*** UNDER CONSTRUCTION/UPDATE AFTER A 3 YEAR HIATUS ***
My Music
I have finally recorded my first song. It is a cover of Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry. It is a scaled down version of the original, but I think it turned out pretty good as I recorded it after only been taking guitar lessons for 6 months. And without further ado, here is the first release from the John Ellis Band, featuring Luke Pehoski on bass and drums, and produced and mixed by Jack Mansk.
My Influences
Growing up in rural Iowa in household where my parents listened to the old Country & Western greats as well as Big Bands and Blues left me with a wide range of musical tastes. I enjoy most musical genres but growing up in the 80’s, I gravitated to the hair metal bands of that decade. I predominantly listen to hard rock these days, but I do also enjoy listening to classic rock, country and blues music.
My favorite rock genre artists are Iron Maiden, Kiss, Ronnie James Dio, Journey, and Kansas, with some of the more recent artists I am digging are Alter Bridge/Myles Kennedy/Mark Temonti and Volbeat. Switching to the other side of the road, the main country artists I enjoy are George Strait, Gary Allan, Garth Brooks and Jason Aldean. Last but not least, the blues, with Robert Cray and Kenny Wayne Shepherd being the main artists I listen to.
A few of my top albums of all-time, in no particular order (Greatest Hits not allowed):
Van Halen by Van Halen
Operation Mindcrime by Queensrÿche
Leftoverture by Kansas
Strong Persuader by Robert Cray
All of the Iron Maiden albums as I have not tried to dissect all of the albums to come up with one favorite.
5 Year Plan
I have a 5 year plan to learn at least 25 songs to make up the John Ellis Band setlist, even if it just me playing along with the track. This list will most likely change over time:
Year 1
Song 1: AC/DC: Highway To Hell
Song 2: Jason Aldean: Hicktown
Song 3: Sammy Hagar: Heavy Metal
Song 4: Donnie Iris: Ah! Leah!
Song 5: Jack’s Choice
Year 2
Song 1: AC/DC: Hells Bells
Song 2: The Baby’s: Midnight Rendezvous
Song 3: Foreigner: Hot Blooded
Song 4: The Call: Let The Day Begin
Song 5: Acoustic Guitar Song
Year 3
Song 1: The Baby’s: Head First
Song 2: Cinderella: Somebody Save Me
Song 3: Kiss: Detroit Rock City
Song 4: Def Leppard: Switch 625
Song 5: TBD
Year 4
Song 1: 38 Special: Hold On Loosely
Song 2: Ted Nugent: Cat Scratch Fever
Song 3: Black Sabbath: Neon Knights
Song 3: Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode
Song 4: TBD
Year 5
Song 1: Y&T: Mean Streak
Song 2: Sammy Hagar: There’s Only One Way To Rock
Song 3: The Goo Goo Dolls: Long Way Down
Song 4: Journey: Chain Reaction -or- Keep On Runnin’
Song 5: TBD
Ultimate Goals
Song 1: Iron Maiden: The Trooper
Song 2: Kenny Wayne Sheppard: ???
Song 3: TBD
Song 4: TBD
Song 5: TBD