Eli, For Short

My musical education started in the prairies, in the back seat of a minivan, as a young boy. Road trips between my hometown (Saskatoon) and my adopted hometown (Calgary) were always backdropped by some sort of music. I never knew the albums, never knew the artists. The only time I knew what the song was called was when it was obvious. "King of the Road" was aptly titled and as far as I knew, my dad wrote the song.

I grew up in Alberta. My education continued, though it moved from the car stereo to my left pant pocket. I ran a white cable through the sleeve of my jackets and sweaters, so teachers wouldn't see the earbud. I could listen all through class, and I did. My friends took notice, often grabbing the other earbud to partake through lunchtime.

On my eighteenth birthday, my mom picked an old nylon string acoustic guitar from out of our storage room and got it restrung for me. I played more than I studied. Read more tablature than I did textbooks. Eventually I dropped out of university, but I never put down the guitar. I saved up for my first steel string, bought a capo. I bought a purple Strat and cheap practice amp. Moved back home. Practiced, then practiced more. Found songs that were way above my skill level, found a way to play them. I still do that.

My obsession became two years studying music at Grant Macewan University in Edmonton. I learned from some of the best in Canada. Stints in local bands "The Sky Life" and "Paperplanes and Dragonboats" were some of my first forays into original music. Moved back home, again. Now, I'm in bands with some of the top musical talent in Saskatoon, as guitarist/keyboardist/back-up vocalist for "The Rebellion" (Josh Palmer, Christian Kongawi, and Rylan Schultz), one half of an upcoming folk duo with the wonderful Kirby Criddle, and still finding time for my own music. Which I figure is why you're here. So, I hope you'll take a listen to my EP, "Smile and Pretend". It took me twenty-five years to write.