhaps most impressive are the songs... heartfelt, memorable, and hook-laden, with strong lyrics and a vocal style that is honest, hopeful, and defiantly real. She is accompanied on the album by friends Roy Bittan on keyboards (Bruce Springsteen's "E" Street Band, and producer for Lucinda Williams), session guitar wizard Dean Parks (Lyle Lovett, Steely Dan, co-writer of Push the River's "Real Love"), Neil Stubenhaus on bass (Quincy Jones, Eric Clapton), and Herman Matthews on drums (Tower of Power, Meredith Brooks). |
