Artist Spotlight is a segment that we started to introduce our listeners to some deserving up and coming artists/ bands. They have made an impact on us for all of the right reasons. We think they kick ass and we hope you do too! Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of our favorite Americana Whiskey Rock storyteller Charles Ellsworth.

While currently based out of Brooklyn, NY Charles Ellsworth’s roots stretch back out west to the rural mountains of Arizona where he was born and raised. The juxtaposed influence of both places are reflected in songs which are then road tested and worn through constant touring, which under normal circumstances would rarely gives Charles enough time to spend in any place he calls “home.” 

Charles Ellsworth entered the early days of the 2020 Corona Quarantine season already self isolated. He was holed up in Philadelphia at Headroom Studios tracking his 3rd full length album with producer Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader). Following up 2018’s Cesréa the so far unnamed LP-3 sees Ellsworth moving even further down an electric driven rock-roll path while keeping the honest relatability of his story driven lyrics. It is tentatively slated for release this fall on Burro Borracho Records. 

Despite the uncertainty of the album’s release anyone anxious for new Charles Ellsworth music won’t have to wait for the world’s full return to normalcy. Ellsworth has a pair of stand alone singles locked and loaded for summer release. The first, “Paranoia (A Nü Start)” will drop June 5 (heard HERE) followed later this summer by “The Past Ain’t Nothing.” 

If that’s not enough, interested listeners can also stream Illusions an album of instrumental guitar tracks Ellsworth released last month from his alter-ego A.B. Chediski as a collaborative effort with fellow songwriter Realizer. 

It may be months still before Charles Ellsworth is back on tour full time but in no way is he letting the current state of affairs slow him down or keep him from making and playing music. Following him on social media is the best way you can keep up with all of Charles Ellsworth’s musical ventures, bedroom livestreams, bad dad jokes, and occasional over the top political rants. However, you can also follow him on Patreon for a deeper dive into the Charles Ellsworth archives, behind the scenes content, and early access to new songs and music videos. 

We had a chance to sit down and chat with Charles and do a short, but fun Q&A session. 

Some artists can pinpoint a specific moment when they knew they were bitten by the music bug such as watching The Beatles on Sullivan or hearing Hendrix ‘Electric Ladyland’ for the first time. Did you remember when it was for you? 

Charles Ellsworth: I have always been intrigued with music and was put in piano lessons at a pretty young age, like 6 or 7 I believe. My parents raised me on a steady diet of Garth Brooks, George Strait and whatever happened to be on the radio and I rarely branched out far from what they listened to.  When I was in sixth grade I discovered Led Zeppelin via one of those Vh1 ‘100 Greatest Rock & Roll Songs Of All Time’ or something like that. The next week I rented The Song Remains The Same from the video store down the street and watching Jimmy Page play guitar literally melted my tender little grom brain. I watched the film twice that night and the next day told my mom I wanted to learn how to play guitar. A few months later I found a teacher to take lessons from in the back of  a furniture shop that also had a small section for music supplies. Somewhere around then a friend’s older brother gave me a burned copy of Modest Mouse’s ‘The Lonesome Crowded West’ as well as The Get Up Kids ‘Something To Write Home About’ and it was off to the races. I didn’t have any idea at the time, but that year is when it was decided I was going to be playing music and writing songs the rest of my life. 

What’s your songwriting process like? Do you write when inspired or lock yourself in a room with the intention of staying there until a song is finished? Maybe even a bit of both?

I just wrapped on tracking a new record, and through the process of finishing up those songs I realized my songwriting process is a lot like a farmer. It always starts with the seed of an idea that’s a couple of words or a lyric line or two. What really differs for me is the gestation period. 

Once that seed is planted, some songs are bursting at the seams trying to get out of my head and onto the page as quickly as possible. Those are the moments when I have to learn to get out of the way and let my subconscious take the wheel and drive that idea home. Those are usually pretty rare and I’m always so grateful for those songs. ‘Sunday Shoes’ and ‘50 Cent Smile’ from my last record Cesréa were a lot like that. Other songs can take years for me to finish. I’ve got a song coming out this summer called “The Past Ain’t Nothing” that I first started writing back in 2012. Some songs I start get abandoned somewhere along the way or transformed into other songs. 

I keep a bank of ideas in my back pocket. A chorus, or hook, that for some reason or another hasn’t developed into a full song, but is still exciting for me every time I pull it out and can’t quite bring myself to abandon yet. The chorus of a song called “White Cross Highway” off of the new record was originally written for a song called “Oh Heaven” that got abandoned a long time ago. At some point in the past year my friend Eric Fisher reminded me of  a video he took of my playing “Oh Heaven”  in his apartment in Salt Lake City nearly a decade ago. Check it and my beautiful mustache out here: https://vimeo.com/40120985. 

Due to the chaos of my writing process and the cyclical nature of the music business, I can got what seems like really long periods of time without ‘accomplishing’ anything as a writer, or making any sort of progress. This is a cancerous way of thinking and is the starting point of a feedback loop that only leads to a downward spiral. As I get older I realize that the attempt at making quantifiable progress on something as subjective as songwriting is a fool’s errand. For me, the important thing is to show up everyday or as often as my schedule allows and try to water the seeds and tend to the garden. Even though 90% of the time nothing gets really done while writing, I’m just tending the soil, plucking the weeds, and patiently waiting for that seed to sprout.

What’s the toughest part of taking your music out on the road for the fans?

The road and my approach to it, just like songwriting, has changed a lot the older I get. Whether I realized it or not, it used to be the wear and tear that the party had on me both physically and mentally. I spent a lot of years where chasing the party was almost as important as the music. Inevitably the music opens the doors to the party, and the practical side of running a DIY touring operation suffers. It took an unfortunately large mountain of evidence to finally get me to attempt a different approach in my relationship with music, the party, and the road. It’s a fairly new experiment, but I’m really enjoying the results so far.

These days the logistics of it all are the hardest part. Getting all the shows booked, booking flights, scheduling band members, places to sleep, etc. I operate pretty DIY and run on a real skeleton crew. My manager and I do as much as we can ourselves. It’s great to be in control of nearly every aspect of my art and career, but things inevitably fall through the cracks. I have to be able to adjust on the fly and be at peace with things as they come because I can’t really blame anyone but myself.

When I’m actually out on the road the toughest part can sometimes be remembering why I do it. The whole point of being out on the road is the one or two hours I’m on stage every night, and there can be a whole lot of bullshit in between those hours. Trying to remember when I am on stage what it’s all for and to perform from a place of compassion and connections as opposed to a mind still buzzing with all the bullshit is a real practice in letting things go. When I’m able to really let go of it all and just be there playing and singing the song in the moment, fuck dude, that’s it. That’s the quality content I’m here for.

If you could choose an actor to be your inner voice, who would it be?

I’m going to have to say Galadriel era Cate Blanchett. Most of my life I’ve really struggled with having a positive or healthy inner dialogue. It’s always been really negative and not very kind to myself at all. I think having her voice as my inner voice would make it be much kinder for some reason.

If music was over tomorrow and you had to go into professional wrestling, what would your wrestling name be?

‘Grumpy Old Chuck The Wrestler Formerly Known As Wildcat Chuck Charles’ and I would sue any announcer who didn’t use my entire name every single time they mentioned me.