Today, singer-songwriter Ellis Paul releases the music video for "I Ain't No Jesus," the lead off track from his forthcoming album The Storyteller's Suitcase, out May 31 on his own Rosella Records label. Pre-order the album HERE.
Watch "I Ain't No Jesus" via YouTube:
Originally, in a nod to John Prine, Paul imagined “Jesus coming out of his tomb at Easter and looking around at how screwed up everything is. So he says, ‘Fuck it, I’m going back in.’ It was serious, with a humorous aspect to it.” But while writing with rising country star Jamie Kent, the track morphed into a love song, much to Paul’s surprise and delight.
Born and raised in Maine, Paul attended Boston College and became a fixture at the city’s open mic nights. After winning a Boston Acoustic Underground songwriter competition, he caught critics’ ears with the release of his indie album Say Somethingin 1993, which led to a deal with Rounder Records and the 1994 album, Stories. Through a steady succession of albums – a remarkable 20 releases so far – and almost constant touring, Paul’s audience grew into a loyal legion of fans.
“There’s a craft to what I do, and I take it very seriously,” Paul says. “At the same time, I look at it as a calling, too. I tour quite a bit, and that allows me to come into contact with so many people of all walks of life. I hear their stories, and I realize that they could be telling me my story, too. So I try to make sense out of it all. I try to get to the heart of what we’re all feeling. That’s at the root of what I do – capturing the humanity we share with some kind of grace and integrity.”
Ellis’ new album continues that grand and noble tradition. On 13 deeply felt narratives, the singer-songwriter takes listeners on a beautifully sustained journey that is at both strikingly intimate and universally relatable.
The Storyteller’s Suitcase also serves as the first time Paul produced his own record. “I finally felt ready,” he says. “Whenever somebody else produces you, even if they’re great and you agree all the way, they’re still changing what you do in some way. I feel as though I would hand producers a black-and-white photo, and they’d put their own colors on it and hand it back to me. Now I’m hearing my own sounds and getting them on tape. I’m putting down the ink and applying all of my own colors. So this album is a very honest statement from top to bottom. It’s a true self-portrait.”
Always on the road, Paul will continue to tour throughout the U.S. all year long. See full list of tour dates below and at his website: https://www.ellispaul.com/calendar/
Tracklist:
1. I Ain't No Jesus
2. You'll Never Be This Young Again
3. Kiss Me 'Cause I'm Gone
4. Scarecrow in a Corn Maze
5. Slingshot
6. The Storyteller's Suitcase
7. How You Say Goodbye
8. Innocence and the Afterlife
9. Five Alarm Fire on the 4th of July
10. The Battle of Charlottesville
11. Mammoth
12. Heaven
13. Election Day
Tour Dates:
April 27 - Cedar Rapids, IA @ CSPS Hall
April 28 - Minneapolis, MN @ WernerCedar Cultural Center
May 3 - Chelmsford, MA @ Chelmsford Center for the Arts
May 4 - Duxbury, MA @ South Shore Folk Music Club
May 10 - Bonita, CA @ Sweetwater Community Church
May 16 - Chattanooga, TN @ Songbirds Guitar Museum
May 19 - Washington, D.C. @ The Hamilton (Special Guest of Red Molly)
May 20 - Annapolis, MD @ 49 West Coffeehouse
May 26 - Kerrville, TX @ Kerville Folk Festival
June 6 - Boston, MA @ City Winery
June 28 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Front Porch
July 13 - Guthrie, OK @ Magnolia Moon
July 26 - Asheville, NC @ Isis Music Hall
Aug 24 - Winnsboro, TX @ The Bowery Stage at Winnsboro Center for the Arts
Sept 19 - New London, NH @ Flying Goose Brewpub
Oct 10 - Warwick, MD @ Worsell Manor Music in the Barn
Oct 25 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Nov 16 - Oxford, NY @ Six on the Square
Nov 30 - Decatur, GA @ Eddie’s Attic
