George Ellias: A Bob Dylan fan and more

A musician from California connected with me recently. Maybe he’d discovered by second website (...Hit Singles by G.Harrison) and thought my work was brilliant. Maybe not.

George Ellias wrote:

I am a musician from Los Angeles, California. I found your blog while searching through blogspot.com. I was very impressed and delighted by the content.

(How could he not be?)

I also noticed that you a Bob Dylan fan, so am I.

(You know, I know, Bob - even at 70 - is tops in so many unique ways.)

I am looking for a select few bloggers to give a few honest words about my latest EP album. I will send you a code to download it for free, or I can send it in a zip file. I hope you accept the opportunity. A short paragraph would be enough.

You can do a search for my name on google to find out more about me and my music. Feel free to.

-George Ellias

I found George’s approach interesting. He provided no links to websites, no “in your face” advertising, just his email address. If I was willing to put some effort into a search then he’d send me a code for a download.

I searched his name and found a few details about the young fellow, e.g., George Ellias is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California. His interest in folk music started at a very young age. In 2004 George Ellias left High School, his old bands and traveled...


I also found a spot where I could sample a few of his tunes. (bandcamp.com)

I sampled and wrote back.

Hi George.

Email received. Bob Dylan fan, eh! I'll get back to you re short review asap. GHarrison at IT STRIKES

George emailed a code; I downloaded his songs; I filed them randomly in File 17 - Gord’s Collection (Files 1 - 16 each contain 250 - 300 songs, various artists).

Inside File 17 (I’m listening to it again now), George joined a few heavy hitters, e.g., Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Gord Lightfoot; a few up-and-comers, e.g., Madison Violet, Sarah Jarosz; a few others, e.g., Wilco, Daryl Braithwaite, Vince Guaraldi.

Would I notice George when one of his songs came up? What would I notice?

Review: George certainly knows how to play the guitar. I occasionally catch a whiff of Dylan in chord selection. Harmonica accompaniment is very good too. Any Dylan fan will notice George is definitely influenced by him. In my mind, that’s a good thing, eh.

George’s voice is reedy, and will strengthen and deepen with age, with more years on the road where life ain’t easy.

George’s lyrical style suits his age and one can feel Bob’s touch there too, though I don’t think George is trying to be someone he’s not. He’s the kind of guy who comes off as being comfortable in his own skin.

One day, when I’m not too busy, I’ll take both Bob and George aside and say, “Sometimes you try to squeeze too many syllables into a line. Why is that? Fewer words is often better, in my humble opinion. Call me. I’ll edit your work for free.” (It must be the school-teacher in me).

Recommended: Ghost Town

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re George: Please click here for Artist Biography @ folk alley.


re Gord's possible Hit Single.

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