A Pallet for the Shoal

A Pallet for the Shoal was borne in the summer of 2010 when Connecticut native Clay Eles began writing music after a long hiatus, deciding that a creative moniker would add originality to this forthcoming body of song. Eles was raised in Bridgeport, CT and studied music in Fairfield's public school system. Simon and Garfunkel, U2, and Neil Young were early influences on the side as Eles began to pick up the guitar. He performed as a solo artist and in a rock quartet called Pollen during high school, after which he ventured to study literature and education at the university level. During this period where one must become learned, Eles put performance and song writing on the back burner. But the gas is on full heat now. A Pallet for the Shoal's full catalogue contains roughly 30 original songs, which Eles often performs along with a selection of covers that range from Gram Parsons to Tom Waits to Vic Chesnutt.